Bob McDonnell’s deputy secretary of natural resources departs for Christopher Newport Uni

On Friday, Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Secretary of Natural Resources, Doug Domenech, announced that the deputy secretary of natural resources for the McDonnell administration, Maureen Matsen, has left to become university counsel at Christopher Newport University.

In addition to serving as deputy secretary of natural resources (in a Republican administration, this means deputy secretary for fossil fuels) for McDonnell, Matsen was also the embattled governor’s senior energy adviser, a “critical post” according to the Associated Press for a Republican governor that has stressed energy development in Virginia.

Matsen was reportedly involved “in virtually every aspect” of Governor McDonnell’s efforts to make the Commonwealth the “energy capital of the East Coast.” Unfortunately for Virginians, few people in the McDonnell administration received the memo that pointed out not all energy has to come from fossil fuels (even though he’s paid lip-service to renewable energy).  

The McDonnell administration’s fixation on short-term energy solutions like natural gas and coal has been a disappointment for Virginians who see a great opportunity for the Commonwealth to lead the way in terms of renewable energy.

Adjacent to Virginia is the Atlantic Ocean, an immense source of wind energy were the proper investments made to harness it. In combination with an intelligently managed solar power initiative/incentive program by Virginia’s government, we could easily lay the foundations for an energy future much more devoid of dead-end forms of energy like natural gas, coal, and oil.

No one ever said the road to renewable energy would be the easiest path, but present circumstances and future generations deserve our honest endeavors to set forth the path to a cleaner energy future.

From all indications, Matsen was another typical “all of the above” Virginian bureaucrat, confusing short-term ease for with overall practicality and morality (if this word can still be used anymore). Thus, I’m not saddened to see her depart.

The good news for McDonnell and his administration, though, is that at least this time around the news isn’t about an “ethical lapse” on the part of McDonnell.