Governor Brad Little announced a series of state government appointments on Tuesday, highlighted by the selection of a long-tenured Idaho official to lead the Idaho Transportation Department.

New Transportation Director

Alberto Gonzalez will take over as ITD Director effective this month, succeeding Scott Stokes, who is retiring from the role. Gonzalez brings roughly 30 years of combined public and private sector leadership experience to the position, including more than two decades in state government service.

His state career has spanned several high-profile roles — Chief Information Officer and Administrator of the Idaho Office of Information Technology Services, Administrator of the Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles, and technology leadership positions with Your Health Idaho and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Before entering public service, Gonzalez spent 14 years in leadership with a national communications company.

“Alberto Gonzalez has been an exceptional public servant whose leadership has modernized state government and improved services for Idahoans,” Little said. “I am confident he will continue that success as he leads ITD.”

ITS Interim Director Named

With Gonzalez moving to ITD, Jake Reynolds — currently an Administrator at the Idaho Department of Commerce — has been tapped as Interim Director at the Idaho Office of Information Technology Services.

New Tax Commission Chairman

John Bernasconi was appointed Chairman of the Idaho State Tax Commission. Bernasconi’s background in tax administration is extensive: he held several positions at the Tax Commission between 2003 and 2010, later served as Chief of Operations at the Alaska Department of Revenue, and led revenue modernization initiatives across multiple states before returning to Idaho in 2016 as Division Administrator of Revenue Operations.

More recently, Bernasconi served as the Tax Commission’s Chief Operating Officer and led the Division of Welfare and Self-Reliance at the Department of Health and Welfare.

“John Bernasconi is a proven leader with extensive experience serving Idaho taxpayers and improving government operations,” Little said. “I am pleased to welcome John back to the Idaho State Tax Commission.”

Board of Correction and Fish and Game

Skip Oppenheimer, Chairman and CEO of Oppenheimer Companies, Inc. and President of Oppenheimer Development Corporation, was appointed to the Idaho Board of Correction in May.

On the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, Little reappointed two sitting members. Tim Murphy, who represents the Southwest Region, previously served as Idaho Director for the Bureau of Land Management and as Director of Fire and Aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Jordan Cheirrett, a fourth-generation Idahoan from Soda Springs, was reappointed to continue as Commission Vice-chairman representing the Southeast Region.

Broader Context

The appointments reflect a pattern of drawing on officials with deep Idaho government experience to fill senior leadership vacancies. Gonzalez and Bernasconi both have careers that moved across multiple state agencies, giving them familiarity with the administrative infrastructure they will now help lead.

The announcement comes as the Little administration heads into the Fourth of July holiday weekend, which the governor ordered extended to four days for state workers in recognition of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The ITD transition is expected to proceed without interruption to department operations.