Alderman Jeffrey Boyd and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones clashed Tuesday, February 6 in a meeting of the Board of Aldermen’s Streets, Traffic and Refuse Committee over their ongoing Parking Commission dispute.
The committee was set to discuss Resolution 188, which “approves that the Streets, Traffic and Refuse Committee is hereby delegated the authority to compel via subpoena the members of the Parking Commission.” The resolution was introduced by Boyd and seems targeted at Jones, who has previously challenged the committee’s subpoenas.
While Boyd had subpoenaed the treasurer to appear at the February 6 meeting, Jones maintained that she was appearing voluntarily.
After the two exchanged tense greetings, Boyd inquired about the presence of Jones’ attorney, Matthew Hans.
“You are a litigant in an active lawsuit against my office,” Jones said. “Therefore, I have the right to be represented.”
Boyd ultimately agreed to allow Jones’ lawyer to stay, but the two continued to clash over legal issues. Their conflict over the Parking Commission derives from a lawsuit Boyd joined aiming to bring the commission under municipal, rather than county, control. This would remove control of the commission from Jones’ office and allow the city to access its millions of dollars in reserve funds.
Since Boyd signed onto the lawsuit, alongside the St. Louis mayor’s office, the Parking Commission has not held meetings. As the chairman of the Streets Committee, Boyd is a member of the commission, and Jones said she has received legal advice advising her not to hold meetings until Boyd’s perceived conflict of interest – suing to end the jurisdiction of the body he sits on – is resolved.
Jones reiterated her reasoning for that decision at the meeting, but Boyd was unconvinced.
“You’ve been advised by your attorneys to willfully and knowingly violate the law?” Boyd asked.
Boyd said city law requires the Parking Commission to meet once a month and the city counselor’s office has weighed in to say he does not have a conflict of interest. Jones argued that state law trumps city law. She later said Missouri Attorney General Joshua Hawley is on her side in the dispute, since Boyd’s argument would undermine state supremacy over local municipalities.
Many supporters of Jones attended the meeting to express their discontentment with Boyd. When Boyd asked Jones to disclose the hourly rate of pay for her attorney, the audience expressed loud disapproval. When he said his concerns were about following the proper process, they chorused, “It’s personal!”
Boyd also asked Jones about an order of protection she filed against him, alleging harassment.
“You spent money on this order for protection, so was it heard?” Boyd asked.
A judge dismissed the case without hearing it on February 4.
“If we didn’t have this lawsuit and we weren’t in this particular situation right now, I wouldn’t have had to seek that remedy,” Jones said. “This is harassment, alderman. This is harassment, and I’m tired of coming in front of your kangaroo court every week, because we have work to do in our office.”
Boyd argued the Parking Commission should return to having regular meetings. While Jones’ response to the lawsuit has not interfered with any of the regular operations of the commission, such as issuing tickets or operating parking meters, it has prevented the introduction of new business.
Boyd argued that when a police officer or firefighter sues the city, they do not stop going to work.
“The city is sued often, and we cannot shut down government operations because the city is sued or there is a lawsuit pending,” Boyd said.
Boyd ended the discussion by asking that Jones provide the committee with copies of all legal contracts and all legal expenditures by the treasurer’s office.
“Let the record show that we voluntarily came and the subpoena is facially invalid,” Jones said.
Her supporters applauded, and later broke into a spontaneous chant outside the meeting room: “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Alderman Boyd has got to go!”
Jones said the subpoena is invalid because it was attested to by an interim clerk who has not been approved by the full Board of Aldermen.
Jones said she believes the conflict derives from a personal grudge Boyd holds against her; she has outperformed him in citywide elections for treasurer and mayor. She also said she hopes to reach a settlement in the lawsuit and return to regular meetings.
“We are elected to do a job of serving the people, and this does not serve the people,” Jones said.
