Job searches are about who you know, as the saying goes.
Former state Treasurer Andy Dillon secured project work at Conway Mackenzie. (AP photo/Paul Sancya)
And former state Treasurer Andy Dillon was well-acquainted with Conway Mackenzie, a Birmingham turnaround firm that won a $19-million contract as a key consultant to Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr in Detroit’s bankruptcy case. Dillon is a project adviser for the suburban firm.
At Motor City Muckraker, blogger Steve Neavling reports on Dillon's new source of income:
Less than a month after Gov. Snyder pressured Dillon to resign on Oct. 31, Dillon began meeting with Conway to secure a job working on a merger in northern Michigan, according to sources familiar with the meetings.
In the meantime, Snyder was quietly paying Dillon about $40,000 on a three-month contract to teach the new treasurer the ropes.
Earlier, Neavling writes, Dillon had been "an integral part of getting Conway MacKenzie one of its most lucrative jobs" -- the current Detroit engagement. The blogger cites "emails and deposition transcripts, which show Dillon was meeting with the firm months before [he met with] other prospective consultants."
Dillon's role as head of the Treasury Department and his post-government job raise no ethical issues, an agency spokesman tells Neavling in a statement:
“At no time while Mr. Dillon was State Treasurer or in a decision-making position, was there any discussion of potential future employment with the firm. . . . I am not aware of any prohibition on who or whom a former State official can contract with or work for and thus there is no conflict of interest."
Earlier coverage at Deadline Detroit:
- Andy Dillon Keeps Same State Pay As Adviser To His Successor, Jan. 8, 2014
- Andy Dillon Reportedly to Resign As State Treasurer, Oct. 11, 2013
