Of local interest

Some appointments by the new Kansas governor have special significance for Lawrence.

Several staff and Cabinet appointments by Gov.-elect Kathleen Sebelius — including two particular announcements made on Tuesday — are of particular interest to Lawrence residents.

If confirmed by the Kansas Senate, the governor’s new secretary of Health and Environment will be someone who is well known to Lawrence residents. Rod Bremby, Lawrence’s former assistant city manager, was named to that job on Tuesday. Bremby left his city job several years ago to work at Kansas University as an assistant professor and become part of a KU work group that promotes the development of healthy communities.

Both as assistant city manager and in his current work, Bremby has gained valuable knowledge about what makes communities function better. His background will serve him well as he approaches the job of overseeing the state’s health and environment. Given the current economic climate, it will be a challenging job that may require more service and program cuts to Kansans as well as belt-tightening within agencies. Bremby’s compassion, along with his practical experience, make him well qualified for the job.

Another appointee announced on Tuesday is less well known to many Lawrence residents but may have a great impact on a controversial highway project that has been a subject of local debate for many years. The governor-elect’s choice to lead the Kansas Department of Transportation is Deb Miller, who is the chief planner for HNTB engineering. She also served as KDOT’s director of planning and development from 1986-1997.

One of HNTB’s clients happens to be KDOT, and Miller’s work for the engineering firm has included planning for the South Lawrence Trafficway. Miller has been in Lawrence many times to discuss and present information on the trafficway project.

The impact that a change in state administration will have on the trafficway planning process is unclear. As recently as Tuesday’s Journal-World, KDOT’s chief counsel, Mike Rees, said he was trying to advance the trafficway planning as much as possible before leadership of the agency changes hands.

Funding for the trafficway, of course, is a huge uncertainty, given the state’s fiscal crunch. It’s also unknown what priority Miller will place on this project, but clearly she is well acquainted with the issues and the need to complete a traffic loop south of Lawrence.

These along with other Lawrence-related appointments, such as Lawrence resident Matt All as chief legal counsel and Lawrence Rep. Troy Findley as her legislative liaison, are giving the Sebelius administration many interesting — and possibly beneficial — ties to Lawrence.