Relief, frustration greet Spencer’s turnaround on city contracting program

Mayor Cara Spencer’s sudden reversal on minority contracting has been met with relief — and a touch of exasperation — from critics who say the program never should have been shelved in the first place.

Aldermanic President Megan Green said she was glad to see Spencer put the decades-old effort back in place but questioned the need for the detour.

“It probably wasn’t necessary to pause the program, but we got it figured out and most of us who were grumpy with the initial decision are happy with this one,” Green said after Spencer’s announcement last week.

Others were more blunt. Alderwoman Shameem Clark-Hubbard (Ward 10) said she was never convinced the Trump administration posed a credible legal threat to the program, despite its efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“To me, it seemed like people used that when they wanted to, conveniently,” Clark-Hubbard said. “I didn’t see anything that should have scared us, especially when (the disparity study) was already law and we had the data showing it was already working.”

The city’s Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise program promotes economic inclusion by certifying companies that are at least 51% minority- or women-owned, with the aim of increasing their share of city contracts and development projects. A disparity study, conducted every five years, measures how well those businesses are represented.

Spencer had put the brakes on the programs, citing legal risks under President Donald Trump’s pushback against DEI efforts. The decision sparked an outcry that forced City Hall to revisit the issue.

Standing before supporters last week, Spencer signed Executive Order 91 to bring back the program under what she called a “strong legal framework.” The revised version, drafted with the help of the St. Louis Development Corp. (SLDC) and Atlanta-based law firm Griffin & Strong, sets participation targets on a contract-by-contract basis instead of applying a single standard across all city work.

“This is a day to celebrate,” Spencer said. “The city proudly remains committed to using its spending powers in a way that effectively and fairly addresses the disparities documented in contracting. We have complete confidence that it will stand up to legal scrutiny and will be effective.”

Contractors and advocates welcomed the mayor’s change of heart, though some said the city still has work to do. Yaphett El-Amin, executive director of MOKAN, praised Spencer for reinstating the program but said she will be watching closely as the new “project-by-project” system of setting goals unfolds.

“We feel it’s the right thing to do to move diversity forward in our community, and I commend Mayor Spencer for her valiant efforts,” El-Amin said.

Otis Williams, SLDC’s president, said the project-specific goals make the city’s efforts “more defendable” and better aligned with the 2024 disparity study, which documented persistent gaps in access for minority- and women-owned businesses. He said he hopes the Board of Aldermen will adopt a new ordinance by November to put the changes into law.

Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.