Readers, the only way we can describe this past week is MESSY – and we aren’t talking about anything that may have happened in Florida. St. Louis politics continues to set its own bar for confusion and chaos from last week’s show-boating disguised as the Budget and Public Employees Committee and ending with former alderman Brandon Bosley’s three-count federal indictment.
In the last few weeks, you’ve read our concerns about Board Bill 29, Alderwoman Cara Spencer’s (Ward 8) gun control bill, particularly regarding the legislation’s constitutionality, the dangers that “stop and frisk” policies create for communities of color, and whether it would actually work. Those concerns were also focused on by several of Spencer’s colleagues during the last Public Safety Committee hearing.
The public accountability and ongoing discussions questioning Spencer’s intentions seem to have struck a nerve. First aiming her ire at Mayor Tishaura Jones last week, Spencer attacked the Mayor’s successful College Kids Children’s Savings Account program in the Riverfront Times, erroneously asserting that the program has “no measurable goals.” The program, launched by then-treasurer Jones and continued under current Treasurer Adam Layne, opens a college savings account for SLPS kindergartners, along with a $50 seed deposit paid by the city, with the goal to cover college-related expenses, such as books, test fees, and tuition. The savings program is designed to give public school students a head start on their college education. Granted, not every child’s family has chosen to participate in the College Kids program – nevertheless this drawback is far outweighed by the program’s benefits.
Spencer – whose “data-driven” mantra often has been characterized as racist – suggested that because only 12% of parents had completed the paperwork to “activate attendance deposits,” the College Kids program is deemed by her to be unsuccessful. Former alderwoman and soon-to-be-termed-out State Representative Donna Baringer was also critical of the College Kids program, and made offensive remarks suggesting that the “treasurer’s office should not be a social service agency.”
Quite the contrary, initiatives through the Treasurer’s Office like College Kids and the Office of Financial Empowerment have made a huge impact on St. Louis’ financial literacy, credit score repair, and other vital educational services to improve the lives of residents of all zip codes.
What the alderwoman fails to acknowledge is that because of this program, tens of thousands of St. Louis children have savings accounts that they otherwise wouldn’t have to help them with post-secondary expenses. Research shows that children with $500 or more saved for college are three times more likely to enroll in college – and four times more likely to graduate – than those without college savings accounts.
What’s so objectionable about that? If the seeds to grow Black wealth in St. Louis can be planted with relatively little effort, why not make those investments in our future now?
Both of these white women’s comments demonstrate their ignorance of having both race and class working against them. They fail to recognize how the College Kids program challenges a mindset created by the need to struggle for basic food, clothing and shelter.
Spencer’s spiral didn’t end there. During last Wednesday’s Budget Committee meeting, Spencer aimed her misguided frustration at Board President Megan Green. She brazenly implied that Green had intentionally refused to appear before the Budget Committee to present the Board’s budget for the upcoming year. “We’re in a very unfortunate position with regards to the Board of Aldermen’s budget because we haven’t heard the Board of Aldermen’s budget before us, which is extremely unusual,” Spencer theatrically lamented, expecting her younger colleagues to stay quiet and not challenge her.
But Alderman Rasheen Aldridge (Ward 14) was quick to correct the record.
“I know last week, Madam President was sick, and…I did mention to you that the staff was ready to present that day,” Aldridge reminded Spencer. “You rather waited until the President was here to actually present it.”
In other words, the opportunity to discuss the Board’s budget was offered but Spencer declined, which caused delays in the Budget Committee’s departmental interview process.
Spencer seemingly miffed by the public rebuke, unexpectedly called up the Board President’s Chief of Staff, Jay Nelson, to answer the questions that he had offered to answer the previous week. However Nelson was well prepared and he breezed through Spencer’s questions about the Board President’s goals to professionalize Board staff. Spencer was one of few voices on the Board calling to reduce the number of support staff, despite current staff asking for additional help,
Spencer is rumored to be strongly considering a run for citywide office in 2025 and is sitting on a war chest of more than $50,000 according to her most recent campaign finance disclosures. Baringer’s own finance disclosures currently show her accounts at more than $64,000, since her January quarterly reports.
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Finally, former alderman Brandon Bosley was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for wire and insurance fraud. The indictment was issued last Wednesday and unsealed on Monday, catapulting Bosley into the media spotlight, not unlike last year’s charges brought against former board president Lewis Reed and former aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad.
According to federal prosecutors, Bosley purportedly purchased a 2010 Toyota Prius for $500 cash from an FBI informant for only one-sixth of the price that was reported to the state. Shortly after, the vehicle was parked outside of Bosley’s campaign office when it was struck by another car. That driver was insured, but Bosley’s was not. The former alderman went back to the FBI informant for auto repairs and allegedly offered him a bribe in exchange for the informant creating an over-inflated repair estimate to submit to Bosley’s insurance company so the company would “total” the vehicle. After Bosley received an $8,000 check for the car, he authorized the informant to buy back the car at auction for $2,000 and make the repairs.
The bribe, as it turns out, was Bosley’s Board Bill 149 from the 2021-2022 session, which repealed a liquor license moratorium in the city’s former Third Ward to the direct benefit of the FBI informant. That informant is believed to be Mohammad Almuttan, the same FBI witness who is directly connected to the indictments of Bosley’s former colleagues. Almuttan was sentenced to four years in federal prison last fall for charges unrelated to the now-four aldermanic convictions, but he is currently appealing that sentence under a completely sealed court file.
On Monday, Bosley appeared for his arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to three charges of wire fraud stemming from the insurance scam. Federal prosecutors announced to the court that they have audio and video recordings of Bosley’s meetings with Almuttan. If convicted, the third-generation politician could face up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine for each count.