Changes to the St. Louis charter will soon be headed to city voters for their decision in November, but some of the most ambitious proposals won’t be on the ballot—and that’s likely due to a group of gadfly attorneys called the Holy Joe Society.
Initial Proposals. In July, the nine-member Charter Commission sent the Board of Aldermen five proposals, but two of the most ambitious ones didn’t survive the board’s scrutiny. On Tuesday, Aldermen voted down a proposal to elect a public advocate with subpoena power to investigate or audit city agencies. Last week, another proposal was rejected by aldermen that would have synchronized city elections with federal ones on even numbered years.
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The Hand of Holy Joe. Without Holy Joe, it’s likely all five proposals would have had a more direct path to voters. The group funded a lawsuit last year arguing the Missouri Constitution requires charter changes to go through the “the lawmaking body of the city,” which the suit alleged was being usurped. Later, the City Counselor seemed to defer to that argument, saying aldermen had to be involved in the process. “We brought the lawsuit because we have to follow governing documents,” Holy Joe member Bevis Schock says. “If we don’t…that’s a quick road to poverty and tyranny.” Holy Joe is the same group that last month forced a pause on the mayor’s Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program.
DOA @ BOA. Aldermen had their reasons for voting down the proposals. Alderman Shane Cohn argued that having municipal elections on even years would force candidates to compete for attention with state and national races, as well as make municipal candidates spend more to get their message out. (It would have almost certainly increased turnout, too.) About the proposed public advocate, Alderman Bret Narayan, who voted against it, tells SLM the “largely duplicative” position would have cost $5 million annually and handled functions already managed by the mayor, the comptroller and the board itself. A previous proposal to eliminate the office of City Comptroller Darlene Green didn’t even make it to the BOA after facing backlash from Green’s supporters.
What Voters Will Weigh in On. Four items are now headed to Mayor Tishaura Jones’ desk and then, with her approval, onto voters in November.
A proposal that would allow the Board of Aldermen to add or remove items to or from the city’s budget, so long as they keep the budget balanced. Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, who championed the proposal, notes that state representatives in Jefferson City, as well as council members in Kansas City and St. Louis County, have this ability, so aldermen in the city ought to as well.
A proposal initially put forth by Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez that would remove the $500 cap on fines the city can levy against derelict property owners. (Velazquez has stressed that these increased fines can only be levied on non-owner-occupied properties, so as not to punish those who simply can’t afford repairs.)
A proposal to create a city Department of Transportation that, according to the language of the bill, would “oversee street design, maintenance, public safety measures, and other transportation projects which are currently managed by separate departments.”
A proposal, sponsored by Alderman Shane Cohn, that would update the language of the City Charter, which was written in 1914 and includes an assumption that the mayor will always be a “he.” This proposal would also rename the Board of Aldermen as the City Council.
