Rich Crandall may need U-Haul again after all

Few politicians know how to game the government better than former Arizona State Senator Rich Crandall. Now that he is also the former head of the Wyoming Department of Education, he is repeating a questionable history.

Last Friday, a Wyoming district court judge reinstated Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill to her office, which forced Crandall out of his. Wyoming’s Governor Matt Mead and his partners in the state Legislature had passed law which divested Hill’s office of most of its duties. Mead spent a fortune fighting for his “Hill bill” and money appeared to be no object.

The Wyoming Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional and remanded the matter back to the Laramie County District Court for final proceedings. The Laramie County District Court Judge ruled that Hill could return to her office, effective immediately. Hill returned to her office, and Crandall is camping out in Mead’s.

According to sources, Crandall is now making $17,000 plus per month for hanging out with his buddy.

The general public has been outraged with Mead’s move, and the Hot Springs County GOP went so far as to censure Mead for his actions against Hill. Senator Hank Coe was censured by the Park County GOP, and the state’s Attorney General was censured by various groups as well. According to one long time resident, “We don’t know of another time in Wyoming history that censure like this has occurred.” County organizations in Platte, Hot Springs, Natrona, Park, and Lincoln moved to censure Mead and his cronies as well.

Mead told the told the Star-Tribune on Monday that Crandall is working from Mead’s office on a temporary basis. “I have asked him to work in my office for an indefinite period of time in the transition process, so if there’s questions about where a particular project is, or challenges on it, that he would be readily available,” Mead said.

Crandall may be readily available for Mead, but he wasn’t readily available for the Arizona residents he represented as an Arizona State Senator. Crandall was removed from office by Senate president Andy Biggs after it was discovered that one weekend he had driven up a U-Haul to the Senate building, emptied his office, and took off for the Wyoming job Mead created.

Controversy erupted after the public discovered that Crandall had abandoned his office, but wanted to stay on the Arizona payroll until the state of Wyoming processed him as an employee. Despite the fact that his family was covered by Arizona’s insurance policy for employees, Crandall insisted he had to stay on the payroll in order to keep his kids insured under Arizona’s employees’ coverage.

When Republican leaders in his legislative district, and members of the public learned of Crandall’s absence from the state, Biggs was forced to remove him.

On Tuesday, the Arizona Court of Appeals dealt Crandall another blow. The Court found that legislators who opposed the Medicaid expansion pushed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Crandall, had standing and could proceed to fight the largest expansion of the federal government in the state’s history.

In Arizona, Crandall was infamous for threat to a fellow lawmaker who he believed might testify against his daughter who was caught tampering with his opponent’s campaign signs.

Crandall will likely land on his feet.

The Star-Tribune reported that Crandall sent an an email to department staff on Friday in which he thanked his employees and said he planned to “stick around for a little while.”

According to the Star tribune, Crandall wrote, “As I pack up my office this weekend I have so much to be grateful for over the past nine months, and all with no regrets for accepting the position.”

For her part, Hill is happy to be back at work. When asked about Crandall, she would only say, “I am happy to report that Crandall is no longer on the WDE payroll.”

Nearly a year ago, the residents of Arizona felt the same way when Crandall was dropped from their payroll.

Crandall’s email:

From: Richard Crandall <richard.crandall@wyo.gov>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2014 4:32 PM
To: WDE-All WDE Employees; WDE-Special Programs
Subject: Thanks for such great memories!

Dear friends and colleagues,
I knew this day was coming. I’m just not sure I expected it on Good Friday. As I pack up my office this weekend I have so much to be grateful for over the past nine months, and all with no regrets for accepting the position. I have had a chance to work with some of the best people in the world. Your patience, kindness, and desire to make a difference will always be first and foremost in my thoughts. I have fallen in love with Wyoming and especially its people. I plan to stick around for a little while just to enjoy this wonderful state, especially since my kids are stationed at F.E. Warren with my two amazing grandchildren.

The work you are doing is critical to the future of Wyoming. We have dedicated educators across the entire state who depend on you to support their good work. I love the enthusiasm of our districts, schools, teachers, and families that support high expectations and student achievement. I have to tell you also that Governor Mead has big plans for education during his second term. I know he is looking forward to being able to implement the visionary agenda he shared with me during my first interview with him back in June. And to that end, I know the State Board of Education and the Legislature are excited to move the work forward also. We are blessed with talent in Wyoming.

I wish you all the very best of success. You will always have a friend in Arizona. Please stay in touch and continue to be the amazing individuals you are, regardless of who is in charge at the WDE! You have made an impact on my life.

Warmest regards,

Rich Crandall
Former Director, Wyoming Department of Education
State of Wyoming
(307) 777-7675

p.s. I know I missed a few folks with this email because I am not where I have access to all of my addresses. Please feel free to forward.