Federal judge Nannette A. Baker officially ordered a newly redistricted map for St. Louis County last week, resulting in Councilman Tim Fitch being drawn out of his district. Fitch has been less-than-clear if he would consider running for re-election, telling the St. Louis Post-Dispatch both “I’m not tied to my current address” and “all options are on the table at this point.” Fitch’s current residence has been drawn into the 2nd District; a majority-Democratic seat currently held by Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway.
The newly drawn map comes after 12 weeks of intense federal court litigation and, repeating a trend dating back to 1982, St. Louis County’s district map had to be drawn by a federal judge. The map protects the Black majorities of the 1st and 2nd Districts. Yet, County Council Chair Rita Heard Days joined Republican Bipartisan Reappointment Commission members in suing her former employer, the St. Louis County Board of Elections, and asked the Court through an attorney – surprise, police lobbyist Jane Dueker – to adopt the new map as proposed by County Republicans.
The Board of Directors of the St. Louis Police Officers Association voted to not automatically renew the employment contract of the union’s racist business manager, Jeff Roorda.
After a trial on evidence presented – which included expert testimony by UMSL political science professor David Kimball, multiple depositions, and census data – Judge Baker expressed her disappointment in Republican and Democratic commissioners being unable, for a fifth decade in a row, to come up with an agreeable redistricting map. Referring to redrawing the map as an “unwelcome obligation” and an “unenviable task,” Judge Baker found that population, compactness, and racial indicators for each party’s proposed map were comparable.
But where Democratic and Republican commissioners’ proposed maps differed was on common sense. Democrats argued municipal boundaries should be considered in drawing new lines (as in, keeping smaller cities together under one district), and Republicans asked the federal court to disregard those distinctions altogether. However, Judge Baker determined that the Republican commissioners’ argument that their proposed map was absent of “political considerations” was disingenuous, instead determining its intent was to protect Fitch’s district.
Democratic Bipartisan Reapportionment Commission member and plaintiff Brian Wingbermuehle expressed his relief at the conclusion of the legal drama. “I’m gratified the court didn’t deem Councilman Fitch’s residence as a key component of drawing the new map,” he said. “These districts are not about politicians, they are about people. None of the council members who were in office during the 2010 redistricting cycle are on the Council now. These maps will be in place for 10 more years, and I assume that none of the current incumbents plan to be on the Council in 2030.”
Wingbermuehle said he is glad that St. Louis County voters will continue to have the choice of their Council representatives, rather than the other way around.
SLPOA votes “no” to auto renew of Roorda’s contract
The Board of Directors of the St. Louis Police Officers Association voted to not automatically renew the employment contract of the union’s racist business manager, Jeff Roorda. Roorda has claimed the vote was a “precaution” in consideration of his campaign for a state senate seat against current Republican Reps. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Dan Shaul. The Board declined to provide further details and SLPOA has not commented on Roorda’s employment following the April primary and the expiration of his current contract.
Roorda, now a Republican candidate, previously served Jefferson County in the Missouri State House as a Democrat. His disjointed terms in office followed his public firing as an Arnold municipal police officer, where he was caught falsifying police reports and internal affairs complaints. He then sued the City of Arnold for wrongful termination. Roorda also unsuccessfully ran for the offices of Jefferson County Council District 4 in 2016 and Jefferson County Executive in 2018.
Following the killing of Michael Brown, Roorda’s continual racist behavior escalated even further while he represented police officers across the St. Louis region. He wore a bracelet that read “I AM DARREN WILSON” [the former Ferguson police officer who shot and killed Brown] to a 2015 aldermanic public safety hearing, where he heckled community members and responded aggressively to supporters of a Civilian Oversight Board, culminating in his physical assault of a Black woman. The St. Louis County Police Officers Association eventually voted in 2016 to terminate its contract with Roorda as their business manager; but until last week, St. Louis City’s police union was content with Roorda representing its interests.
Roorda made threats of physical violence against Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Former mayor Lyda Krewson previously had called for Roorda’s removal and stated that he was not welcome in her office. SLPOA’s negotiations of a new collective bargaining agreement fell apart under Krewson’s administration, mostly due to Roorda’s absurd, racist conclusion that SLPOA’s relationship with the City collapsed after Krewson appointed current Chief of Police John Hayden in 2017. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has held strongly to her position that Roorda is not welcome in City Hall under her administration, given the years of racist, bigoted comments directed toward Jones and other elected Black women.
We will keep a close EYE on SLPOA and whether its Board follows through this April, to remove Roorda fully and permanently from his position of power. His exit from public service is long overdue.
