Outgoing Kansas Secretary of Labor Karin Brownlee was abruptly replaced Thursday.

Brownlee told the Wichita Eagle it was Gov. Sam Brownback’s “choice that I pursue other things.” The Eagle reports Brownlee didn’t specify what led to the governor’s decision.

Brownlee’s departure was announced late Thursday in a governor’s office news release without explanation.

In the news release, Brownback announced the appointments of Lana Gordon and Michael Copeland as Deputy Secretaries, and said Gordon will serve as Interim Secretary until a permanent Secretary is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Kansas Senate.

Gordon officially joined the agency on September 21st. After representing the 52nd House District for 12 years, she decided not to run for reelection this fall. In the Kansas House, she chaired the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee and House Education Budget Committee. She also is a former small business owner and educator.

Copeland will officially join the agency on October 1. He has served as Mayor of Olathe, Kan., since 2001 and previously served as president of Security Savings Bank

Brownlee told reporters she was proud of her tenure as secretary, where she says she cut staff and costs while still improving service at the department.

Critics labeled her the “I’ll do anything for business” Secretary. Working Kansas Alliance, a pro-workers coalition of union and non-union groups, listed a number of initiatives during her two years at the Labor Department:

According to the online story, Brownlee:
*Introduced legislation to undo the employment standards law to ensure no worker is granted unemployment compensation unless they were strictly part of a lay-off.
*Introduced legislation to prohibit the Department of Labor from representing workers who are victims of wage theft.
*Introduced legislation to eliminate the statutory authority of the Department of Labor to inspect private company worksites for health and safety hazards.
*Introduced legislation to give business interests authority to select all Workers Compensation judges, ensuring injured workers never get a fair hearing in the system.
*Eliminated a majority of unemployment compensation judges, intentionally creating a backlog of unemployment compensation claims.