Your $7.00 monthly contribution will go a long way to helping us expand the coverage and services you enjoy.
GET THE LATEST PUBDEF NEWS 24/7:
ABOUT PUB DEF
PUB
DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
City of St. Louis, Missouri. Our goal is to cast a critical eye
on lawmakers, their policies, and those that have influence upon
them, and to educate our readers about legislation and the political
processes that affect our daily lives.
CONTACT US
Do you have
a press release, news tip or rumor to share?
State Senator Harry Kennedy has joined State Senator Maida Coleman in opposition to a takeover of St. Louis Public Schools.
In a letter written to Education Commissioner Kent King, Kennedy says, "I am writing to you to place in record my opposition to the possible vote eliminating the accreditation of the St. Louis Public Schools by the Missouri State Board of Education. Loss of accreditation could then lead to a complete takeover of the St. Louis Public Schools by a transitional board under the authority of the desegregation statute. I believe an extension of provisional accreditation is the answer everyone is seeking to most favorably influence the successful operation of the St. Louis City public schools."
Kennedy goes on to say that an extension of provisional accreditation would allow the State Board of Education to be on record that the St. Louis Public School system is operating below standard.
"Extending provisional accreditation would allow DESE the ability to officially monitor and advise the current elected school board and superintendent. Assistance we all agree this board desperately needs," said Kennedy.
Kennedy, whose district is made of parts of St. Louis City and St. Louis County, joins Sen. Coleman in opposition to the takeover which is being pushed by Mayor Francis Slay and School Board President Veronica O'Brien.
"Immediate intervention of the state, without exploring every option available to local authorities could undermine and delay future success," said Kennedy.
Sources tell PubDef that the director of the city's health department has resigned four weeks after reportedly making racial jokes and using slurs in a meeting.
Dr. William L. Kincaid came under fire this morning on the "Wake Up Call" radio show when host Lizz Brown and guest Irene J. Smith reported that Kincaid, who is white, said that "the only people that drink Kool-Aid are niggers..."
The incident reportedly happened nearly a month ago and was apparently verified by the office of Mayor Francis Slay. Brown and Smith said they were appalled to hear that the mayor thought the incident only warranted a one-week suspension and not termination.
Brown asked her listeners to call the mayor's office to demand Kincaid's firing. She tells PubDef that her loyal listeners did indeed flood Slay's office today with calls demanding he take the incident more seriously. Hours later came word of Kincaid's resignation.
PubDef has also learned that members of the Aldermanic Black Caucus had also begun organizing to demand Kincaid be fired.
ST. LOUIS – Following a Governor’s Summit today with Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt invited Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to St. Louis for a discussion on issues of regional concern, including the Mississippi River Bridge.
"By working together in an open and constructive manner we can address issues and identify solutions that will benefit both states," Gov. Blunt said. "It is my hope that this meeting will serve as a launching point for ongoing discussions that will lead to greater economic opportunities and job creation for the St. Louis metropolitan area."
In a letter, Blunt invited Blagojevich to a meeting in St. Louis with business and community leaders from the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, the Regional Business Council and Civic Progress. Blunt proposes opening a new dialogue on potential solutions for a new Mississippi River Bridge and efforts to make the bi-state region a leader in the research and production of renewable fuels.
Blunt hopes the meeting will benefit both states as the two governors work together to capitalize on the bi-state regions’ assets and attract more quality, family supporting jobs to the area.
Earlier today, Gov. Blunt and Gov. Sebelius hosted the second annual Governors' Summit on Regional Economic Development in Kansas City to discuss economic development and education initiatives.
Superintendent Diana Bourisaw appeared on the Tony Scott radio show this morning on 104.9 FM. The interview was broadcasted live from Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, in north St. Louis, where board member Flint Fowler serves as executive director.
Answering a question about the roots of the her well-publicized relationship with School Board President Veronica O'Brien, Bourisaw said she takes direction for the school board, not individual members. She said the majority of the school board (Fowler, Downs, Jones, and Purdy) have demonstrated that they do want to work as a cohesive group. She said that may be even more the case after April's election.
The superintendent, who marking her 6th month on the job, says great things are happening in the city's public schools. She mentioned a SLPS student who was recently accepted to Harvard University and a new $20 million initiative to provide college scholarships for new graduates.
For the benefit of the general public and the members of the State Board of Education, PubDef.TV has been updated with videos from Tuesday's hearing on the future of St. Louis Public Schools.
Thanks to the engineers at Google and Blogger, PubDef now has labels!
From now on, each post will be categorized for easy reference. Just click on the label (such as "schools") and all the stories related to that topic will come up on one page.
Now, we've got hundreds and hundreds of old posts to go through, so give us a while to label all the old stuff. But all new posts will be labeled.
Bill Haas, who currently has his name listed as a candidate for two different offices, is looking to simplify things a bit.
Haas says he'll be at the Board of Elections this morning to prepare the paperwork needed to get a judge to remove his name from the April school board ballot.
He says he now supports the two candidates endorsed by the teachers union and he will focus his attention on his campaign for alderman of the 18th Ward.
Last week we reported that the St. Louis Teachers Union Local 420 has endorsed Katherine Wessling and David Lee Jackson, Jr. for the two open seats on the school board.
