Dolan, of Lake Saint Louis, expects to be working in his new job sometime in November, Baker said.
"I'm pleased to have been a finalist and will be executing a contract with the Missouri Health Care Association this weekend," Dolan said Friday.
"I've always believed the citizen legislature works, but
taking care of my young family — and term limits — certainly require me
to discuss such offers, and I look forward to continuing to serve the
people of Missouri in this new capacity as a CEO and government-affairs
professional," he said.
The statewide association, based in Jefferson City, represents nursing
home owners and administrators. In 2003, Dolan sponsored the Missouri
Nursing Home Reform Act.
Michael Woodard, president of the association, on Friday notified
members that a contract would be offered to Dolan.
Dolan, 38, has risen to a position of power in the state Republican
Party. He is chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and has
played a key role in many county road projects.
Dolan also is the GOP Senate caucus chairman and a member of the
Medicaid Reform Commission, a position that has brought him criticism
from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which referred to him as "Senator
Nasty" in a Sept. 5 editorial. The newspaper chastised Dolan for
allegedly bullying a man in a wheelchair who was using a ventilator and
spoke before the commission.
In response, Dolan said the newspaper inaccurately portrayed the public
hearing in an effort to attack him personally.
Dolan and his wife Leanne, who is the assistant St. Charles County
recorder, have two children, Hannah, 5, and Jonathan, 3.
"Sen. Dolan has decided to give his family a fiscal and physical
presence that they have not yet had during his 10 years of dedicated
service," Baker said.
Dolan's new job is considered by many as one of the plum private sector
chief executive officer positions in Jefferson City. He probably will
earn a six-figure income. He is paid $31,000 annually as a part-time
legislator.
But Dolan's decision to leave the Senate was not based only on financial
considerations. Baker said term limits played a role as did Dolan's
decision not to challenge U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-2nd District, for
election to Congress.
Dolan served three two-year terms as a state representative for what at
the time was the 13th District in western St. Charles County. He was
elected in 2002 to a four-year Senate term, representing western St.
Charles County and Lincoln County.
During most of his political life, Dolan served in the U.S. Army Reserve
and the Missouri Army National Guard. He drew national attention in the
fall of 2003 when he flew to Jefferson City from his post at Guantanomo
Bay, Cuba, to cast the deciding vote in overriding then-Gov. Bob
Holden's veto of the concealed-carry law.
Dolan has been an effective advocate for his district and St. Charles
County, said County Executive Joe Ortwerth.
"A lot of people at different times have claimed to be a voice for this
or a voice for that," Ortwerth said. "Jon effectively championed the
area of the western county and did so with concrete results.
"Jon is one who, unlike any other that I have worked with in the
Legislature, really came to understand transportation issues," Ortwerth
said. "He was able to exercise his influence as a senator to bring about
results for his district and for the county in a very tangible way."
Dolan said it is up to Republican Gov. Matt Blunt to set a date for a
special election to replace him. The earliest would be February, he
said, but that deadline is fast approaching.
Republican and Democratic committee members assigned to the state
legislative district committee, within the confines of the 2nd
Senatorial District, will choose their respective candidates, Dolan
said.