Statewide voters in Missouri returned control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to city government on Tuesday, passing Proposition A by more than 700,000 votes. It won 1,610,427 votes (63.9 percent) to 910,295 votes (36.1 percent).
Starting July 1, 2013, the police department will be administered under the Department of Public Safety, the largest department under the Mayor’s Office that also administers the city fire department and jails.
“This really creates accountability of the police department to the people of St. Louis,” Mayor Francis G. Slay told The American.
Since a state law passed during the Civil War, the St. Louis police department has been administered by a board of gubernatorial appointees that also includes the mayor. The current police board is engaged in a search to replace Police Chief Daniel Isom, who is resigning.
“We will still go though the process with this board to choose Chief Isom’s successor,” Slay said.
Prop A passed in the city, though by a more narrow margin, 75,418 votes to 58,621 votes – at 56.3 percent, it would have fallen short of the 60 percent needed to pass a Charter amendment. This reflects grass-roots opposition to the ballot initiative process funded by Rex Sinquefield that excluded most of the original local control coalition. The ACLU also raised questions about provisions that seek to seal internal investigative police records and forestall a civilian review board.
“I’m not totally happy with the way we got it, but I’m glad we got it,” said Tishaura O. Jones, who was elected as city Treasurer on Tuesday. “The onus going forward is on the mayor to try to strike a balance between what the ACLU wants and to protect the rights of police officers when you have a sensitive situation.”
St. Louis city voters did, however, pass a Charter amendment by the 60 percent needed on Tuesday, passing Proposition R to reduce the size of the Board of Aldermen by 79,071 votes (61.49 percent) to 49,512 votes (38.51 percent). After the 2020 Census, the city will be redrawn from 28 wards to 14.
“In the short run, it’s symbolic that the city of St. Louis supports progress and is willing to modernize government,” Slay told The American. “It will make the city half as parochial and bring a change of approach to city government overall.”
Statewide, voters crushed a proposal that would have tampered with Missouri’s progressive Non-Partisan Court Plan for appointing judges to a number of circuit courts (including St. Louis County and city) and the state’s appellate benches, including the Supreme Court. Amendment 3 would have given the governor power to appoint a majority of lawyers to the Appellate Commission.
Statewide voters defeated the measure by 1.3 million votes, a more than 3 to 1 margin, 76 percent to 24 percent. “Missouri has spoken,” Tishaura Jones said.
Health advocates were disappointed to see a measure that would have increased taxes on cigarettes to raise revenue for education and smoking cessation defeated. Proposition B was beaten statewide by a little more than 40,000 votes, 50.8 percent to 49.2 percent. It passed by large margins in St. Louis County and city.
Proposition E, which prohibits the governor from setting up a federal-mandated health exchange without the state Legislature’s approval, passed statewide by nearly 600,000 votes, 61.8 percent to 38.2 percent. It passed in the county but was defeated in the city.
“That’s another exercise in futility,” Jones said. “Federal law trumps state law. It’s a waste of time and money on a useless referendum.”
Proposition L, a small tax levy to fund capital improvements to St. Louis County Library, passed easily in the county, 244,580 votes (58 percent) to 177,262 votes (42 percent).