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St. Louis Charter Commission Ousts Controversial Chair

Published

1 year ago

May 7, 2024

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One week after the RFT broke news about infighting within the nine-person group tasked with re-imagining the charter for the City of St. Louis, the chairwoman of the group was removed from her position after a vote of no confidence by the other members.

Last week, the RFT reported that five members of the Charter Commission had sent Chairwoman Jazzmine Nolan-Echols an email calling on her to apologize for comments she made during an April meeting to Christine Ingrassia, director of operations for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and a non-voting member of the Charter Commission.

At yesterday’s meeting, the chair’s removal was begun by commission member Travis Sheridan, who initially called on Nolan-Echols to resign.

“What was exhibited at the April meeting, the public meeting, was unacceptable,” said Sheridan. “We’re getting close to the end of our tenure on this commission, but I do think it’s time for a leadership change.”

Nolan-Echols refused to resign. The other commissioners then quickly passed a vote of no confidence and voted to remove Nolan-Echols from her position as chair.

Briana Bobo, who had been the secretary for the commission, was elected to take her place.

The Charter Commission, the creation of which was approved by voters in April 2023, has been given the responsibility of updating the city’s century-old charter. The document outlines how government gets done in the city, but because it is over 100 years old, some of its language and many of its provisions are antiquated — including ordinances related to horse-shoers. It also sets up a complicated system of city government with a weak executive and a bureaucracy that Charter Commission members themselves say involves “too many people [who] have too many bosses.”

The Charter Commission was put together to update language as well as to streamline government. The proposals they put forth will be voted on in the November election.

However, in recent months, Nolan-Echols increasingly came under fire from other members, who criticized her proposal to employ a California-based, Republican lobbying firm as well as communication she sent to staff that one member deemed “inappropriate and disrespectful.”

Then, at the end of last month’s public meeting, Nolan-Echols reacted angrily after Ingrassia noted that a recent speaker, the Reverend Darryl Gray, is married to the city’s personnel director. She accused Ingrassia of ignoring “the conflict of interest and biases that you may have as part of this process, as it relates to your past cases in running and actively participating in the death of a Black girl in your neighborhood.”

Ingrassia is being sued over a 2014 car crash that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old old.

That first spurred commission members Anna Crosslin, Chris Grant, Scott Intagliata, Anthony Riley and Travis Sheridan to send Nolan-Echols a letter calling on her to apologize, followed by the commission’s vote of removal last night.

For her part, Nolan-Echols has sent Attorney General Andrew Bailey a letter asking his office to take action against those five members for alleged Sunshine Law violations. Nolan-Echols is calling on those five members to be removed from the commission and fined.

She also sent a separate letter to Bailey asking that he take action specifically against Ingrassia as well.

(You can read the lengthy letters in full below.)

The business of replacing Nolan-Echols took up the first 15 minutes of yesterday’s meeting.

Immediately afterwards, the group heard from Jumaane Williams, who serves as New York City’s public advocate, a position the commission has talked about proposing be set up in St. Louis too.

“Obviously there’s some stuff going on that we’re not privy to. It’s just interesting to know New York City is not the only one going through some internal political stuff,” Williams said. “That’s some comfort. I might recommend, in the future, others get invited a little bit after some of the stuff that needs to be taken care of.”

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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