Board fires Arts Board members of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts voted this morning to oust executive director David Farmer.
director after he
refuses to quit
The action comes after nearly
a year of disputes at the
state cultural foundationBy Suzanne Tswei
stswei@starbulletin.comFive members of the board present today asked for Farmer's resignation but Farmer declined, leading the board to terminate him. Two members were absent and two, including the former chairwoman, resigned in the past few days. Another two had resigned previously.
Farmer is the first director to be fired in the history of the state agency.
Farmer objected to the board's discussing his resignation behind closed doors, however, the board denied discussing the issue in secret.
The state foundation administers state arts and culture programs.
They are working to open a state art museum in the One Capitol District building.
Last March, Farmer took over management of the state agency and within months became the subject of complaints involving allegations of poor management and unethical conduct.
A foundation employee charged that Farmer used a state-paid cellular telephone to conduct his private law practice while on a state-paid trip to the Mainland in the summer. Farmer said his law business is conducted on his own time and is unrelated to his foundation position.
The employee submitted detailed telephone charges and the complaint is being investigated by the State Ethics Commission.
In November, 11 subordinates submitted a non-confidence letter to the board, complaining of a hostile working environment.
However, nine other subordinates wrote a counter letter to the board expressing support.
In a recent interview, Farmer said he has had to battle long-entrenched "bureaucrats" who resisted change and refused his directions. They failed to get along with him and his predecessors, and worked to oust whomever took charge of the agency, he said.
Some employees also have filed grievances against Farmer with their union.