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Mayor Francis Slay's words were drowned out yesterday by the boos and protests of his opponents.
Slay was trying to deliver a speech at the Old Courthouse during a ceremony honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As soon as the mayor was introduced, protesters began to shout and wave signs. Former fire chief Sherman George, whose demotion by Slay helped spark this fiery political backlash, tried to calm down the crowd down, but to no avail.
These videos are from people in the audience. The video quality is pretty low, but you can clearly hear what happened.
Last week members of the effort to recall Slay warned organizers of the MLK event that there would be problems if Slay was allowed to speak.
After Slay was booed off stage, he stormed out of the Old Courthouse and did not participate in the traditional march or ceremonies afterwards.
Boston Herald, AP Report on Slay's Fire Dept Race Relations Debacle
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 5:09 PM
First the New York Times, now the Associated Press via the Boston Herald.
From yesterday's Herald:
Few brotherhoods are as strong as the one among firefighters, who depend on one another just to stay alive. But powerful racial tensions have divided the St. Louis Fire Department and spilled over recently to City Hall.
In October, the city’s white mayor, Francis Slay, demoted black Fire Chief Sherman George after a three-year dispute over the firefighter promotion exam.
Since then, the FBI has investigated two incidents inside engine houses that were reported as possible hate crimes — one involving a stuffed monkey hung by the neck, the other a noose tied around a cracker box.
More...
George — the city’s first black chief — himself won his first promotion only because of a federal court order in 1978 that found the department’s tests for promotions discriminated against blacks. George, 63, and other black veterans of the department say racism hindered their rise at every step.
"The fire department was a country club for white folks," said retired Capt. Baby Webber, who is black. "Then the black folks started coming in and breaking up their country club."
In today's New York Times (hat tip to the Arch City Chronicle for first noting it), former Riverfront Times reporter Malcolm Gay pens an article on the City of St. Louis' ongoing racial problems following Mayor Francis Slay's handling of the promotions controversy in the fire department.
In demoting Mr. George, some of those leaders said, Mr. Slay brought St. Louis race relations to a new low. Some started a petition drive in support of a mayoral recall.
"Sherman George was an African-American in one of the highest positions in the mayor’s administration — he was an icon," said Alderman Terry Kennedy, chairman of the Aldermanic Black Caucus. "To push him out like that? You’re not doing anything but causing trouble."
Slay's Troubles May Cost Region Millions with Convention Loss
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Monday, December 17, 2007 at 1:46 PM
In response to the recent call to boycott the City of St. Louis, the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Director of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) will arrive in St. Louis tomorrow to meet separately with community leaders and Mayor Francis Slay to determine whether NSBE will cancel its national convention scheduled for 2011 in St. Louis. That's according to the group which called for the boycott and are seeking to remove Slay from office.
By some estimates, the NSBE convention is expected to draw 15,000 visitors and generate as much as $25 million in business for the city.
According to a press release from Slay's opponents, the head of the NSBE will meet with their group before his meeting with the Slay, and will follow that meeting with a joint press conference with the group at 1:30 PM at the Gateway Classic Foundation building.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told Channel 5 reporter Cordell Whitlock yesterday that he thinks Firefighters Union Local 73, which is white-dominated, and F.I.R.E., the African-American firefighters organization, need to come together.
But as Slay was quick to publicly remind ex-fire chief Sherman George, the mayor's office controls the fire department. He can, as he did with George, order both sides to the table.
Instead, he has clearly sided with Local 73.
To now say "something" needs to be done by "someone" "someday" is just skirting his responsibilities once again.
This whole ugly mess with the stuffed monkey hanging in Firehouse 13 has brought to light a serious problem in how the Slay Administration is running both the St. Louis Fire Department and the City.
When the media learned about this incident from a mass email sent out by a member of F.I.R.E. (the organization representing black firefighters), Mayor Francis Slay and his public safety director Charles Bryson responded a few days later by forwarding the situation F.B.I. At no time did the mayor's office or the public safety director meet with or even call leaders of the black firefighters organization to try to dampen the flames which such an incident could ignite.
The Slay Administration's policy with regard to the fire department is to deal only with the firefighters union, Local 73, and not the black firefighters association. The new fire chief also operates under this policy.
