Peter Kinder resigns federal agency post, concludes position unnecessary and waste of tax dollars

Former Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has resigned from a leadership position with a federal agency, concluding his position was not needed and a waste of tax dollars.

He said Friday he will continue to live in his hometown of Cape Girardeau and plans to take a job in the private sector. He said he is not ready to disclose that job, but the employment opportunity factored into his decision to leave the federal agency.

Kinder said he has no plans to return to state government or political office.

He said he is not interested in serving again as lieutenant governor, a position that became vacant when Mike Parson recently was sworn in as governor after the resignation of then-Gov. Eric Greitens.

"Somebody else can do that," Kinder said.

Peter Kinder, left, takes the statutory oath of office Sept. 7 from U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. as his brother Frank Kinder holds the Bible near the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau. Missouri's former lieutenant governor was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as alternate federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority.Southeast Missourian file

"I have no expectation of ever running again," he said.

Kinder was sworn in last September as alternative federal co-chairman after President Donald Trump appointed him to the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) position in August. Kinder's appointment did not require Senate confirmation.

He resigned June 1, but did not publicly disclose his resignation until Friday.

"Upon taking office in September, I found a bloated administrative budget at the DRA," Kinder said in a statement released to the Southeast Missourian.

"Upon my request, staff brought me over $400,000 in cuts to the administrative budget. In my first weeks on the job, I presented these reductions to the board and won unanimous approval of the savings," he said.

"Every dime saved is now going to the poor and distressed communities that need help -- the DRA's very reason for being," he wrote.

Kinder told the Southeast Missourian in October that 8.6 percent of the agency's $30 million budget was being spent on administrative costs when he joined the agency. A well-run agency should limit administrative expenses to 5 percent or 6 percent of its budget, he said at the time.

In January, Christopher Caldwell of Little Rock, Arkansas, won Senate confirmation as federal co-chairman to lead the agency.

"It is confusing," Kinder said of the agency having two top leadership positions.

Working with Caldwell, the agency has reduced the size of its staff, Kinder said.

When Kinder first joined the agency, it had 18 employees. Now, it has about 13 staff members, Kinder said.

"I believe further savings can be found, starting with my position," he said.

Caldwell has a three-person staff in Little Rock, said Kinder, who operated from Cape Girardeau without any staff here.

Kinder said he was aided by staff located in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and Little Rock.

The Delta Regional Authority was created by Congress in 2000. It was modeled after the multistate Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), Kinder said.

"The ARC has been around for more than 50 years," he said. "During most of that time, they have not filled the position of alternate federal co-chair."

Kinder said, "What I am proposing, and I have no idea if it will be adopted or not, is that the Delta Regional Authority do the same, leave it unfilled."

The agency has a capable staff, he added.

The agency seeks to boost economic development in the eight-state, Mississippi River valley region. The area includes Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.

"What we are talking about is really poor and distressed counties throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley, generational poverty that is tough to address," he said after issuing his written statement.

"I felt like this agency, which was called into being to address those needs, should not have a bloated administrative budget," Kinder said.

Kinder served just over nine months as alternate federal co-chairman. During that time, he said, he traveled to all eight states.

In the emailed statement, Kinder wrote, "It has been a great honor to work with the governors of the eight states, and with citizens and community leaders throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley. I wish all these good folks well as they work to better lives in our 252 counties and parishes with a leaner, more efficient DRA."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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