The names of nine people vying for four open spots to represent employers on the Workforce Safety and Insurance board of directors were forwarded to Gov. John Hoeven by a nominating committee on Wednesday.

Hoeven has until Dec. 31 to fill the open seats on the 11-member board that oversees WSI. Two current board members are among the nine applicants, both receiving priority designations by the nominating committee made up of North Dakota business leaders.

The nominees are split into groups based on the premiums their respective organizations pay to WSI.

While the committee only received one application for the $10,000 to $25,000 category, the law requires that the committee forward three names for each premium-rate category.

Hoeven's legal counsel, Ryan Bernstein, said the governor's office was talking to the nominating committee on Wednesday to solve the problem.

Applicants with businesses that pay more than $25,000 in premiums include:

n Jon. P Wiest, president of Simplex Leasing Inc., and member of the WSI board of directors since 2005.

n Jill Berg, owner and president of Spherion Staffing in Fargo and Bismarck.

n E. Lloyd Bushong, president and CEO of Industrial Contractors Inc.

The nominee with a business that pays between $10,000 and $25,000 in premiums:

n Rod Mayer of Mayer Electric in Minot and Bismarck.

Applicants with businesses paying $10,000 or less in premiums include:

n Michael Gallagher, owner of Curtis Construction Co., and member of the WSI board of directors since February.

n Dwaine Heinrich of Heinrich and Co. Insurance Adjusters.

n William A. Coughlin, safety manager for Northrop Grumman Corp.

Two applicants were forwarded as at-large members:

n Michael Lausch, general manger of Wallwork Truck Center in Fargo.

n Karel S. Sovak, an assistant professor at the University of Mary's Tharaldson School of Business.

The board of directors also has two employee representatives with terms expiring this year, Ed Grossbauer and Terry Curl, who have both applied to serve on the board again, Bernstein said.

Two other applicants applied to be employee representatives, Seth Thompson and Renee Pfenning, both electrician union members.

The nominating committee this year received fewer applications from people to serve on the WSI board of directors when compared to previous years, said Dave MacIver, chairman of the nominating committee and president of the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce.

"We have had more applicants in the past, but I think they knew exactly what the job was," MacIver said, adding Measure 4's passage in November, which gave the governor the power to appoint the director of WSI, has brought up a lot of questions about the future of WSI's board of directors. "I don't think anybody at this point in time knows what the job is."

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@;bismarcktribune.com.)