It is interesting that the old chief, Sherman George, was instructed by the mayor's office to meet monthly with both organizations. But now, as F.I.R.E. vice-chair Wayne Luster noted at yesterday's press conference, the black firefighters are no longer involved in the direction of the department, even though their membership accounts for nearly 45% of the department.
So what is the real effect of this policy? Well, when the head of the mostly-white Local 73 was asked about the hanging monkey incident, he downplayed it and suggested there was no need for an investigation.
"[The monkey] was put on the coat rack because it was wet and it was drying," Chris Molitor told the Post-Dispatch. As for the rope, he said it "has been attached to that coat rack for several years."
This calls for some clarification.
First, the black firefighters organization, F.I.R.E., while not a recognized bargaining entity with the City of St. Louis, is still nonetheless clear on their mission: representing the interests of black firefighters. And like any good union, recognized or not, they push hard for the advancement of their members.
Local 73 on the other hand has long rejected its characterization as the "white firefighters union." Its leaders say their mission is to represent all firefighters, regardless of color. However, history has not shown that to be the case. And this incident indicates that the professional needs and desires of African-American firemen and women are still not being represented by Local 73.
While Molitor and the people he represents believe that a hanging monkey means little, his African-American co-workers and his bosses (at least publicly) think it deserves serious investigation.
The fire chief and the public safety director told the media Tuesday that the department was taking the situation "very seriously." Though, again, neither have talked to the black firefighters' organization about it.
If Jenkerson, Bryson and Molitor think the fire department can be its best without communicating with the black firefighters organization, they are wrong. But they are not alone. This "blackout" started at the top.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's office — specifically his chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, and his communications director, Ed Rhode — continue to ignore St. Louis' African-American press. No responses to inquires (the St. Louis American has not received a response in over a month). No press releases or notices of press conferences.
How long will the Slay Administration continue this "blackout"? And how long with the white press sit without comment and watch the disrespect of its African-American colleagues?
As a citywide elected official from a majority-black city, Mayor Slay actually has more black constituents than white. But that's not how his administration sees it.
A white elected official recently told me how Slay's chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, once suggested to him that he was wasting his time by attending meetings in north St. Louis.
"They'll never vote for you anyway," Rainford told this official.
Is that how we're going to operate in this city? Elected officials only recognizing the importance of half their constituents?
Where's the outrage among more of our white citizens — our white journalists, our white firefighters, our white elected officials?
I can only hope it is because they sincerely don't know what's going on.
I'd hate to think that you are OK with our city being divided as it is today by the people in Room 200.
Leaders of the city's black firefighters association said today that Mayor Francis Slay's removal of Fire Chief Sherman George has created an "energized atmosphere of defiance and intolerance" among some white firefighters, and it is in that atmosphere that a toy monkey was left hanging from a makeshift noose at a northside fire house over the weekend.
The F.B.I. has been notified of this possible hate crime, but Abram Pruitt and Wayne Luster, co-chairs of F.I.R.E., said no one from the Mayor's office nor Public Safety Director Charles Bryson had bothered contacting F.I.R.E. regarding this incident, despite the organization representing 98% of African-American members of the department.
The following statement comes from F.I.R.E., the African-American firefighters association:
Almost 50 years ago Black firefighters for the City of St Louis were told by white firefighters that they could not attend the firefighters' barbecue.
Those African American firefighters were given $5.00 by the white firefighters and instructed to go have their own function----because of the color of their skin they were not welcome at any firefighters' event in the City of St Louis. It was out of that incident that F.I.R.E. was founded.
African American firefighters understood then that the racism that infected the fire department could not be cured from the inside out.
Unfortunately little has changed with regard to acts of hate directed at black firefighters.
A few days ago a stuffed monkey was hung by a noose in a northside firehouse. This act of hate comes shortly after the first African American fire chief was forced out and replaced with a lesser qualified white firefighter.
F.I.R.E. (Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality) is demanding that the City of St Louis respond to this act of hate properly and F.I.R.E. is also requesting a Federal Investigation.
F.I.R.E. is holding a press conference today at 5:00 PM at their headquarters, 1020 North Taylor Ave.
Burning Crosses, Hanging Monkies. No, not quite the title of a new Wire Fu movie starring Chow Yung Fat. Just the latest chapter in St. Louis' never-ending story of racists behaving badly.
