Chiropractic (General)

How Do the Same People Stay in Control of the National Board?

Donald M. Petersen Jr., BS, HCD(hc), FICC(h), Publisher

Make no mistake about it, there is a great deal at stake in the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) elections. The board spends more than $7 million each year and refuses to tell the profession specifically on what it is spending that money.

The individual board members are paid a per diem as well as travel and other expenses. These are not small figures. In 1999, the last date Dynamic Chiropractic could get this information (more on that later), this totaled over $600,000 for all 11 board members, with some board members apparently getting paid much more than others.¹

The politics for the upcoming elections in May have turned into a very heated battle. The reform group of four board members is gaining support from the state board delegates. There is a possibility that the control group could lose its position of power. If this happens, the reformists will institute greater transparency, open reporting of financial details and a higher degree of accountability. Both the current and past activities of NBCE board members would undergo the profession's scrutiny.

David Brown, DC, former NBCE board member, pulled no punches in expressing his opinion of national board politics when he addressed the delegates at last year's meeting:²

"But after all this - and this embarrasses me and should embarrass you -after all this, the dirtiest, the most underhanded politics I have ever experienced have occurred here, at the annual FCLB and NBCE meeting.

"I am talking about misinformation, untruths and backroom deal-making that have regularly occurred in our elections, especially National Board elections. Why do these elections stray from normal election tactics - making calls, having friends make calls, sending letters, giving speeches - to tactics that are, to me, unethical."

Based upon what we are hearing, the politics in this year's elections are worse than most.

In the past, there have been a number of techniques used to "get the vote." These usually fall into several recognizable categories:

Control the state representatives. The best way to retain control of the national board is to try to influence who is going to vote from each state. Control who's voting and you can control the vote.
Capture naïve votes. This is a technique whereby a current NBCE board member approaches a new state delegate before the meeting. They take the new delegate under their wing and get them to commit their vote. This usually happens before the new state delegate understands the issues. Once they do, they don't feel like they can change their vote because they have already committed.
National board payola? The people who control the national board have the ability to decide who gets to be on what committee, who travels and who stays home. They can make promises about any number of NBCE positions that include increasing levels of prestige and pay. Not only can this get the initial vote, but it also can desensitize the state delegates from being appalled if they recognize this kind of activity in the future.

Fortunately, there are a number of things a state delegate can do in order to easily recognize who is truly for reform and who isn't:

Ask hard questions. The candidates for each district are well-known before the election. Ask them where they stand, what they've voted on in the past, whom they vote with and who supports them. Birds of a feather flock together.
Ask all incumbents for last year's 1099s. Yes, that's right, ask all 11 board members for their NBCE 1099 for 2005. This will tell you how much money they got from their position on the national board. If you ask Drs. Scott, Temple, Weathersby and Smith (the reform group), they will be happy to let you see them. The members of the reform group openly state that they have nothing to hide. If the NBCE board spent $600,000 on board member travel and per diem (about $55,000 average per board member) like they did in 1999, it will be easy to see how much of that went to the members of the reform group and how much went to the control group.
Go on record: vote face up. Last year, the reformists decided to vote face up instead of secret balloting. This told everyone how each person voted. This forces accountability in the voting process for those who represent others when they vote. While individuals voting for themselves have the right to secret balloting, representative delegates, such as those in Congress and those on state licensing boards, vote "on the record." If you are a state delegate voting for a candidate from your district, vote face up. Be accountable for whom you are supporting.
Don't automatically elect the district nomination. There will be elections for the board members from Districts 3 and 5. These are the only board positions the NBCE state delegates get to vote on! The districts make the nominations, but the actual election for each district director is performed by the entire body of state delegates. If you don't agree with the district nomination, vote against the candidate. If they don't get the vote from the majority of the state delegates, they aren't elected.

If you aren't a state delegate, all is not lost; you can still have an impact on this year's national board elections. A list of the NBCE delegates (and alternates) for each state, along with their contact information, is included at the end of this article. Please call your state delegate(s) and discuss the above four points, along with the following:

Tell them you want them to ask hard questions from the candidates before the elections. Are they for reform? Are they for term limits? Are they for reduced spending? Will they demand transparency?
Tell them you want them to collect copies of the 1099s from all 11 board members. Those board members who refuse to provide them shouldn't be supported.
If you are in the northeast (District 3) or south (District 5), ask your state delegate to vote face up and be accountable for their vote.
Ask them to vote against any District 3 or 5 candidate who doesn't support what you believe is good for chiropractic. This is the only choice you have in the election process.
Finally, ask them who they plan to vote for. Let them know they are accountable.

If every state delegate votes for what is best for the chiropractic profession, there will be change. And we will all feel good to finally see it.

