On two fronts, Wolf gives in to get back

HARRISBURG - In less than three hours Monday, Gov. Wolf took two steps back, hoping the moves will pay off politically for him with a giant leap forward.

In the morning, Wolf agreed not to fight the reinstatement of a onetime top Republican aide, Erik Arneson, to run the state's Office of Open Records. By lunchtime, the governor was announcing that Marcus Brown, his controversial nominee to lead the Pennsylvania State Police, was withdrawing from consideration.

Both issues had stoked a growing and public friction between his administration and the GOP-led Senate. Wolf's retreat seemed designed to defuse the tension and position his administration for smoother negotiations with legislators as the July 1 deadline to pass a state budget nears.

The administration downplayed any political calculations. "Each of those decisions has to be looked at separately," said spokesman Jeff Sheridan.

He added: "The governor's priority at this time - and what he wants to focus on - is a budget that moves this state forward and includes his priorities."

Political analyst and pollster G. Terry Madonna said Wolf's decision had everything to do with political pragmatism. The real prize, he said, is the budget.

"You can only fight so many battles on so many fronts," Madonna said. "The stage is set for a lot of drama at the end of the month, and I think they did the prudent thing by keeping their eye on the prize."

Each of the last two weeks started badly for Wolf. First, Republicans put his $29.9 billion budget plan through a largely message-sending test vote. (The plan failed.) Then last Monday, they took the unusual step of voting down his nomination of Brown to oversee the state police.

As this week opened, the governor seized the opportunity to act first. He began the day by announcing he was dropping his attempt to prevent Arneson from reclaiming the job from which Wolf had fired him in January.

A Commonwealth Court decision last week said the governor overstepped his authority when he ousted Arneson, appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett in his waning days.

Wolf said he would continue his appeal of that ruling to the state Supreme Court. He said the panel "improperly eroded the governor's executive authority under the Pennsylvania constitution" - but that for now, Arneson could stay in the $140,000-a-year job.

"Openness and transparency is a top priority for me as governor, and in taking this step, I hope and expect that Mr. Arneson will join us in achieving these goals," the Democratic governor said in a statement.

Senate Republicans, who joined with Arneson in fighting his ouster, hailed Wolf's decision.

"This is recognition by the governor's office that they are wrong on the law, and that they know Erik is entitled to the job," said Philadelphia lawyer Matt Haverstick, who represented the GOP senators.

Wolf's pick to head the state police had been another bone of contention with Republican senators, and the political pressure on the first-term governor to pull the nomination was fierce.

Last week, the Senate rejected Brown's nomination, saying there were too many questions about his ability to lead the agency, which, with 6,000 employees, is one of the largest law enforcement forces in the country. The union representing state troopers had also said it did not have confidence in the acting commissioner.

Much of the controversy around Brown had stemmed from his decision to wear the state police's gray uniform despite never having attended the agency's academy.

A small but vocal group of retired troopers had called Brown's decision a sign of disrespect to those who had gone through the rigorous training.

Democrats have complained that Brown was collateral damage in the ongoing political tension between Wolf and Senate Republicans.

Several also said they believe Brown, who came to Pennsylvania after running the Maryland State Police, was being toppled because of his long history of making organizations for which he worked more racially diverse.

Still, with the Senate's rejection of Brown, Wolf had few legal avenues to keep him in his cabinet.

Shortly before noon Monday, Wolf said Brown had decided to withdraw his name from consideration. There was no explanation of Brown's decision, but Wolf cited politics.

"Marcus Brown is the type of leader that Pennsylvania would be lucky to have," Wolf said in the statement. "Despite Marcus' vast and unquestioned qualifications, the Senate wrongfully rejected his nomination in a move that put politics above the best interests of the people of Pennsylvania, and it is now appropriate to select a new nominee to lead the Pennsylvania State Police."

Wolf said Brown would remain acting commissioner until he could choose a replacement.

About 90 minutes later, a spokeswoman issued a statement from Brown.

It said: "Earlier today, I submitted to Gov. Wolf my withdrawal from consideration to be commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. It has been an honor leading the State Police, and the men and women of this organization are of the highest caliber. I thank Gov. Wolf for this opportunity."

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