On the same day that a special House committee heard testimony on why the State of Missouri should finally apologize for years of recognizing Africans as the legal property of others, two reports highlight the struggle for racial harmony that still exists today.
Police here are investigating a burning cross that was found Saturday in a black man’s yard on the 3600 block of Sheridan.
Police said a neighbor had seen the 5 foot cross about 11 a.m. Saturday. The resident had not seen a cross when he got home at 1 a.m. the night before. The bottom of the cross burned, and racial slurs were written on it with a black permanent marker.
And in the recently beleaguered St. Louis fire department, where tensions have been high for weeks following Mayor Francis Slay's removal of the city's first black fire chief, a stuffed toy monkey was found hanging in an engine house.
Chris Molitor, head of the predominantly-white firefighters union, Local 73, played down the incident, telling the Post that the stuffed animal was found at a fire several weeks ago by firefighters at the station.
"It was put on the coat rack because it was wet and it was drying," Molitor said. As for the rope, he said, it "has been attached to that coat rack for several years."
Despite Molitor's explanation, the black firefighters union and the new fire chief, Dennis Jenkerson, are said to be taking the incident "very seriously."
FIRE: Slay Ignoring Our Issues, Demand Independent Investigation of Cheating
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 9:57 PM
The group representing African-Americans in the St. Louis Fire Department today called on Mayor Francis Slay to address the issues of their members — which account for 44% of the department — and no longer deal exclusively with the so-called "white firefighters union," Local 73.
Addington Stewart, the chairman of the Firefighters Institute on Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.), also said that only this week was he informed by St. Louis police that they were about to begin an investigation into allegations of cheating by white firefighters on the 2004 promotions exam — three years after the alleged cheating occurred and after promotions have been made off a possibly tainted list.
Stewart said F.I.R.E. wants to see an independent investigation performed by a federal agency, not local police.
F.I.R.E. Rejects Creation of Asst. Chief Position, Demands 50/50 Hiring
By Antonio D. French
The association of black city firefighters is holding a press conference today to once again demand Mayor Francis Slay address the group's concerns.
The Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.), which almost all of the city's African-American fire fighters belong to — representing 44% of the fire department — is upset with Slay for removing Fire Chief Sherman George from his position and for dealing exclusively with the so-called white firefighters union, Local 73.
UPDATE: The group is also calling on a return the 50/50 hiring (one white for every black) policy which the fire department operated under for many years under a federal consent decree.
From F.I.R.E.:
Members of F.I.R.E. will uphold our oath to the citizens of the city of St. Louis to protect property and save lives. We will fight fires aggressively; respond to emergency medical and special calls with integrity and professionalism. Yet we will not stand for our issues to be ignored by the mayor; members of F.I.R.E. is comprised of 98% of the Black firefighters in the department and represent 44% of the members in the St. Louis Fire Department. Our issues with testing are still pending in the federal court of appeals. Racial tensions are present in firehouses and must be addressed. We have witnessed the mayor addressing all of the issues (transfers, civil service hearings, non-establishment of an Advanced Life Support Pumper Program, etc.) of local 73 during Chief George’s tenure. He has affirmed actions for the local in reference to promotions and the demotion of Fire Chief George. His most recent affirmed action was to promote Battalion Chief Dennis Jenkerson to Fire chief over the most qualified officer in the department Deputy Chief Charles Coyle. Yet he has not addressed our chief complaint cheating during the 2004 exam administered by EBJacobs. To add insult to injury they want to create a position and give it to a Black officer to appease Black firefighters we reject that offer. REINSTATE THE FIRE CHIEF SHERMAN GEORGE! The Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality (F.I.R.E.) will not be able to move forward if our issues are not addressed.
Conduct an INDEPENDENT investigation into the allegations of cheating on the 2004 test.
No testing processes should be administered until an agreement on what the system should be and how it should be administered.
An affirmed action in the form of an executive order from the mayor to institute a 50/50 hiring and promotions diversity plan.
F.I.R.E. is against the creation of an Assistant Chief’s position.
Expedite the Civil Service Hearing of Fire Chief Sherman George.
Fire Chief Sherman George earned his pension as fire chief because of his demotion to deputy chief they deliberately cost him 10’s of thousands of dollars in retirement benefits. Reinstate Sherman George back to Fire Chief.
Today's press conference is at 3:30 PM at F.I.R.E.'s headquarters, 1020N. Taylor Ave.
