For several months, the EYE has called attention to St. Louis County Council Chairwoman Rita Heard Days’ inexplicable and costly delay in calling a vote on issuing bonds for the County’s share of financing the St. Louis Convention Center’s upgrades and repairs. The County was legally on the hook for the bonds, but Days flexed her chair powers and refused to call the bond bill up for a vote – for months.
Fast forward to March, when a reporter made a public records request for Days’ emails and uncovered a potential cause for her stalling: Days did not want to disclose details about the location of the project or who prepared the budget. Though her reasons for hiding that information from the public remain unclear, open public records revealed Days’ communications with Seneca Commercial Real Estate CEO Larry Chapman, and a potential partnership with Clayco to build a North County recreation center.
Of note, Clayco’s CEO Bob Clark previously had launched a campaign against the issuance of the bonds, which again, were required to cover the County’s financial obligation to the Convention Center renovation project. Clark has a financial interest in a neighboring project north of the Convention Center site, in partnership with embattled developer Paul McKee’s stalled NorthSide Regeneration.
Now that the dust has settled and the first phase of renovations to the Convention Center have begun, the total cost for Days’ delay – seemingly linked to the months-long concealment of project consultants – was calculated to be $88 million. The location of the recreation center has yet to be determined, and the County’s hotel tax fund is expected to pay for the additional funds needed for the project.
The $88 million figure is based on increased inflation rates, inevitable rise in interest rates, and rising costs of construction. The City of St. Louis issued its convention center-related bonds in late 2020 and the entire project has been waiting for the County to act. Days has declined to speak further on the issue, beyond a public statement on the North County recreation complex. Meanwhile, her opponent in the August 3 primary, Jennings councilman Terry Wilson, has picked up several more key endorsements, including the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 655.
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and Public Safety Director Dr. Dan Isom announced Lt. Col Michael Sack will serve as the interim Chief of Police for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
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Days’ former attorney and County Executive candidate Jane Dueker is dealing with some political backlash of her own. Last week, the St. Louis Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC-STL) voted to endorse Dueker as a Democratic candidate for the County Executive race. Dueker’s endorsement, however, came with serious consequences for the organization.
A number of other women candidates endorsed by the NWPC-STL rejected the organization’s endorsement of their campaigns, including State Rep. LaDonna Appelbaum (D – 71) and County Councilwoman Lisa Clancy (D – 5th District) – and dozens of community activists denounced the organization’s support for Dueker. Former NWPC-STL board members cited internal issues with race as a basis for their resignations (prior to Dueker’s endorsement) and current board members expressed frustrations with the process.
However, on Tuesday, an executive member of the NWPC-STL announced that the organization was rescinding its endorsement of Dueker – an unprecedented move that addressed Dueker’s very public history of online bullying and Trump-like harassment of political opponents. Jaelith Judy, the NWPC-STL’s communications director, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the organization’s “Policy Council was able to confirm that [Dueker] had made some statements in the past that were not in keeping with the values of the organization.”
Dueker was a key player in Steve Stenger’s County Executive campaign, prior to his federal grand jury indictment and subsequent conviction. Before her own run for County Executive, Dueker served as a registered lobbyist for the white police union and Kingdom Principal, a dark money nonprofit dedicated to dismantling protections for students who are sexually assaulted or harassed on college campuses. Kingdom Principal was launched after its founder’s son was expelled from Mizzou following allegations of sexual misconduct. Dueker’s campaign’s political action committee accepted a $10,000 campaign donation in April from the St. Louis County Police Officers Association while she was still listed as a registered lobbyist for the organization in state records.
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Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and Public Safety Director Dr. Dan Isom announced Lt. Col Michael Sack will serve as the interim Chief of Police for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, while a nationwide search for a permanent chief begins. Sack will step into the role to enable current police chief John Hayden to retire in mid-June.
Sack comes into the office with one loud enemy: former St. Louis Police Officers Association business manager Jeff Roorda. Roorda, the notorious spokesman for the white police union, previously called Sack – a “white shirt” for SLMPD – a “sad sack” and used several explicatives to describe his feelings on the new temporary police chief. Sack’s appointment is supported by the Ethical Society of Police, the police union that represents Black and minority officers.
Sack’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the City’s police department, as last week, the other department’s lieutenant colonel, Larry O’Toole, settled a racial discrimination lawsuit against the City. Part of the $162,000 settlement with O’Toole included his retirement from the department, effective May 21. Most recently, O’Toole oversaw SLMPD’s botched operations during the 2017 Stockley protests, which resulted in several brutal beatings, a mass kettling and arrest of nonviolent protesters, and numerous civil rights lawsuits.
With three openings in SLMPD leadership – the chief position and two lieutenant colonels – the Jones Administration has the unique opportunity to make historic, transformational change at the top. Jones’ policies favoring reforms in policing and nonviolent intervention programs have already shown a positive impact on the City’s crime rates; imagine the possibilities that could come from police leadership that reflects the need for reform of current police practices and greater accountability for police misconduct.
