BY VALERIE SCHREMP HAHN vhahn@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8246 AND STEVE GIEGERICH sgiegerich@post-dispatch.com 314-725-6758
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 13, 2014
UNIVERSITY CITY • While a candidate elected by a narrow margin has been delayed by a court action from taking his seat, infighting is splitting the rest of the University City City Council.
Two council members are seeking legal help on whether the city manager violated ethics codes when they say he endorsed the reelection of two members in a city newsletter before the election. City officials disagree on whether at least five firefighters should have been suspended last month for endorsing a political candidate. And one City Council member hopeful who won an election by six votes still hasn’t been sworn in because of a temporary restraining order blocking him from taking office. That slot was held by outgoing member Byron Price, who was lauded by some members at Monday’s meeting for his past work on the council.
“Thanks for the support,” Price said. “This is my last meeting. Trust me, I won’t be hanging around.”
Council members Paulette Carr and Terry Crow are seeking independent legal help on whether City Manager Lehman Walker violated ethics codes when they said he endorsed the re-election of two members in a city newsletter before the April municipal election. Carr said she finds it particularly troubling given that Walker has called out a group of at least five University City firefighters for publicly supporting another candidate on the April ballot.
“I think it’s hypocritical if we give him a pass when he is penalizing the firefighters,” she said in an interview before the meeting. “It’s a powerful endorsement. Most people don’t pay attention to elections. But they might if the city manager speaks out.”
In the newsletter, issued before the election, Carr points out that an article by Walker praised the council for approving surplus budgets, mentioning Michael Glickert, Stephen Kraft and Mayor Shelley Welsch, who were running for re-election. There was no mention of members Carr and Terry Crow. “He used a public newsletter to do it,” Carr said. “That’s public funds. And it’s never been done before.”
Meanwhile, Rod Jennings, who was elected to sit on the council by six votes over Bwayne Smotherson, wonders why he hasn’t been sworn in to take office. He faces a restraining order filed by Smotherson and is awaiting a recount. “I am being irreparably harmed by the shorting of my term by these delays,” he said.
It was unclear when Jennings was to be sworn in, though members said he would be sitting on the council at the next meeting.
Some members are angry because they said they were not properly notified of a May 8 special meeting to approve the election results before the recount was started. Kraft said that by law a certified candidate may take office while a recount is being conducted. He said it’s up to the court to decide whether a recount is needed, and by Monday the city hadn’t received notice it was needed.
Meanwhile, Walker has been feuding with the city’s union firefighters, some of whom posed for council candidates’ campaign photos. All four union-backed candidates lost. State law prohibits first responders from engaging in campaigns while on duty or in uniform. The sides disagree on the definition of “uniform” and whether the workers were on duty.
Meanwhile, members proposed resolutions to disapprove the city manager’s action against the firefighters, investigate his actions in the city newsletter, and solidify qualifications for first responders. Members either voted to postpone action on those indefinitely or until the next meeting in two weeks.
One resolution proposed that the council supports a nonhostile work environment, and that people could not be retaliated against for being a whistleblower.
Price wondered why anyone would postpone action on it. “Either you believe in these values, or you don’t,” Price said.
But some members had issues with the wording. This is already the law, pointed out Kraft. Being a whistleblower isn’t constitutionally protected, said Glickert and Kraft.
The council delayed action.
Copyright STLtoday.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
No comments:
Post a Comment