On the "Collateral Damage" radio show Monday night, the hot topic was Mayor Francis Slay's handling of the fire department controversy.
Hosts DJ Wilson and Fred Hessel and guest Antonio French of PubDef.net discussed the appointment of the new fire chief, Dennis Jenkerson; the qualifications of public safety director Charles Bryson; and what "disrespect" has to do with this whole thing.
"Appointing a fire chief, police chief, or economic development director, or public works director, or streets department director because of his of her race is wrong," said Mayor Francis Slay today standing next to Public Safety Director Charles Bryson.
Slay and Bryson announced Dennis Jenkerson as the new fire chief.
Some important things about today's promotion of Jenkerson as the head of the city's fire department:
Jenkerson is a personal friend of Francis Slay;
Francis Slay changed the rules to by-pass the leading deputy chief candidate, who was black (Historically, only deputy chiefs are considered for chief);
Jenkerson was a battalion chief, a lower rank than deputy chief;
Jenkerson is currently being investigated by St. Louis police for authorizing firefighters under his command to do personal work for lobbyist Lou Hamilton while on duty;
The group Citizens To Support Fire Chief George is doing just that. The group is asking people to 'Come by the thousands' to City Hall this Sunday at 3:00 PM to show support for demoted Fire Chief Sherman George.
From the press release:
Chief Sherman George, the City’s first and only African-American Fire Chief, has been unjustly removed from his position and publicly disrespected by Mayor Francis Slay. This is an insult and disregard to the entire St. Louis Community. These, and other actions by the Mayor, have created deep division.
Featured guests at the rally include: State Representative Jamilah Nasheed, Bishop Willie Ellis, Bishop Alphonso Scott, Reverend Tommie Pierson, Bishop B.T. Rice, Reverend Douglas Parham, Don Fitz, Bill Ramsey and Zaki Baruti.
UPDATE: The St. Louis American is reporting that this is also a Francis Slay recall rally.
This press release (via myfoxstl.com) was sent to select media yesterday from the acting fire chief:
(October 11, 2007) In response to media requests for a response to an announcement made by Chief George at a press conference held earlier today, Acting Fire Chief Steven M. Kotraba has requested the release of the following statement:
“I understand that Chief George has announced his intent to retire from the St. Louis Fire Department. On behalf of the entire department, we offer our congratulations and best wishes for health, happiness and prosperity. Chief George has dedicated nearly forty years of his life to the St. Louis community and we thank him for his service and dedication. He has touched many lives throughout his career.
With regard to any allegations made against me, or other members of the department, I welcome any investigation. I know that a finding of fact will exonerate me. All members of the St. Louis Fire Department will be accountable for any substantiated wrong doing, but it’s time to put rumors and accusations to rest. The citizens of the City of St. Louis deserve to have a fire department that they can trust, made up of members worthy of that trust.
Later today, I will be issuing some department transfers. Transfers happen routinely in the fire department and have previously never been a point of public interest or information. As it pertains to those transfers, I will, as fire chief, continue to do what is in the best interest of the citizens of the City of St. Louis and the St. Louis Fire Department, including the allocation and assignment of resources and personnel.”
VIDEO: George Calls Slay's Actions Discriminatory, Plans Legal Action
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 10:54 AM
Former fire chief Sherman George made it clear today that the circumstances surrounding his refusal to make promotions and his subsequent demotion by Mayor Francis Slay and his public safety director Charles Bryson was, for him, always about ensuring the best and most qualified people were elevated in the department.
It was the mayor's office, said George, which constantly tried to link his position to the racial bias lawsuit filed by a group of Black firefighters.
That — and Slay's repeated undermining and micromanaging — was what led to the showdown that ended with George's removal, said the former chief. George and his attorney say all this has created an environment designed to force George to quit. "Constructive termination," George called it, and he's filing complaints with the Civil Service Commission, the City Diversity Director, the Missouri Human Rights Commission, and the U.S. Equal Opportunities Commission because of it.
Watch the full press conference...
"I consider myself retired from the fire department as a result of the constructive termination while I seek reinstatement. I am informing the City of that today. But I am not retiring from the fire service to run for public office. I am not interested in running for mayor of the City of St. Louis, but neither should Francis Slay," said George.