2006 NATIONAL BOARD STATE DELEGATES

Alabama:
Carl Nelson, D.C. 334-222-6440
Giles X. Beaumont, D.C. 251-341-1211

Alaska:
Rosemary Zimmerman, D.C. 907-360-5936
R. Clark Davis, D.C. 907-225-6815

Arizona:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

Arkansas:
Beverly J. Foster, D.C. 501-371-0152
Michael D. Courtney, D.C. 870-534-1231

California:
David F. Yoshida, D.C. 310-327-5102
Barbara Stanfield, D.C. 909-884-6677

Colorado:
Reiner Kremer, D.C. 303-688-1111
Jeanne DesRoche, D.C. 303-741-2444

Connecticut:
Matthew W. Scott, D.C. 203-775-4968
Agostino A. Villani, D.C. 860-257-7448

Delaware:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

District of Columbia:
Anthony J. Mirando, D.C. 202-244-4444
David S. Bronat, D.C. 202-296-1601

Florida:
Salvatore LaRusso, D.C. 561-793-4700
Kenneth Dougherty, D.C. 386-423-5259

Georgia:
James A. Anchors, D.C. 770-394-0345
Karen I. Mathiak, D.C. 770-227-0333

Hawaii:
Nicholas G. Opie, D.C. 808-261-5100
Francis G. Brewer, D.C. 808-593-0313

Idaho:
Glenn W. Moldenhauer, D.C. 208-467-5759
Shannon Gaertner-Ewing, D.C. 208-467-5994

Illinois:
William J. Rademacher, D.C. 309-663-8388

Indiana:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

Iowa:
Steven Kraus, D.C. 712-792-4000
Rodney R. Rebarcak, D.C. 515-233-2263

Kansas:
Gary Counselman, D.C. 785-234-0521
Ray Conley, D.C. 913-338-3344

Kentucky:
Frank G. Hideg, D.C. 270-444-6774

Louisiana:
Kelly B. Faircloth, D.C. 318-442-8838
R. Buckley VanBreemen, D.C. 225-647-8712

Maine:
Paul N. Morin, D.C. 207-784-8002
Moshe Myerowitz, D.C. 207-947-3333

Maryland:
Marc Gamerman, D.C. 301-797-3737
Margaret Renzetti, D.C. 410-221-0781

Massachusetts:
Kirk J. Shilts, D.C. 617-277-1344

Michigan:
Soloman L. Cogan, D.C. 248-471-5554
Timothy J. Spencer, D.C. 734-426-0902

Minnesota:
LeRoy Otto, D.C. 651-345-3361
Howard A. Fidler, D.C. 952-925-4085

Mississippi:
L. A. Norville, D.C. 601-932-3855
Michael Patterson, D.C. 662-843-8712

Missouri:
Lee Richardson, D.C. 816-444-4330
Jack D. Rushin, D.C. 573-785-5666

Montana:
Daniel Prideaux, D.C. 406-721-4425
Thomas P. Fullerton, D.C. 406-257-7463

Nebraska:
Gaylord H. Hanssen, D.C. 308-382-7470
Lance E. Earhart, D.C. 308-995-5454

Nevada:
Margaret Colucci, D.C. 702-880-5335
Ian K. Yamane, D.C. 702-656-6608

New Hampshire:
Kevin S. Moriarty, D.C. 603-595-7434
Leo M. Kenney, D.C. 603-356-2471

New Jersey:
Mary Ellen Rada, D.C. 732-901-4343
Lawrence O'Connor, D.C. 201-664-6000

New Mexico:
Leslie Schmidt, D.C. 505-884-1240
William Doggett, D.C. 505-884-0771

New York:
Ali M. Jafari, D.C. 716-668-8108
Vincent F. Loia, D.C. 914-793-8515

North Carolina:
Steve Willen, D.C. 336-855-8560
Dennis Hall, D.C. 704-782-0111

North Dakota:
Francis R. Corner, D.C. 701-774-8277
Carol Jean Winkler, D.C. 701-223-5001

Ohio:
Earl L. Wiley, D.C. 614-644-7032
Anna Villareal Jenkins, D.C. 740-775-0550

Oklahoma:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

Oregon:
Dominga Guerrero, D.C. 503-669-1966
Michael Megehee, D.C. 541-276-1938

Pennsylvania:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

Rhode Island:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

South Carolina:
Farrel I. Grossman, D.C. 843-552-8000
Norman E. Ouzts, Jr., D.C. 864-229-3017

South Dakota:
Robin R. Lecy, D.C. 605-343-7440

Tennessee:
Michael Massey, D.C. 423-745-8500

Texas:
NO DELEGATE APPOINTED - NOT ABLE TO VOTE

Utah:
Theodore J. Scott, D.C. 801-544-4213
Lew A. Wheelwright, D.C. 801-627-2225

Vermont:
Denise Natale, D.C. 802-228-4243
Sean Mahoney, D.C. 802-655-2664

Virginia:
Valerie L. Hoffman, D.C. 434-799-4000

Washington:
Nancy McCown, D.C. 360-577-0294
Mark Sutton, D.C. 360-923-5588

West Virginia:
Jeffrey L. Summers, D.C. 304-925-0377
J. William Haught, D.C. 304-523-4400

Wisconsin:
James P. Koshick, D.C. 262-785-8989
Steven R. Conway, D.C. 715-848-2526

Wyoming:
Vince Irene, D.C. 307-332-4200
Andrew Nelson, D.C. 307-367-4147

References

NBCE: more questions. Dynamic Chiropractic, April 17, 2000. www.chiroweb.com/archives/18/09/15.html.
More changes at NBCE. Dynamic Chiropractic, June 18, 2005. www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/13/12.html.

DMP Jr.

April 2006