Ousted Hospital Board Member Says Successor Illegally Chosen

An ousted director of the Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center on Saturday challenged the legality of the appointment of one of his successors, but hospital officials said the former director based his charge on a misinterpretation of state law.

Steve Fox, 39, who was recalled from the five-member governing board in April, charged that the appointment of Dante Simi in May was illegal because only two members of the board voted to add him to the board.

The allegations were the latest salvo in a long and bitter battle over the management of the hospital and the composition of its board.

Fox called on Simi to resign and said he mailed a letter Friday to the secretary of state’s office, asking that Simi’s designation as an appointed incumbent be stripped from the November ballot. Fox, ousted after 16 months on the board, is running in November to reclaim his seat.

Simi could not be reached for comment Saturday. He was appointed to the board of the 341-bed hospital following the May resignation of Dr. Harvey Birsner.

Board members Mike Wilson and Loretta Hansen cast the only votes in favor of Simi’s appointment, while Dr. Ralph Holmes and Larry Parker, who has since resigned, abstained from voting. State law requires that at least three board members vote to appoint a new director, Fox said during a news conference at his Palmdale home.

Medical center attorney Jim Owens said the hospital did not break any laws and that the provisions of state law Fox cited do not apply to hospital districts, although they do govern other kinds of special districts.

Moreover, the state attorney general’s office ruled in 1979 that unless governing agencies decide otherwise, members who abstain from voting on a motion tacitly approve of the actions of those who actually vote. The ruling says: “Those wishing to remain neutral acquiesce in the action taken by the majority of those who vote affirmatively or negatively.”

When told of the attorney general’s ruling, Fox replied, “I don’t agree with the opinion.”

Fox and Anne Brouillette were recalled by voters following more than a year of turmoil at the hospital that involved clashes between some board members and hospital Administrator Jack Evans, who was accused of mismanaging the publicly run hospital.

After Evans’ departure in August, 1991, hospital employees and allies of the longtime administrator mounted a costly recall campaign to oust Fox and Brouillette this spring.