Embattled St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley

Charlie Dooley Lashes Out

Embattled St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley lashed out at a council member at Tuesday’s council meeting over the council’s rejection of one of Dooley’s two nominee’s to the scandal-plagued police board of commissioners.  

Dooley’s heated comments were directed at councilman Greg Quinn (R-Ballwin), the longest tenured member of the council, with regard to Quinn’s comments about his opposition to Robert Baer’s nomination, based on his connection with John Temporiti, Dooley’s campaign manager and treasurer. Quinn’s comments were based on Temporiti’s past history of meddling in police board matters and his suspicion that Temporiti may attempt to influence Baer if nominated, based on his past history.

After the dust settled, the county council rejected the nomination of Robert Baer with the majority of the council members abstaining, resulting in less than a quorum for a vote to approve/disapprove. Those abstaining were Colleen Wasinger (R-District 3), Mike O’Mara (D-District 4), Pat Dolan (D-District 5) and Steve Stenger (D-District 6). Those voting to approve Baer’s nomination were Hazel Erby (D-District 1) and Kathleen Burkett (D-District 2). And, the lone vote against the nomination was from Greg Quinn (R-District 7).

The other Dooley nominee, T.R. Carr, was unanimously approved by the council. As a result, Carr’s nomination ensures that the Board of Police Commissioners now has a quorum, however it still does not have a majority that is needed in order to vote on personnel and other pertinent matters.

For those who have been following this story for the past several months, it all started with the resignation of Floyd Warmann, followed by the resignation of Gregory Sansone, who both left the board under fire, followed by yet another resignation from Raymond Wagner, who left the board for personal and professional reasons. Since that time, county executive Dooley has sought several nominees to replace those who have resigned without any success.

 One of the major concerns of some council members is questioning Dooley’s intent to appoint nominees who will vote to oust County Police Chief, Tim Fitch, as a result of the chief’s speaking out and his calling for an FBI investigation of the county police crime lab scandal.