UPDATE: Dulle apparently forced out at Missouri Veterans Commission
After a closed door meeting in Columbia yesterday, the Missouri Veterans Commission apparently showed executive director Hal Dulle the door.
“He decided to retire as executive director,” said MVC spokesman Daniel Bell this morning. But it’s not clear whether Dulle made that decision on his own. (See Dulle’s background here).
Dulle hosts a radio show on Saturday mornings on Jefferson City radio station KWOS, and appears as a frequent guest on the Open Air program hosted by longtime capital city radio personality Warren Krech.
Krech said this morning that it appears Dulle was forced out because of something he said on that air that angered the administration of Gov. Matt Blunt.
“He angered some people and they just blind-sided him,” Krech said this morning. “Even Hal doesn’t know what he said.”
Dulle couldn’t be reached for comment. Neither could commission chairman Joe Frank of St. Louis.
But MVC board member Carson Ross indicated that there might have been some pressure placed on the board. “I don’t know if other commissioners got pressure,” Ross said. “Pressure doesn’t bother me.”
Asked about what happened during the closed door meeting yesterday, Ross said, “That stuff is privileged information. Anything we talked about in executive session is privileged.”
Ross praised the job Dulle did as executive director. Dulle had been director since July 2006 and before that was deputy director and assistant director.
Ross said Dulle chose to retire.
Ross said the MVC board made a decision regarding Dulle’s future that was in the state’s “best interest.”
“We reached a consensus,” Ross said.
UPDATE: A state government source confirmed that Dulle was forced out. Said the source, who asked for anonymity because he didn’t have authority to speak on the issue: “A whole lot of issues built up over time.”
The governor’s office, meanwhile, confirmed that the chief of staff for Gov. Matt Blunt, Trish Vincent, was at the closed door meeting. Blunt appoints the members of the veterans’ commission, and the commission hires its executive director.
Spokeswoman Jessica Robinson said that Vincent was invited to the meeting. Asked if Dulle was forced out by the governor, Robinson said no. “The Veterans Commission is independent and the decisions they make regarding personnel or any matter are made independently,” she said.
Both Blunt and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder issued statements commending Dulle for his service.
Really… another state agency with secret meetings. Just in time to keep the heat off Gov Blunt?
“Aint no Sunshine where he goes… “
Good job Tony!
Does anyone believe anything Blunt’s office says anymore? He has absolutely no credibility and I hope the Eckersly files are released so we can be rid of this terrible governor once and for all!
Well -
Mr. JohnJohn’s first line said it all.
AND -
As Gomer so often said: “SurPRISE, surPRISE!”
Finally they got the (you know) to get rid of this guy. Maybe now the veterans commission can move forward instead of taking steps backwards.
If the Commission allowed a non-commission member and non-employee to attend the meeting, such as Mrs. Vincent, it could be argued that the meeting was not a closed session meeting, particularly if she was present during the discussion and decisionmaking process. Further, if the forced resignation was due to comments Mr. Dulle made outside of his employment, there is a real possibility that his First Amendment rights to free speech were violated. The timing is quite coincidential.
The house cleaning should continue and the public should be aware of the fact that very few of these individuals have the qualifications or experience to administrate long term care facilities. The staff of the commission are rising star wanna be people and they have no idea what running a longterm facility is all about. From my point of view, no one should be a part of this organization unless they are Veterans and have the formal background in the healthcare industry and actual experience in patient care.