Kansas commerce secretary tapped for MO DED

Gov. Jay Nixon has named his choice to fill the vacant director's chair at the state Department of Economic Development.

The choice, with advice and consent from the state Senate, is David Kerr, commerce secretary for the state of Kansas, who is slated to begin Nov. 9.

Kerr was appointed as Kansas Secretary of Commerce in April 2007 by then-Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who now serves as U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Under Kerr's watch, several large companies increased their Kansas employment numbers, including Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Spirit Aerospace, Black & Veatch and Cessna.

Prior to his stint as commerce secretary, Kerr spent four years as president of AT&T Kansas. He has bachelor's degrees in economics and business administration from Avila University in Kansas City.

"David Kerr has an impressive résumé of success as both the leader of a state economic development agency and in the private sector as a top executive with one of the largest telecommunications companies in the country," Nixon said in a news release.

Kerr replaces Linda Martinez, who resigned abruptly in September amid talk of differences of opinion and lack of communication with the governor's office. Assistant Director Katie Steele Danner had been serving in an interim capacity during the search.

The announcement comes one day after Nixon announced $200 million in cuts from the state budget, including 700 layoffs, due to flagging income and sales tax revenues. The cuts bring the total this year to $634 million and more than 2,300 employees.