JEFFERSON CITY — The brouhaha over Katie Steele Danner’s two roles — and two salaries — in state government appears to be subsiding.

The Missouri Tourism Commission chose Danner on Tuesday as its new executive director, at a salary of $75,000. Then on Friday, word surfaced that Danner also would stay on temporarily as deputy director of the Department of Economic Development. The agency will pay her the difference between her new salary of $75,000 and her old salary of $110,000. 

The news sparked a partisan feud, with Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon defending the arrangement and Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder expressing outrage.

Nixon’s office said Danner would help new department Director David Kerr learn the ropes during an indefinite transition period.  Kinder said Danner should have told the commission of the arrangement.  As a member of the commission, Kinder had opposed Danner’s hiring, abstained on the vote and then proposed the $75,000 salary level.

In the middle was Marci Bennett, a Democrat who replaced Kinder as tourism chairperson on Tuesday. Bennett, who heads the St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau, was caught by surprise by news of Danner’s dual roles. But after talking with Danner late Friday afternoon, Bennett said Saturday that she supports the arrangement. 

Bennett compared Danner helping Kerr to former acting tourism Director Bob Smith staying on to share his “great institutional knowledge” with Danner. Bennett said Danner’s role in helping Kerr “should be concluded as soon as the division transition is concluded,” or by July 1 at the latest.

In an e-mail to fellow commissioners, Bennett wrote:

“Katie assured me that she is 100 percent committed to getting to know the business of the Division of Tourism, and has already been doing so, since Tuesday. She also is committed to helping David Kerr settle in on his new position and give him the assistance he needs, temporarily. She assures me that she IS a full time employee of the Division and her work for DED is temporary and will not take away from her duties and is looking forward to the July 1 date we set for a review.”

The commission had already planned to review Danner’s performance and salary on July 1, the start of the fiscal year. Bennett said she believes the maximum pay range for the tourism job is roughly $92,000.

Bennett said she has no doubt Danner will devote full-time to the tourism job. 

“I can tell you, the woman never sleeps,” Bennett said. She said she has received early-morning calls from Danner and ”she’s there ’til 7 or 8 o’clock at night. I think she’s capable of taking on her new responsibilities and helping finalize her old ones.”

In her e-mail to tourism commissioners, Bennett offered to call a special meeting to discuss the matter if colleagues object to it. She said that other than Kinder, commissioners “seem to be fine with it.”

Asked whether Danner or the governor’s office should have consulted her about the arrangement, Bennett said: “Not really.”

Then she added: “It would have been nice.”