Governor to reappoint voucher proponent

In an article for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jo Mannies writes that Governor Matt Blunt will, as expected, reappoint voucher proponent Derio Gambaro to the State Board of Education. The recess appointment of Gambaro was pulled by the governor so that it would not go before the Senate during its recent special session.
Blunt is expected to appoint him again until the Senate returns to session in 2008. Gambaro reportedly does not have the backing of his district's senator, Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, who defeated him last year in the Democratic primary:

Smith said he was disappointed that Blunt's staff had yet to respond to the public concerns he had raised about Gambaro, who has indicated support for some school-choice programs. Gambaro also was among Smith's rivals for the state Senate in last summer's Democratic primary.

Gambaro's Senate campaign was bankrolled by billionaire voucher supporter Rex Sinquefield, as was noted in the June 11 Turner Report.