Comings and goings in state government

For political people watchers, tracking the trail of folks heading into and out of government posts is a busy pastime at the moment.

Just this week, for example, Gov. Bob McDonnell announced two new hires for his administration. Also, three other departures from Virginia's bureacracy were confirmed.

The newcomers to team McDonnell are deputy Health and Human Resources Secretary Matt Cobb, who previously worked in the Attorney General's Office, and state Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Rick Holcomb, who held the same job under former Govs. George Allen and Jim Gilmore.

Leaving the halls of government are two members of the state's Information Technology Investment Board -- Chesterfield County resident Hiram Johson and Bert Reese, a top executive at Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk.

Both resigned from the board that oversees aspects of the widely criticized 10-year, $2.3 billion deal between Virginia and Northrop Grumman Corporation to privatize state computer systems.

The deal signed in 2005 has been plagued with problems; state employees have complained about poor services and Northrop Grumman has said it needs millions more each year to fulfill its responsibilities under the contract.

McDonnell has hinted that he may push for structural changes at the Virginia Information Technologies Agency.

Another recently departed veteran of state government is former Del. Frank Hall. The Richmond Democrat was appointed to the state's three-member Alcoholic Beverage Control board last year by former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

But McDonnell, who has touted privatizing state liquor stores as an element of his plan to fund upgrades to Virginia's vast road network, chose not to keep him.

-- Julian Walker

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