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Madison — Governor-elect Scott Walker announced Thursday he is tapping current and former lawmakers, past aides to Gov. Tommy G. Thompson and a former federal official to run major state agencies.

The appointments mean three Republican lawmakers - Reps. Mike Huebsch of West Salem, Mark Gottlieb of Port Washington and Scott Gunderson of Waterford - will resign their positions shortly after being sworn in Monday so they can serve in Walker's administration. That will cue up special elections this spring to fill the three Assembly seats.

Walker is bringing people on board with private sector credentials, as well, including a banker, the owner of a temporary services agency and a former home builder who will lead the Department of Natural Resources.

"I think people are going to be impressed," Walker told reporters Thursday. "This is an A-plus cabinet."

But two of his appointments drew immediate criticism.

Rep. Kelda Helen Roys (D-Madison) said Wisconsin seniors could be in danger of losing state help for prescription drugs with Dennis Smith leading the Department of Health Services.

"Unfortunately, Walker has picked someone to head a department he appears to want to dismantle rather than administer," Roys said.

And incoming Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison) called the appointment of former builder and state Sen. Cathy Stepp as secretary of the Department of Natural Resources a "giant step backward," because of her voting record on environmental issues.

But two political scientists applauded the appointments for the range in skills that Walker is bringing to state government.

"This is not a talk radio list," said Mordecai Lee of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "This is not a tea party, ideologically rigid list - this is a governing list."

Joe Heim of UW-La Crosse said Walker's selection of legislators will help him advance his agenda in the Legislature.

The cabinet secretaries are expected to win easy confirmation from the Senate, which will be controlled by Walker's fellow Republicans.

Federal experience

Smith is a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation and managing director of the Medicaid practice at the national consulting firm Leavitt Partners. Under President George W. Bush, he served as director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations.

He was in that job when the federal Health and Human Services Department announced Wisconsin's popular SeniorCare prescription drug program had slim odds of continuing. Later that year, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl tucked a provision in a bill that kept the program in place.

A year ago, Smith co-wrote an article that said states should seriously consider dropping out of Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health care for the poor, elderly and disabled. The article, written while Congress debated the health care reform, said states could save more than $1 trillion over 10 years by using their own funds to care for some people and leaving others to seek help from the federal government.

Smith did not return a call Thursday. Walker said Smith was the best person to help win approval for a federal block grant for health care that would free the state from some federal requirements.

"We're going to look at any and all innovations" in health care, Walker said.

Hulsey, a former Sierra Club employee, criticized Stepp's voting record. While serving in the state Senate from Sturtevant from 2003 to 2006, Stepp voted with the Sierra Club 29% of the time and with the League of Conservation Voters 27% of the time.

Stepp said Hulsey's comments were "inflammatory - it's politics."

3 Doyle picks are staying

Also Thursday, Walker said he would keep - at least temporarily - three of Doyle's political appointees because he wanted to have continuity in matters of public safety. The three are Adjutant General Donald Dunbar, who heads the Wisconsin National Guard and Department of Military Affairs; Emergency Management Administrator Michael Hinman; and State Patrol Superintendent Dave Collins.

Walker's cabinet secretaries will be paid between $108,000 and $130,000 a year, roughly in line with Doyle's secretaries.

Here's a look at the cabinet:

Administration: Huebsch, a former Assembly speaker, will run the sprawling agency responsible for helping craft the state budget, which faces an estimated shortfall of $3.3 billion over two years.

Commerce: Paul Jadin, former president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and former mayor of Green Bay, will run the agency that Walker wants to turn into a partly private authority.

Health Services: Smith will lead the agency, with help from outgoing Rep. Kitty Rhoades (R-Hudson), who will serve as deputy secretary, and outgoing Rep. Brett Davis (R-Oregon), who will serve as Medicaid director.

Davis did not seek re-election this year so he could run for lieutenant governor, but he lost the Republican primary to former WISN-TV (Channel 12) reporter Rebecca Kleefisch.

Natural Resources: Stepp, a former Natural Resources Board member,said she would push for less burdensome regulations for business without harming the environment.

The deputy secretary will be Matt Moroney, an attorney and former executive director of the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee. The executive assistant, the No. 3 post in the department, will be Gunderson, the longtime chairman of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

Transportation: Gottlieb, a civil engineer and former Port Washington mayor, will help Walker with his plan to find new revenue for roads without raising taxes.

Revenue: Rick Chandler will return to his old job as revenue secretary, a job he previously held under Thompson. A lobbyist, Chandler is also a former state budget director.

Agriculture: Former Assembly Speaker Ben Brancel of Endeavor will return to leading the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, a job he had under Thompson. He is a fifth-generation farmer.

Children and Families: Eloise Anderson will run the recently created agency. Anderson served as the director of the California Department of Social Services and earlier led the Wisconsin Division of Community Services.

Workforce Development: Manuel "Manny" Perez, president and co-owner of a staffing firm, will be responsible for the department in charge of unemployment insurance.

Corrections: Former Dane County Sheriff Gary Hamblin will run state prisons. He is currently in charge of the Law Enforcement Services Division at the Department of Justice.

Financial Institutions: Peter Bildsten, a former chairman and CEO of First National Bank and Trust Co. of Baraboo, will run the bank-regulating agency.

Tourism: Stephanie Klett, host of the "Discover Wisconsin" television and radio series, will promote Wisconsin as a tourism destination.

Regulation and Licensing: Superior Mayor Dave Ross will run the regulatory agency. Ross made an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor. He said he would resign as mayor on Monday.

Housing: Wyman Wynston will lead the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, where he has worked in senior management for 14 years.