Welp, it's Gordon

This just in -- a few days ago:

Lana Gordon will receive the nod to be the Kansas Secretary of Labor.

With Senate confirmation, she will permanently replace former Sec. Karin Brownlee, who was fired last September.

There is still no word on why Brownlee was shown the door, but there's plenty of speculation floating around to make a really boring novel.

Here's what I've heard:

Brownlee wanted to help out a friend, Assistant Secretary of Labor Michael Copeland. Copeland is the mayor of Olathe, where Karin resides. Rumor has it, Copeland had hit a patch of difficult economic times. I can't remember the specific details, but I think he was in banking...

Anyway, Brownlee created the assistant job for Copeland at the Labor Department without getting the approval of the Governor. And as a reward, she was canned and Copeland maintained the make-work job.

Apparently, this is exactly the sort of thing that gets one fired. I don't fully buy this story, but it's what I've been told. (And let me tell you, in some ways, the Governor's Office is run a lot like the mafia. Under no circumstances is anyone in that administration to  make decisions without Brownback's implicit approval lest they want to wind up in concrete booties. This is one of many reasons it's impossible to get any 4-1-1 from the folks who work there. They like their jobs!)

I've also heard that Brownlee wasn't very well-liked to begin with, and that the Governor was looking for reasons to show her the door. The Copeland thing was just the final straw in a big pile of back-breaking hay.

(Also, I think it's particularly egregious when you don't toe the Govenor's line when you are a woman, so Lana Gordon, beware.)