Gov. Little Announces New Appointments

Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced several new appointments across state government, headlined by the naming of Alberto Gonzalez as director of the Idaho Transportation Department following the retirement of longtime director Scott Stokes.

Gonzalez, who most recently served as Idaho’s chief information officer and administrator of the Office of Information Technology Services, officially assumed the ITD director role July 7. Stokes retired June 30 after a 35-year career with the department, the last four as director.

Gonzalez brings 30 years of public and private sector experience to the role, including more than two decades with the State of Idaho. He previously led the consolidation of IT services across state government at ITS, served as administrator of the Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles, and held leadership roles with Your Health Idaho and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Before state service, he spent 14 years with a national communications company. He studied organizational behavior at the University of San Francisco and is a graduate of the National Transportation Leadership Institute at Indiana University. Jake Reynolds, administrator at the Idaho Department of Commerce, will serve as interim administrator of ITS.

Little also announced that John Bernasconi has returned to the Idaho State Tax Commission as chairman. Bernasconi previously served as the commission’s chief operating officer and most recently led the Division of Welfare and Self-Reliance at the Department of Health and Welfare. He held several Tax Commission positions between 2003 and 2010, then led revenue modernization efforts in multiple states before returning to Idaho in 2016. He is a graduate of Boise State University.

In board and commission appointments, Little named Skip Oppenheimer to the Idaho Board of Correction. Oppenheimer is chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer Companies, Inc. and president of Oppenheimer Development Corporation, and has served in leadership roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, St. Luke’s Health System and Idaho Business for Education. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Idaho.

Little also reappointed Tim Murphy and Jordan Cheirrett to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. Murphy, of Boise, represents the Southwest Region and is a former Idaho director for the Bureau of Land Management and former director of fire and aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center. Cheirrett, a fourth-generation Idahoan and small business owner in Soda Springs, serves as commission vice chairman representing the Southeast Region.

By: Montana Newsroom wire