In a state-run department that attempted to remove politics from the process 10 years ago, accusations of politics have surfaced with the exit of Warsaw License Branch manager Barb Eastlund.

Eastlund, who served as manager for 13 years, was fired last week in what a spokesman for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles said resulted from concerns about security.

But Eastlund said she was pushed out and saw it coming for two years.

BMV spokesman Alvin Hayes declined to comment further on the firing because it is a personnel matter. "There were issues about security that we were concerned about," he said.

Betsy Meggison was appointed to replace Eastlund. Two deputies in the office were re-assigned to other branch offices, Eastlund said.

Meggison would not comment and directed all questions to state officials.

"I feel it was an inside job. It's political," Eastlund said.

Eastlund said the main reason for her firing was that a key had been held by the sheriff's department for years.

"There's been a key out since 1969. It's just something we've always done," Eastlund said.

Eastlund said state officials had been alerted that alcohol was kept in the office. "They said there was open alcohol in the back room, which was not true. They never found anything," Eastlund said.

Eastlund said state officials also expressed concern about apparent political meetings conducted in the facility. Eastlund has been part of the Kosciusko County Republican Central Committee for years and her husband, Gary, is a former elected official.

One of the apparent meetings involved State Sen. Robert Meeks, a Republican who said he's been longtime close friends with the Eastlund family. Allegations of a political meeting are "absurd," Meeks said.

Meeks said he stopped into the branch office Dec. 9 while his car was being serviced in Warsaw. "It wasn't a political meeting, for crying out loud," Meeks said. "I'm a senator. I think I ought to have the right to stop and talk to people even if they're in state government."

Meeks said he had heard that was part of the reason behind the issue, but said he probably isn't fully aware of all the circumstances. He said he has complained to Gov. Frank O'Bannon about the firing and asked for more information.

On the other side, some people speculate that Eastlund was one of the few remaining Republicans overseeing a branch office under a Democrat-controlled state government.

"If that's the case," Meeks said, "shame on them."

Eastlund said there were no concerns about finances in the office.

"We always had perfect audits," she said.

Eastlund was appointed by Republican Chairman Jean Northenor in 1983 and continued to oversee the branch in 1986 when the state began an overhaul of the department that had been politically controlled for decades.

Prior to working for the BMV, Eastlund worked in the sheriff's department and the county courthouse.

Eastlund said she believes Democrats working within the office wanted her removed. The two deputies reassigned to Syracuse and Columbia City were disciplined for not reporting the key to state officials, Eastlund said.

Hayes could not be reached to confirm Eastlund's version of reasons for the firing. [[In-content Ad]]