Former Fire Chief Sherman George will hold a press conference on Thursday at 10:00 AM at the Gateway Classic Foundation, 20th Street and Martin Luther King Drive, in downtown.
Chief George will be making a public statement for residents of the City of St. Louis and the media, regarding recent actions taken involving him and the St. Louis City Fire Department.
Black Caucus Asks Slay to Reverse George Decision or Promote Him
By Antonio D. French
Members of the African-American Aldermanic Caucus have sent a letter to Mayor Francis Slay voicing their displeasure with his recent decision to demote Fire Chief Sherman George.
"Our Caucus strongly supports Chief George because of his fine work for the City of St. Louis," says the letter. "Please recognize that our Caucus can not and does not support the demotion of George and find it distasteful and displeasing. With all the legitamate concerns raised by Chief George related to his reluctance to promote in the manner directed by you our Caucus feels that his demotion was unwarranted."
The letter briefly outlines the role the Caucus played in trying to broker a compromise between the mayor and the chief.
"We felt then, as we do now, that these complicated issues can be worked out if all parties are willing to truly hear each others concerns and find places of compromise. Still further, we believe that all steps were not taken that could have remedied the situation in a balanced and community sensitive manner."
In conclusion, the letter asks that Slay either instruct his public safety director, Charles Bryson, to reconsider the demotion and immediately reinstate George as chief or that Slay appoint George the new public safety director for the city.
St. Louis' new interim fire chief, Steve Kotraba, promoted five Fire Captains to the rank of Battalion Chief today, filling the vacancies from the controversial list of candidates recently-demoted Fire Chief Sherman George called flawed.
The promotions are effective immediately. PubDef has been told two of the new Battalion Chiefs are black, three are white.
Comptroller Green: Slay's Action "Shameful" and "Should Not Stand"
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Monday, October 01, 2007 at 5:16 PM
The following is a statement from St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green:
“I’m disappointed with the shameful action taken today against Chief Sherman George. The city’s leader, the mayor, could have led the way by offering and/or accepting a compromise position on the promotions. His all or nothing position only stands to further divide an already troubled city. The demotion of Chief George is a wrong and shameful action and should not stand.”
Today F.I.R.E. issued a statement calling Mayor Slay's demotion of Fire Chief Sherman George to Deputy Chief "A lawless act." They added, "Mayor Francis Slay has made it clear that the safety of our city is not a priority."
So far, there is no word on who will replace George as Chief.
From the press release:
F.I.R.E.'s Statement Regarding Mayor's Action Against Fire Chief Sherman George
Today we are told that Fire Chief Sherman George has been demoted. This is a lawless act and once again Mayor Francis Slay has made it clear that the safety of our city is not a priority.
“These are dangerous times in the City of St Louis when a sitting Mayor puts politics, ego and personal gain ahead of the law and the safety our citizens,” Vice Chairman of F.I.R.E., Wayne Luster.
The issue of the authority of Chief Sherman George to promote is well settled law. The Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court addressed the issue of the authority of Chief George in 2004 and both courts concluded that Rule 7 Section 4 of the City Charter gives the absolute authority of whether and when to promote to Fire Chief George.
Despite the fact that the Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court concur on the authority of Chief Sherman George, Mayor Slay continues to ignore the law. These relentless and unlawful demands on Chief George by Mayor Slay are not simply some sort of political obsession. These actions on the part of the Mayor’s office have put the safety of our city at risk.
As F.I.R.E. has previously stated, the selection of Charles Bryson to head the largest department in this city, was a cynical and racially calculated appointment. Indeed if Mayor Slay had confidence in the ability of his appointment, why are Charles Bryson’s phone messages forwarded to the Mayor’s office?
The attempted demotion of Fire Chief Sherman George will not stand.
F.I.R.E., Fire Chief Sherman George and thousands of other concerned citizens have made our position clear: the law must be followed and safety must be first. And we will not rest until the office of the Mayor sets and follows those same priorities.
The Arch City Chronicle points out that according to the properties function of the document, it was authored by former radio host Lizz Brown.
"Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Francis Slay must go!" That was the chant outside city hall today as the 5:00 deadline the mayor imposed on Fire Chief Sherman George came and went without George making any promotions.
Slay and his public safety director, Charles Bryson, said they will announce George's punishment on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting hosted by Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe Wednesday in north St. Louis, freshman alderman Marlene Davis fired off at legislators that voted in favor of the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit (three of the four northside state reps and both state senators supported it).
