CLAYTON — ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Councilman Tim Fitch has called on the state and county’s top lawyers to block one of County Executive Sam Page’s appointees from serving on the Dome authority board.
Page last week asserted he had the authority under state law to ignore a 3-2 vote by the County Council to reject the appointment of Charlie Dooley, a former county executive, to the 11-member ºüÀêÊÓƵ Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority.
In response, Fitch wrote a letter asking ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt to take legal action to vacate Dooley’s seat. That action could include a quo warranto petition, which is used to argue that a public office holder is occupying the seat illegally, Fitch said.
The letter, which Fitch posted Sunday on social media, also asked the Dome authority to prevent Dooley from participating in any votes.
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Fitch said Dooley was an “illegally seated participant†because state law requires legislative approval for appointees.
“Allowing Mr. Dooley to vote with this legal matter pending may poison any matter where his vote decides the outcome of a decision by the RSA board,†Fitch said.
Bell, through a spokesman, declined comment.
Schmitt spokesman Chris Nuelle said his office was “reviewing†the letter.
The office of Brian McMurtry, executive director of the Dome authority, did not return messages requesting comment.
Fitch also said he sent copies of the letter to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Council Chair Rita Heard Days and Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed.
The move comes after Page said last week that he would keep Dooley on the board, which oversees The Dome at America’s Center in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ and is negotiating how to split a $500 million legal settlement between the authority, county and city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Page said he had “sole authority†to appoint a “successor commissioner,†or commissioner who would fill a vacant seat set aside for a county appointee.
The claim was based on a legal opinion by County Counselor Beth Orwick that a state law governing the board did not require council consent for appointees to seats that were vacant or occupied by someone on an expired term.
Page appointed Dooley on Dec. 13 to replace another county appointee, Darold Crotzer, whose term expired three years ago. Both Page and Dooley are Democrats.
At a Feb. 8 council meeting, with only five of the County Council’s seven members present, Dooley’s appointment could only muster two votes, falling short of a majority.
Fitch, R-3rd District, Councilman Mark Harder, R-7th District, and Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-4th District, voted against Dooley’s confirmation.
The three council members said Dooley would serve as a rubber stamp for Page in decisions over the county’s portion of the Rams settlement money.
The vote followed a council hearing in which Dooley, asked by Fitch to explain how he would vote in cases of disagreement between Page and council members, said he ultimately would “represent†Page on the board.
Webb, who joined the council in 2021, also wrote a letter Friday expanding on her vote and asking Page why he couldn’t simply find another appointee.
“Are there no new faces, new talent or other qualified individuals that can bring a fresh outlook on ºüÀêÊÓƵ County?†she said.
Supporting Dooley were Days and Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-5th District.
Page, in his decision to keep Dooley, asserted support for Dooley from two absent council members — Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, and Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-6th District — amounted to tacit majority council support.
Fitch said that was beside the point.
“Even if that is true, their votes were not cast during the matter at hand, and Dooley’s nomination failed,†he said.
And he said Orwick’s interpretation was meant to justify an unusual break in normal procedure.
The Dome authority, established by state law in 1989, provides the county and city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ three appointees each and the governor of Missouri five appointees.
“It should be noted that every board member of the RSA since its inception has been confirmed by its legislative body — either the Missouri Senate, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Board of Aldermen or the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Council as required by law,†Fitch said.
Fitch accused Orwick of bias because she was “appointed by and serves at the pleasure of Mr. Page.â€
The County Counselor is one of several offices designated for political appointments of the county executive, under the county charter.
Asked for a response Monday, Page spokesman Doug Moore accused Fitch of continuing a political feud with Dooley from when Fitch was county police chief and Dooley was county executive.
But Moore did not respond to other questions, including whether the council decision to retain Dooley’s seat set a precedent for future county executives, governors and mayors to keep board appointees rejected in votes by elected legislators.
“The county counselor has issued an opinion and we are proceeding based on that opinion,†Moore said.
Dooley, executive from 2003 to 2015, was defeated in the 2014 Democratic primary by then-Councilman Steve Stenger. Fitch, county police chief from 2008 to 2014, at the time had joined then-County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch in accusing Dooley of corruption and calling for the FBI to investigate his administration.
In 2013, Fitch called for an investigation into a county crime lab contract awarded to the former chairman of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Board of Police Commissioners. The U.S. Attorney’s office found no wrongdoing, and Dooley has said that investigation cost him the election. Stenger, who had accused Dooley of corruption, resigned in 2019 amid a federal pay-to-play sting; he was sentenced in August 2019 to nearly four years in prison, but was released in June 2021.