A St. Louis Board of Aldermen committee advanced a resolution calling on 12th Ward Alderwoman Sharon Tyus to publicly apologize to 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge over remarks he says crossed the line from political disagreement into violent rhetoric.
The Personnel and Administration Committee voted 5-0 to advance an amended version of Resolution 125, sponsored by Board of Aldermen President Megan Green.
The resolution stems from remarks Tyus made during a Sept. 14 meeting at the Homer G. Phillips Senior Apartments while criticizing Aldridge’s involvement in legislation concerning management of the city-owned property.
Aldridge told the committee residents gave him video from the meeting. In the video, Tyus says Aldridge would be “the first person I’d put a bullet in your head because you are not trustworthy.”
Tyus has said the remark was an analogy intended to express her distrust of Aldridge, not a threat. In a statement after the meeting, she said she was comparing their relationship to soldiers fighting in a war and said Aldridge was the person she would trust least.
The dispute grew out of Aldridge’s involvement in legislation concerning management of the Homer G. Phillips Senior Apartments. Aldridge said residents have complained about heating and air conditioning failures, pest infestations, trash problems and a lack of hot water in some units.
He said he introduced legislation related to transferring management of the city-owned property after hearing concerns about conditions there.
“We can’t let the politics get in between the quality of life of seniors that have been dealing with this for a very long time,” Aldridge said.
Aldridge said disagreements among elected officials are expected, but he believes Tyus’ language went beyond normal political conflict.
“No member of the Board of Aldermen should speak that way when it comes to their colleagues,” Aldridge told the committee.
He urged members to support the resolution and said the board should issue a verbal censure if Tyus does not apologize after the resolution is adopted.
Green said the resolution was introduced to formally address the remarks and establish expectations for conduct among board members.
“The purpose of this resolution was to compel the alderwoman from the 12th to apologize for her remarks,” Green said.
If Tyus does not apologize, Green said, the resolution would place a formal reprimand in the board’s public record.
Green said Tyus has characterized her remarks as an analogy used to express frustration, but said intent does not erase the impact.
“I understand the alderwoman from the 12th believes she was using an analogy to communicate her frustration,” Green said. “But for me, what’s at issue isn’t her intention. It’s the impact.”
Aldridge said he was less concerned about Tyus personally acting on the remark than he was about how others could interpret it.
He said the comments made him more aware of his surroundings and more conscious of how political language can affect people outside City Hall.
“Words have meaning. Words have power,” Aldridge said. “We need to be cooling things down instead of escalating things up.”
Alderwoman Pamela Boyd said the controversy raises a broader question about how board members treat one another.
“As a board of the city of St. Louis, we are held to a higher standard,” Boyd said.
She said accountability should be consistent and not limited to one member.
“We can’t pick and choose who we want to hold accountable,” Boyd said.
Boyd said rhetoric involving shootings and violence can reopen wounds for families who have experienced gun violence.
“We want our youth to govern themselves, but we’re not governing ourselves,” Boyd said.
Precious Jones, a community leader and mother whose son was killed by gun violence, said she contacted Tyus after hearing about the remarks and asked her to publicly apologize.
“For mothers like me, a bullet is not an analogy,” Jones said. “A bullet changed my family forever.”
Jones said the language carries added weight when public officials are asking young people to put down guns, control their emotions and de-escalate conflicts.
“What message are we sending when an elected official uses that kind of language during a disagreement?” Jones said.
Green acknowledged that the board has limited options for disciplining an elected member, particularly because the remarks were made outside an official Board of Aldermen meeting.
She said traditional disciplinary measures, such as removing a member from committee assignments, would have limited effect in this case because Tyus has not regularly participated in committee hearings to which she has been assigned.
Green said the board will examine what conduct should warrant action beyond a verbal censure and what options are legally available.
She said members also will review board rules before the next legislative session to determine whether stronger standards are needed for discourse during meetings and in the community.
Green described violent rhetoric as an anomaly for the board but said members must hold themselves to appropriate standards even during sharp disagreements.
Aldridge said the resolution sends an important message regardless of whether Tyus ultimately apologizes.
“At the end of the day, I am proud at least that this board and my colleagues are working on a resolution to make sure that we show to the general public that that is not acceptable,” Aldridge said.