City Government
Boise Fire Chief On Admin Leave
March 2, 2020 
Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan was placed on administrative leave Monday.
The move is being called a “personnel matter,” hence no one at Mayor Lauren McLean’s office will say why the chief is out.
Doan and other command staff were tagged during the city campaign for mayor for using their official city offices for political purposes. They even used the headquarters address on campaign finance reporting forms.
Doan and the firefighter union were major supporters of deposed Mayor Dave Bieter.
UPDATE 2:30 p.m. Insiders at the BFD say Doan is “officially gone.” This administrative leave may be one of the shortest on record, lasting only a couple of hours.
MEANWHILE AT THE COP SHOP
In other public safety news, word on the street is the list of potential candidates for the currently vacant police chief job has been narrowed and includes a female copper from Arkansas, a Native American (Hispanic?), an Asian American, and an old white guy.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Mar 2, 2020, 1:42 pm
“Old white guy”…. Gee, Dave, did you apply? Left yourself wide open…
Mar 2, 2020, 2:10 pm
Not administrative leave. He’s gone.
Email sent to the whole department.
Mar 2, 2020, 2:27 pm
I can’t share the email and still protect my source, but it’s official. He’s done.
Mar 2, 2020, 3:24 pm
No doubt the next top cop will be a female. It’s just the Boise thing to do.
Mar 2, 2020, 4:23 pm
I hope that part of the reason Doan is GONE is because of the Fire Department’s long-time deception over fire station coverage adequacy in the outer regions of town. This is a subject some folks understand much better than me. But it had become painful to watch Doan weasel around in front of City Council claiming development after development (especially those in the NW Neighborhood) would have adequate fire coverage – when the City was plainly not meeting its own safety standards.
Mar 2, 2020, 4:47 pm
Think Dennis will keep his seat at the GBAD and Boise school district?
Didn’t he go over budget on the bond issue of 2014 promoting no new taxes?
EDITOR NOTE–He is not on GBAD (that’s Walker the union press). Schools are totally apart from city government.
Mar 2, 2020, 5:36 pm
Well, when you put it that way, I guess I’ve gotta root for the “old white guy”! (We stick together. And, it’s looking like the 2020 president is being narrowed down to old white guys.)
Mar 2, 2020, 7:20 pm
Draining the swamp! Promises made, promises kept! I bet you his firing was, at least in part, retaliation for his being part of the Team Dave re-election campaign blitzes.
Also no doubt that McLean will choose one of the two former individuals listed for the police chief job. Now we are just waiting for everyone in city leadership to be required to list their gender pronouns
Mar 2, 2020, 7:31 pm
It’s looking like aggressive affirmative action is a policy of Clan McLean. Any news on House Bill 413?
Mar 3, 2020, 8:02 am
This doesn’t sound good. I’m guessing that Chief Doan has learned something or has been asked something that disturbed him so much that he was forced out or has resigned in disgust.
Also, I’m certain that the new police chief will be 100% anti-gun. This Left push is 100% moving in this direction. I expect speeches and rhetoric that will attempt to shame gun owners, while pretending to “support the 2ndA” as always. Make no mistake….these Maoists are anti-gun and anti-freedom.
Believe me, progressives are about taking stuff away, in order to “save us from ourselves.” If it was just about addressing problems that I still think are important, on the merits, I would still be a “progressive.” But when I saw that these tyrants were more interested in controlling people and not solving problems, that’s when I knew I was finished with the Left.
This is why you see a massive #Walkaway from the Democrats. It can’t happen fast enough. I just hope that there are enough and more people in Ada County that are finally waking up to all of this.
Mar 3, 2020, 8:07 am
I’m guessing it was the campaign stuff. Wish him well. We would all want loyal underlings.
Mar 3, 2020, 10:38 am
HB 413 will have a hearing Wednesday 8 am #WW55 Senate State Affairs committee. See you there!!
Mar 3, 2020, 10:42 am
Mayor McLean has a lot of work to do!
Police Chief, Library Director, Police Chief, affordable housing, homelessness, taxes vs spending, restart the Library… Wow that is one helluva mountain to climb first term. I have confidence she surprise us in how well she handles it all. We may not like some of her choices and I am sure there will some up and downs. But overall I think she will surprise us, in a good way.
