Former St. Charles County Councilman Joseph McCulloch has been appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to the county’s Convention and Sports Facilities Authority.

J. McCulloch

If his appointment is confirmed by the Missouri Senate, McCulloch will fill the seat formerly held by ex-St. Charles City Councilman Mary West.

Former Gov. Matt Blunt had named ex-state insurance director Dale Finke of Lake Saint Louis, a fellow Republican, to West’s old seat but that appointment occurred when the Senate was out of session.

So after Nixon took over and the Senate began its 2009 session in January, the new Democratic governor used his authority to pull back Finke’s appointment and instead tapped McCulloch, a Democrat.

Nixon, however, went along with Blunt’s decision to re-appoint Thomas Wapelhorst of St. Charles to another seat on the same authority.

McCulloch, a St. Charles lawyer and a Democrat, is the brother of St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch. Wapelhorst, a St. Charles jeweler, is a Republican.

State law says the five-member authority should be bipartisan, with no more than three members from a particular party.

The county authority is jointly responsible with the St. Charles City Council for overseeing operations of the St. Charles Convention Center.