New VA head approved in narrow vote

WASHINGTON — A vote to appoint a new Washington County Veterans Service Officer divided supervisors on Tuesday, with some worried about a potential conflict of interest driving the decision.

The 3-2 vote means Carrie Rich is approved as the new head of the county’s Veterans Affairs department despite hesitation from Supervisors Jack Seward Jr. and Richard Young, who both voted no on a motion to formally approve pay for the position. The two said they worried Rich’s current role in the county, and her family ties to previous department head Sue Rich may have clouded the judgment of board members who recommended her for the job.

Carrie Rich is currently a Washington County Communications dispatcher, often sending out the local government’s daily Call For Service Log which is emailed to nearby news outlets and posted on Facebook. She’s also a member of the Veterans Affairs Commission, the board that handles most day-to-day operations of the county’s department designated for helping eligible families with rent payments, burial assistance and other expenses.

“I’m not saying anything about ulterior motives or biases or anything else, I know you guys did your best, I’m not questioning that,” Seward said. “I’m just pointing out the appearance.”

Young said he’d heard a rumor that Rich had been “guaranteed this job” when she applied, an accusation VA Commission members denied.

“To me, it does look very biased,” Young said. “Something just really bothers me about this.”

The recommendation to hire Rich as the new director came from Terry Philips and Darren Dennler, two other members of the commission. While Sue Rich sat in on candidate interviews, she did not ask any of the questions, and was not involved in the following applicant-picking deliberations, according to commission members.

Philips said he and Dennler had also worked with the county’s human resources director on their decision, but opted not to consult other veterans service organizations, saying they already knew the Rich name thanks to Sue Rich, and would likely be biased themselves. Dennler and Philips added that they didn’t personally know Carrie Rich well outside of her work with the county, and were careful to systematically evaluate each candidate to remain impartial.

“I weighed very heavily, that my personal feelings not have an effect on things,” Philips said. “I was leaning the other way, that my bias would go against Carrie, and I think she’s well qualified.”

Further complicating the process, Philips said he got unsolicited texts endorsing one applicant or another from others in the county, one of them Seward, which he tried to disregard as the group narrowed down 15 applications and five interviewed candidates.

The other three supervisors said they were on board with the recommended appointment of Carrie Rich. Bob Yoder, Stan Stoops and Marcus Fedler all said they trusted the department’s higher-ups to make their own decisions, and saw concrete advantages to picking an internal candidate over a newcomer.

“It couldn’t have been an easy decision to make, and so it must have been one of those that stood out,” Fedler said. “And if it stood out that much, then I think we should do that, we should do the right thing. What better way than to hire somebody who already works for the county, already knows the county, already has some of those things?”

After Tuesday’s close vote, Carrie Rich is set to begin her work as the Veterans Affairs director on July 22, according to payroll documents presented at the July 16 meeting.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com