She also weighed in on Fire Chief Sherman George's situation. She said voters should hold Mayor Francis Slay accountable in 2009.
Davis joined Troupe in spreading some incorrect information about the Land Assemblage Tax Credit that caused fear in the minds of many poor homeowners in the audience.
She said the legislation was filled with "jargon" that "doesn't mean a whole lot other than [developer Paul McKee] can have what he wants and you don't have no say so."
That is false.
The words which Davis disregarded as "jargon" say that the tax credit can only be awarded after the Board of Aldermen has passed an ordinance approving the redevelopment plan. That process, like with any other bill, means public meetings and hearings.
Any "giving private land or property to a developer" has to be initiated and approved by the Board of Aldermen. This piece of legislation has nothing to do with that process.
Any properties taken by eminent domain, condemnation, or acquired from the LRA are not eligible for this tax credit. Such properties may be part of the total redevelopment, but only if the ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen says so.
I am not aware of any instance in the history of the Board of Aldermen (and please, if someone knows otherwise, do let me know) when a property was taken by eminent domain without the support of the alderman in whose ward that property was located.
Most of the Blairmont property is located in the 5th Ward where Alderman April Ford-Griffin has said repeatedly that she will not support — and in fact, fight — anyone's property being taken by eminent domain for this project. One can only assume that Davis, in whose ward McKee also owns property, has a similar position.
There is too much on record that developer Paul McKee and the City of St. Louis have done wrong since the inception of this project that there is no need for people to start making things up. It damages the credibility of the valid arguments of people who are serious about making sure this project benefits the people who live there today and it's irresponsible because it uses lies to scare the shit out of people.
While these people keep spinning the events of two weeks ago they are missing the fight which is going on right now.
Details, details. We've said it before and we will keep saying it. The difference between if this thing turns out to be good for St. Louis or very bad for the people who live in the Blairmont area will be in the details.
All the little details not expressly stated in the legislation — you know, all that "jargon" — is being worked out right now by bureaucrats at the Missouri Department of Economic Development in the form of rules. These rules will further lay the groundwork for what can and cannot be done with this money.
Please, no more public meetings and press conferences on old stuff. Three in one week is quite enough.
Will the legislators who are unafraid of big words and legal phrases please get back to the table. This thing is not over. Look for more videos from Wednesday's meeting later.
UPDATE: And if you haven't read the final version of the legislation, here's a link (see pages 13-18).
And if you'd rather watch someone explain it to you (I know you spoiled PubDef readers like the video stuff), here is a very informative 10-minute video of Sally Hemingway from the Department of Economic Development discussing the tax credit in detail.
Only four days on the job and Charles Bryson, the new public safety director, has already received his first mob of angry citizens to descend on his northside home. Lucky for Bryson they were carrying picket signs and not burning torches.
Bryson and his boss, Mayor Francis Slay, have given Fire Chief Sherman George until 5:00 PM Friday to make the promotions. If he does not, he will be "disciplined" on Monday.
It's never good when you come home to see firefighters at your home. The good news for Charles Bryson is that it's just a political fire that will be ablaze on his street today.
The Fire Institute for Racial Equality, AKA F.I.R.E., AKA the black firefighters' union, will be protesting today outside the home of the City's new public safety just one day before he is expected to take action against Fire Chief Sherman George.
Mayor Francis Slayappointed Bryson as director just this week, replacing Sam Simon, who after being criticized for months about his supervision of the fire department, abruptly took a job with St. Louis University just days before his scheduled showdown with George. That task has now fallen on Bryson, who has found himself in the middle of a racially-charged storm of controversy.
George supporters have charged that Bryson (who is black) lacks the necessary experience to lead the Department of Public Safety and was hired only to provide political cover for Slay when he fires the city's first black fire chief.
F.I.R.E. will also conduct another protest tomorrow (Friday) at 5:00 PM at City Hall.
UPDATE: PubDef has heard a rumor — rather, a possible scenario — in which Mayor Slay and Director Bryson place Chief George on 30 days unpaid suspension for failing to make the promotions as directed. During that time the fire department is placed under the control of an interim chief — maybe an African-American — who makes "compromise" promotions reflecting the racial balance of the department.
