St. Louis County Circuit Judge Thomas Albus issued a ruling Tuesday in a county-funded lawsuit that divided County Council members over who was the rightfully elected council chair: 1st District Councilwoman Rita Days, D-Bel Nor, or 5th District Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-Maplewood. Albus sided with Days and the current bipartisan majority of the council and rejected the county’s legal arguments.
Clancy, the council chair for 2020, appeared to be elected chair Jan. 5 on a 4-3 vote that included outgoing council member Rochelle Gray, after a Charter change said that new council members wouldn’t be sworn in until the second Tuesday of January instead of Jan. 1, as had been traditional. Those same members appeared to elect 6th District Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-Oakville, as vice chair. Trakas voted with the four to elect himself and Clancy.