Lawsuit filed over control of St. Louis County Council
The lawsuit alleges that the vote during the special session was unlawful and in violation of the St. Louis County charter Author: Jacob Kuerth Updated: 7:58 PM CST January 16, 2021
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. St. Louis County filed a lawsuit on Saturday against four other councilmembers to prevent them from taking control of the council following a controversial vote a day earlier during a special session.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, a Democrat representing District 5 and Councilman Ernie Trakas, a Republican representing District 6, alleges that the vote during the special session was unlawful and in violation of the St. Louis County charter.
St. Louis Public Radio
Democratic St. Louis County Councilmembers Lisa Clancy (left) and Rita Days are both vying to chair the council.
Updated at 9:35 p.m. Jan. 19, with Rita Days running the St. Louis County Council weekly meeting
The St. Louis County Council on Tuesday broke through its stalemate over who chairs its meetings at least for this week.
Council members passed numerous bills Tuesday with
Rita Days running the meeting. Days and three other council members voted to make her chairwoman on Friday, reversing a Jan. 5 vote that chose Lisa Clancy as chair for another year.
Clancy said that while she didn’t agree with Days running Tuesday’s meeting, the county had business to complete.
A bipartisan coalition of four members of the St. Louis County Council are calling a special meeting of the council today to elect a new chair and vice chair for 2021 something the three other members say has already been done.
The special videoconferenced council meeting is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15. To join the meeting via computer, use this link:
Members of the public can also listen to the live audio of the meeting by dialing 1-408-418-9388 United States Toll – Access Code: 132 724 9712.
Under a change voters made to the county Charter in 2019, new council members and the county executive are no longer sworn in Jan. 1, as had been the custom for decades. Instead of holding the inauguration on a holiday, the council and the county executive are sworn in on the second Tuesday of the year.
Cristina Fletes / St. Louis County
Under the twin shadows of the insurrection in the U.S. Capitol and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, St. Louis County leaders took their oaths of office Tuesday in a ceremony streamed live on YouTube.
County Executive Sam Page; Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-St. Louis County; and Councilman Ernie Trakas, R-St. Louis County; participated in the official inauguration festivities. Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway, D-Chesterfield, held a private ceremony.
Page has held the county executive post since April 2019, when the council voted him into officeafter fellow Democrat Steve Stenger resigned while under investigation for corruption. The 2020 election was to fill the remainder of Stenger’s term Page would have to run again in 2022 for a full term.