We won't have to wait long to find out if this rumor — or scenario — has any legs.
UPDATE 2: Appearing on Channel 2 yesterday morning, Bryson appeared to offer a tiny bit of face-saving wiggle room for the chief. He said he and Slay would accept if George, by 5:00 Friday, offered a date in the future when he would be willing to make the promotions.
Bryson also said Slay has told the chief that he did not have to promote anyone that he did not feel comfortable with.
If the confrontation plays all the way out, George will lose his job. That will not be good, and I say that not just because I like George. Firing him would be racially divisive. A lot of people in the black community see the dispute as a matter of respect. George is the chief. Where's the respect?
There has not been much in the tone of the mayor's rhetoric. It's almost as if the mayor thinks history started yesterday. I mean, come on, this is about race. George came through the ranks when the association was pretty much a white guys' club. Nothing unusual about that. My dad was a union electrician in Chicago and I remember when his union was that way. Those fellows felt that they were protecting what was theirs.
I remember the business agent talking to my father. "If your son wants to get into the union, he's not going to have to wait in line behind any blacks," he said, although he used another word for blacks. It's a word we don't use any more. Times have changed, and thank goodness for that.
But it's easier for white guys like me or the mayor to say that times have changed.
Kristen Hinmanwrites on the Riverfront Times blog:
Bryson, who has worked in Mayor Francis Slay’s office for just shy of seven years and has a background in social work, brings an additional new perspective to the director’s office –- that of an African-American. “One of the reasons the mayor chose me is so that we can work on race relations,” says Bryson.
Race has long been said to be a factor in the tenuous relationship between George and city hall. “If you talk to clergymen on the north side,” points out Bryson, “they will suggest that part of the problem in the past between the public-safety director and the fire chief may have been race.”
Bryson says he and George already have “a good working relationship” from having made the rounds at various public boards and commissions over the past few years.
As the new public-safety director puts it: “My race will not be an ace in my pocket. It will be a different way of looking at things.”
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First, Mayor Francis Slayreplaces his troubled public safety director, Sam Simon (at whose feet many of his critics place much of the fire department's current problems), with his favorite black guy, Charles Bryson (it's been barely a month since Slay promoted Bryson from Neighborhood Development Executive to deputy chief of staff).
Next, only moments on the job, Bryson goes after Slay's least favorite black guy, Fire Chief Sherman George.
"Chief George must still make the promotions by Friday," said Bryson in a written statement. "That order stands – and I endorse it. If he doesn’t, he – like you, me, or anybody else who refused to obey an order and do their job — will face disciplinary action."
Let's see how this could play out...
George refuses to be forced to promote
Bryson fires George ("It's not a race thing. They're both black.")
Black folks go nuts (Front page of the American: "SLAY FIRES FIRST BLACK FIRE CHIEF WHILE WHITE POLICE CHIEF IS LOSING CONTROL OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE STREETS!" Wow, that's a long headline.)
Slay appoints a new black chief ("See, I'm not racist.")
Mayor Francis Slay and his public safety director, Sam Simon, have issued another — much stronger — ultimatum to Fire Chief Sherman George: promote by next Friday or face disciplinary action. Click here to read Simon's letter (via KSDK).
How about local control of our police department first? After all, that is where about a third of our city's annual budget goes. But then, why should city folks have any say over how one out of every three of our dollars is spent?
Perhaps Mayor Slay could be calling for local control of our schools — even mayoral control. No, wait. That's right, he was the one pushing for the state's Republican governor to take control of our $450 million-per-year school system.
Well, it's not like crime or schools have anything to do with the quality of life here in the city — at least not like the Arch grounds anyway!
As a matter of fact, we're so out of practice with controlling our own destinies around here, if the U.S. government did give up control of the Arch grounds, they should probably just turn it over to the State of Missouri.
At least that'll keep Hizzoner from building a parking garage or a Walgreens on it.
Fire officials are blaming an act of God for damage suffered last night by the historic St. Alphonsus "Rock" Catholic Church in midtown.
PubDef's camera was there as firefighters put out the blaze apparently caused by a lightning strike on the roof of the 135-year-old church. The fire reportedly gutted "The Rock," which is Missouri's largest African-American Catholic church.
