1. Ballotpedia launches new Learning Journey on executive appointment and removal power
2. 217 state governors have resigned their office
3. Local Roundup 

Ballotpedia launches new Learning Journey on executive appointment and removal power

Last week we launched a new Learning Journey about executive control in the administrative state. I just finished going through that earlier this week, and I’m excited to announce that we’re launching another Learning Journey today!

This Learning Journey guides you through another one of the five pillars key to understanding the administrative state—notable court cases related to the executive appointment and removal power. The president’s authority to appoint and remove top agency officials, such as department secretaries and agency administrators, is an important function for the president to exercise control over the executive branch. 

There are many federal and state cases related to this topic—from Marbury v. Madison (1803) that established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review, to the Court’s ruling in Lucia v. SEC (2018) that held that SEC administrative law judges are subject to the Appointments Clause. This Learning Journey guides you through judicial cases that have shaped the executive appointment and removal power.

Sound daunting? Don’t worry - our learning journeys are designed to take something complicated and break it down into smaller pieces of information that are are more fun to read and easier to follow.

When you take a Learning Journey, you’ll receive emails with information, examples, and exercises to help you understand the concept. Along the way, you’ll be able to contact us with any questions and comments you may have. You can also set how frequently you receive these messages—daily, weekly, or in-between. It’s a great way to gain expertise about this interesting subject, and it’s free! Click the link below to get started.

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217 state governors have resigned their office  

Ballotpedia’s research teams regularly gather data on lots of topics—both current and historic. A short while ago, they prepared this interesting analysis about state governors that I just had to share with my Brew readers.  

Since 1776, 217 state governors have resigned before completing their terms. One governor—Andrew Johnson (D)—resigned as governor of Tennessee on two separate occasions. Johnson resigned in 1857 after being elected to the U.S. Senate and in 1865 after being elected as Abraham Lincoln’s vice president. Yes, this is the same Andrew Johnson who was later impeached while serving as the nation’s 17th president. 

Of the 218 gubernatorial resignations, 166 (76%) resulted from the governor’s election or appointment to another office. Thirty-seven resignations took place for various personal reasons, such as illness or policy disputes with the state legislature. The remaining 15 resignations occurred following allegations of misconduct by the governor.

The state which has seen the most governors resign is New Jersey—with 12. The next two highest states are Maine and South Carolina, with 10 each. Virginia has seen nine gubernatorial resignations. 

Meanwhile, Florida, Hawaii, and Washington are the only states which have never had a governor resign.

The most recent gubernatorial resignation took place in Missouri on June 1, 2018, when Eric Greitens (R) left office amid allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of campaign information.

Local Roundup

Here’s an update to a story related to a local election we covered here in the Brew during 2019:

Texas judge blocks takeover of Houston school district

Travis County District Judge Catherine Mauzy (D) issued a temporary injunction Jan. 8 that prevents the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from taking over the Houston Independent School District (HISD) until an ongoing lawsuit is resolved. State officials appealed the injunction to a state appeals court the following day—Jan. 9.

Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath notified the HISD of his decision to appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board on Nov. 6—the day after the district's school board elections. Under a state-appointed board, elected board members would function as non-voting representatives until they were phased back in by the commissioner.

The takeover resulted from a TEA investigation that began in January 2019 into the board’s governance and repeated poor academic performance ratings at a high school in the district. The TEA recommended that the state appoint a board of managers for the district in October 2019. Their report stated this was “due to the HISD Board of Trustees’ demonstrated inability to appropriately govern, inability to operate within the scope of their authority by circumventing the authority of the superintendent, and inability to ensure proper contract procurement laws are followed."

Four of nine seats on the HISD board were up for election in 2019. Two incumbents lost re-election bids outright on Nov. 5. Two open-seat races were decided in runoffs on Dec. 14 since no candidate in those districts received more than 50% of the vote during the general election.

Judges of the Texas District Courts are selected in partisan elections to four-year terms. Mauzy was elected in 2018 and ran unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general election. She set a trial date for June 22 to hear HISD’s lawsuit challenging the takeover.

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