Mar 3, 2020, 11:34 am
Let’s hope so. On top of all that, Clan McLean will have to deal with the fall out from the implosion of the Bubble-nomics Boise economy. Right now it’s looking like the bubble is deflating in a rather spectacular fashion in spite of the Fed making an emergency 0.5% rate cut.
Mar 3, 2020, 12:26 pm
To ‘Forced Air’: possibly (former) Chief Doan DID something improper as a public servant.
Recall, he was Team Dave’s campaign finance guy more than once, and got elevated from Captain, past all the Deputy Chiefs, to Chief. Friends take care of friends, even if they are incompetent.
Mar 3, 2020, 12:40 pm
Word on the street:
“a Native American (Hispanic?)”
Are you sure about that ‘racial reference’, Editor? Not Italian?
And what kind of street is that anyway?
sounds more like a coffee shop chat with the current guard.
\\
depose: remove from office suddenly and forcefully.
smh
EDITOR NOTE–Two losses and a near 2/3 rejection in about a month would certainly qualify as DEPOSED. You got something against diversity? Nothing wrong with having a wide cast of candidates.
Mar 3, 2020, 1:27 pm
Why do 4 vehicles and 14 responders race to medical calls? It’s pretty scary when I’m halfway across the street with my walker and I need to dive for the sidewalk. Often because fat Martha got her pills mixed up again.
Eastie, your TDS is showing. Don’t worry man, it’s uncle Joe’s turn next. Dethroned is a better way to put it. Although his lieutenant, now queen of the cartel, is just as frightening. I expect every increase possible with a promise to feed house and trasport the bums as the highest city priority. All just in time for a recession to force the taxpayers out of their homes.
Mar 3, 2020, 2:20 pm
And not to get too far off topic but …
Thanks to Dave Kangas for H 413 hearing time and place info.
Three current Boise City Council members (Bageant, Clegg, and Sanchez) have, in various forums, publicly announced they are opposed to election by District. And apparently the Boise Chamber of Commerce also has been lobbying the legislature to kill H 413, so far without success.
For those wanting more information about H 413, here are some links:
Hearing: https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2020/standingcommittees/200304_ssta_0800AM-Agenda.pdf.
Bill specifics: https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2020/legislation/H0413/
Mar 3, 2020, 5:01 pm
That many vehicles and people is standard for a medical call… otherwise, fire depts wouldn’t have any ‘runs’ from their stations.
Mar 3, 2020, 9:44 pm
agreed OWG.
Maybe the simultaneous changing of the guard will allow the mayor to direct new, improved BPD an BFD to coordinate with each other AND with the ambulance response for all local 911 calls. Less cost- equal quality. But that will probably require an Asian-American chief to make that happen, right Chickenhawk? ha!!!
Yes, my TDS inflames when I see/read such things with sexism, racism, xenophobs, hypos, and misogynist comments while the male Legislature passes a bill all worried about a poor woman’s access to reproductive health care- but people are more worried about whether a Boise councilmember lives in South Boise.
I start to shake and it makes me hold by c-4 closer!
Mar 4, 2020, 9:51 am
Boise City just announced Chief Doan will speak at 10:30 am from the steps of City Hall. KTVB will lifestream.
Hoping for honesty on this on – not spin control.
Mar 4, 2020, 11:17 am
Alone with no uniform.
Submitted his retirment to Mayor McLean.
On paid leave to the end of May.
Stated he wanted to set the record straight that this in not because he did anything wrong, not for cause of anything, has not been disciplined.
Really?
One does not get placed on leave for NOTHING!
Mar 4, 2020, 12:22 pm
Read the letter from City HR Director to Mr Doan. Focus on the final sentence… ‘public vote’? Does that mean a vote by the City Council to terminate?
The HR Director needs a lesson in effective communication.
Mar 4, 2020, 12:24 pm
Team Dave is getting smaller and smaller. Does He, Himself have any comment? Doubt it.
Mar 4, 2020, 1:53 pm
I didn’t follow council person McLean’s voting record although I never saw or heard anything that went against Dave Bieter? To bad Lauren didn’t surprise her constituents at a council member level!