St. Louis County stands strong over authority to hire next St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - The fight over who should make the call to replace Wesley Bell as St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney continues a week after he was elected to Congress.
Bell easily defeated Andrew Jones Jr. in the Missouri’s First Congressional District race. The district covers all of St. Louis City, all of North County and small parts of Mid County and West County.
A day after the election, the announced he would be choosing the replacement instead.
Some legal experts told First Alert 4 Investigates last week that it’s unclear who will get to make the final pick for prosecutor, but they agree this battle is certainly political.
Page, a Democrat, claims he can appoint a Democrat as Bell’s replacement, according to the county charter. However, Gov. Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey argue that the state constitution overrides the charter, giving the governor the authority to make his own pick.
Parson appointed Kim Gardner’s replacement as St. Louis Circuit Attorney when she resigned last year, but the circuit attorney’s office is created under state law, not a county charter, so it’s a different scenario.
When St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar resigned, that county’s executive appointed a Republican replacement without interference from the governor.
A week after the election, St. Louis County Counselor Dana Tucker Redwing sent a letter to Bailey regarding the dispute over who would select the next St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney. Redwing states that the letter previously sent to them regarding fulfilling the position ignored Article VI, section 18(b) of the Missouri Constitution, which allows charter counties to determine the selection process to fill a county vacancy.
In the letter, Redwing writes, “The Missouri Constitution requires the St. Louis County Charter to provide for the manner of selection of county officers. The St. Louis County Charter does just that, expressly, by requiring the St. Louis County Executive to appoint a successor to the office of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney in the event of a vacancy, subject to approval by the County Council.”
Redwing concludes that if Bailey has additional legal authority, he should submit it to the county by the close of business on Nov. 15; otherwise, St. Louis County will move forward and consider the matter resolved.
Tuesday night, the St. Louis County ed a bill to allocate $354,000 to the prosecutor’s office to avoid layoffs. That measure goes to Page for his signature.
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