Chief Sherman George City of St. Louis Fire Department 1321 N. Jefferson Avenue St. Louis, Missouri 63106-2100 Hand-Delivered
Dear Chief George:
I want to start by making something clear: I support you as chief of the Fire Department and want you to continue to succeed. However, I also believe the department must promote, and fear the issue of promotions, if not addressed fairly and immediately, will severely damage your ability to lead the Department.
To review the facts, a Federal judge has ruled that the current promotional test is valid, does not discriminate, and legitimately tests the skills and knowledge needed to be a captain or battalion chief in the St. Louis Fire Department.
The Federal judge heard all of the testimony and held a full trial on all of the merits. He ruled the plaintiffs "did not produce any evidence of alternative selection procedures of which the City was apprised … which would have been as substantially valid as the 2000 and 2004 Fire Captain and Battalion Chief examinations, but with lesser adverse impact."
In other words, Chief, those opposed to the test have now had their day in court and lost. Ignoring the court’s clear, unequivocal ruling is creating hard feelings among many of the men and women in the department who have waited patiently for promotions. If we — the City and the Fire Department — are not going to live by the court’s ruling, what was the point of all of the litigation?
You said recently that if the positions are in the budget and the list is still active, you would "be happy to request a list from which to promote for both Fire Captain and Battalion Fire Chief." Chief, the City has budgeted for the positions; the list is still active. It is time to do what you said: promote.
This issue has torn the Fire Department apart. I know that you feel yourself boxed in, torn between angry members of FIRE who continue to dispute the tests’ fairness and angry members of the Local 73 who continue to dispute the fairness of not promoting.
For the good of the Department and to avoid a confrontation that will divide our City and hurt everyone involved — including you — I propose the following:
Fill all of the Fire Captain and Battalion Chief positions using the current, active list.
After the promotions are made, the Department of Personnel will close the list and begin the process of hiring a company to conduct a new test.
The process of hiring a company will include new protocols to permit you, FIRE, and Local 73 to have greater input into the wording of the RFP and the selection of a testing consultant from among the RFP responses.
In addition, I would like to use this same opportunity to work with you to address the rifts in race relations that have developed within the Fire Department, whether based on ill feelings about these promotions or from historic grievances.
The City will invest $20,000 a year, and ask Fire and Local 73 each to contribute $5,000, to a fund for the purpose of providing mandatory training in diversity and race relations.
Finally, the racial divide in the Fire Department will not close unless the men and the women of the Fire Department want it to close. So, I will ask FIRE and Local 73, the two firefighter organizations that represent most members of the fire service, to develop together a plan that will spell out concrete measures to improve relations between the two groups, and race relations within the Department.
Chief, I believe this approach is a fair way to allow us to put this matter behind us and work together to improve the quality of the St. Louis Fire Department.
It is time for all of us to set aside any differences for the good of the department and the good of the City.
I look forward to hearing back from you by Friday, August 3, 2007.
A small group of St. Louis firefighters carrying picket signs followed Fire Chief Sherman George as he walked in the V.P. Fair yesterday.
The signs called on George to promote officers in the department following a federal court ruling which said that the exam used for promotions was fair.
Last week, the firefighters' union took out an ad in the Post-Dispatch calling on the public to pressure George. Mayor Francis Slay also recently joined the call for the fire chief to act.
There are currently 26 vacancies for supervisors at the St. Louis Fire Department – 22 slots for captains, 4 for battalion chiefs. If the Fire Department needs these supervisors, Chief Sherman George should fill the jobs. And if he fills the jobs, he should promote the best qualified firefighters from the rosters of men and women who scored best on the Department’s competitive promotions exams.
A federal judge has ruled the test is valid, and that it fairly tests the skills needed to be a captain or battalion chief in the St. Louis Fire Department. The men and women who scored best on those tests should be serving in the jobs and being compensated for their service.
Right now, the Fire Department is halfway up a ladder. Firefighters are filling supervisory roles without competitive testing, formal promotions, or legal compensation for the firefighters who are serving as ad hoc captains and battalion chiefs.
Chief George should make the real promotions – or eliminate the jobs from the Table of Organization as unnecessary to run an effective department. I’ll support either decision, but not further organizational paralysis and bad practice.
Late at night, while you are sleeping, St. Louis burns. Armed with a scanner, a couple of cameras, and nostrils full of smoke and ash, 20 year-old Ben Mazanec of south St. Louis spends his free time tracking down the flames.
