Recently we noted that when the Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Health and the Board of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services of Cuyahoga County merge, they’ll be headed not by a medical professional but by a career bureaucrat, William Denihan. Well, let the record show that Mr. Denihan has fans.
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your recent article, discussing the decision to appoint William Denihan Chief of the new ADAMHS Board, effective July 1. As an employee of Recovery Resources, an agency that is dually certified by both the current Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board and the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Cuyahoga County, I have had the pleasure of working with both Chief Denihan and Dr. [Russell] Kaye for several years. As a provider in the system, it is my belief that both gentlemen were qualified for the position as head of the merged Board, but, as Dr. Kaye eloquently stated, the selection committee believed that the skills Mr. Denihan brought to the table were what the agency required at this time. As for Bill Denihan being well-connected politically, both Mr. Denihan and Dr. Kaye brought their considerable political connections and savvy to a system that desperately needs advocates and supporters. This worked in favor of the men, women and children we serve who have no one speaking up for them — I consider this a strength.
I do not believe that Chief Denihan will allow substance abuse prevention and treatment services to be overshadowed by the mental health system of care, any more than I believe Dr. Kaye would have allowed the opposite to occur. The bottom line is that we are at perhaps the most critical funding juncture this county has seen in several decades, and without all of us pushing together — from the same side — we will risk losing the safety net we have worked so hard to weave. And who are the real losers in this proposition? Those that need the safety net most of all. This community needs champions right now, and any activity that directs our attention elsewhere is attention misdirected. I implore us to push from the same side.
Respectfully yours,
Debora A. Rodriguez, MRC
President & CEO, Recovery Resources
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.
Mr. Denihan was assessed costs for personal calls he made on his state issued cell phone. In addition, he resided in the barracks at the Ohio Patrol Academy when separated from his wife which he later was required to pay the cost of the stay.
The calls were allegedly to his mistress who later became his wife. She worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving which was a private agency that worked with the Ohio Department of Public Safety whcih Mr. Denihan served as director. Essentially, he raided the cupboard while serving as director to find a mistress to replace his own wife.
Mr. Denihan may have earned redemption but many of the alleged calls were to his girlfriend. He was having an affair with a woman from Mother’s Against Drunk Driving while still married. His Department, the Department of Public Safety, worked closely with M.A.D.D. Later, they got married. He would use his cell phone to make the calls while lounging at the Patrol Academy, using it as a cheap motel.
Mr. Denihan was brought kicking and screaming to the table on Deputy Registrar reform. In my many years in government, I have never heard a legislator call the director of a state department “a liar” but that happened when Representative Marc Guthrie, Newark, called Denihan on his proposal to eliminate private contracted deputy registrars with state employees. Representative Guthrie was incensed that Denihan was cooking the figures to justify his position these should be state employees. What a treasure trove of patronage this would have resulted in had Denihan had his way. The good that came out of reform rests with others, not William Denihan. By the way, Guthrie and Denihan are both DEMOCRATS so this is not politically motivated.
Has Mr. Denihan earned redemption? Probably! But he should not bask in the credit of Deputy Registrar reform as if he authored the solution. To pay bills you are not responsible for is foolish and for him to plead some type of innocence is unbelievable. To use his position to house himself at the Ohio Highway Patrol Academy was reprehensible.
If the folks in Cuyahoga County are happy with his performance, so be it!