By David DeKok
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf overstepped his authority when he fired the director of the Office of Open Records two days after taking office in January, a state appellate court ruled on Wednesday.
In a 4-3 ruling, Commonwealth Court said the intention of lawmakers was that anyone who holds that position should be exempt from being fired for political reasons.
"The legislature expressed its intent in the Right to Know Law to require the governor to remove the executive director for cause only," Judge Patricia McCullough wrote.
She ordered Erik Arneson to be reinstated and given back pay. The Office of Open Records is a quasi-judicial agency that rules on disputes over release of government records, including by the governor.
Wolf spokesman Jeffrey Sheridan criticized the ruling and said the governor will appeal to the state supreme court.
It was the second setback for Wolf this week. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Senate rejected his nominee to head the Pennsylvania State Police on a 26-22 vote.
Arneson was appointed by Tom Corbett, the Republican governor defeated by Wolf in November elections, less than two weeks before he left office.
Arneson was an aide to former state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi and had worked closely with him on open records reforms that became part of the 2009 law.
"He has been a fierce advocate for the public's right to know," said Corbett in announcing the appointment.
Soon after taking office on Jan. 20, Wolf sought to undo several late Corbett appointments, including Arneson's, calling the process "anything but open and transparent."
Sheridan contended that Corbett had tried to politicize the office "on his way out the door."
Dissenting judges on Commonwealth Court argued that Arneson, despite legislative intent, was just another political appointee who could be dismissed at will.
"Mr. Arneson did not come to be appointed as the executive director ... by being carried down from heaven on an angel's wings," Judge Dante Pellegrini wrote.
Arneson wasted little time on Wednesday in moving back into his old office.
"I very much look forward to establishing a positive working relationship with Governor Wolf," he said.