Haas is running against 18th Ward Alderman Terry Kennedy in the March primary.
Gov. Matt Blunt today appointed businessman Vince J. Bommarito to the St. Louis City Board of Police Commissioners.
According to the bio attached to the Governor's announcement, Bommarito is 75 years-old and the CEO of Tony's Restaurant, Inc. and a partner at America’s Center Catering Bommarito is also a member of the RCGA and the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.
Bommarito's appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on Jan. 31, 2011. He replaces Michael Quinn whose term expired.
Gov. Matt Blunt today launched his first podcast on iTunes. The premiere podcast features the governor's State of the State address.
"We are working diligently and making great strides to build a stronger Missouri, and I am excited to provide Missourians yet another way to access information about their state," Blunt said in a press release.
"We use technology in many ways to better our lives and make things more convenient and efficient. It is my hope that, in the same way, making information available in a wide range of formats will help provide more choices for Missourians to get the information they want from my office."
According to his latest campaign finance report, Alderman Lewis Reed outraised his incumbent opponent, Aldermanic Pres. Jim Shrewsbury, in the period since October 1st. During that period, Reed raised $117,105 compared to Shrewsbury's $84,650.
Reed also loaned his campaign an additional $88,000, bringing his total cash contributions to $205,105.
But dollars left the campaign just as fast as they came in. The report shows the Reed campaign spending $113,626.78 during the same period. As of Jan. 20, the campaign showed $92,978.22 cash on hand, compared to Shrewsbury's $238,824.99.
Reed's contributors included former mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr. and his law firm, License Collector Mike McMillan, Aldermen Dionne Flowers, Jennifer Florida and Stephen Gregali, the Gateway Classic's Earl Wilson, several entities of the Lawrence Group, the Urban League's James Buford, and Committeewoman Bev Buchheit.
*Reed is a client of A.D. French & Associates and his report reflects payments totaling $4,000 to ADF&A and Pub Def for website design, advertising, video production, photography, print design, and general consulting
Former U.S. Senator Jim Talent has sent an email to supporters reflecting on his loss and requesting financial aid in erasing his $85,000 of campaign debt.
"I've replayed the campaign more than a couple of times," Talent writes. "There were a few things I would have done differently, but they weren't many and they weren't major."
"I'm secure in my knowledge that we did everything we could to win. It was a great campaign. It just was not a great year," said Talent.
Talent requests donations from his supporter to go towards his campaign's debt.
"We can legally accept contributions earmarked to our debt as long as the individual has not already contributed the legal maximum of $2100 to our general election campaign," said Talent. He refers questions to his former National Finance Director, Steve Gordon, who he says remains his consultant.
In his email, Talent also says he has accepted an invitation to become a Distinguished Fellow at the conservative Washington DC think tank, the Heritage Institute.
The most contentious moment of last night's public hearing on the future of St. Louis Public Schools came when controversial School Board President Veronica O'Brien attempted to read her statement expressing support for immediate state intervention.
O'Brien has become a lightning rod and the face of all that is wrong with the current school board. She has been accused of intentionally sabotaging the district, buying personal items on a district credit card, and allowing her personal grudges to get in the way of board business. And now an online petition is circulating asking for O'Brien's immediate resignation.
The petition, started by Steve Patterson of Urban Review STL, states:
To: Veronica O'Brien
We respectfully request that you resign your position as President of the St. Louis School Board effective immediately. The reasons are numerous but here are a few:
During your tenure as President you have removed one Superintendent and attempted to remove a second.
You have refused to sign contracts, forcing the board to permit the Secretary to do so in order to keep the district running.
You are on record as seeking a state takeover of the schools, calling into question your willingness to work with Superintendent Bourisaw on initiatives to regain accreditation.
You have become an increasingly divisive force on the board rather than a leader bringing about consensus.
Your presence as President of the Board has made matters worse, not better.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Since the petition started this morning, 31 people (including School Board Vice-President Bill Purdy) have signed it.
Several elected officials were spotted at last night's public hearing on the future of St. Louis Public Schools, including Comptroller Darlene Green, 6th Ward Alderman and candidate for President of the Board Lewis Reed, State Sen. Maida Coleman, State Rep Jamilah Nasheed, 20th Ward Alderman Craig Schmid, 22nd Ward Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, 26th Ward Alderman Frank Williamson, Committeemen Jesse Todd and Jay Ozier, School Board members Veronica O'Brien, Ron Jackson, Bill Purdy, Peter Downs, and Donna Jones, and others I'm sure I missed.
Comptroller Green told Pub Def that she joined the many voices present last night that oppose state intervention. She said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw should be given the opportunity to lead the district to full accreditation and the State Board of Education should give SLPS the same amount of time to do so as any other school district.
Here are some more videos from last night...
Teachers Union President Mary Armstrong...
A parent...
A parent and district employee...
Teacher Nick Clement...
Mr. Barry Shelton said voters were "duped" by the mayor...
As many as 1,000 people showed up at Harris-Stowe State University tonight to let their voices be heard about the possible takeover of St. Louis Public Schools. The vast majority of the people that came out on the coldest night of the winter were clearly against state action at this time.
Here are a few videos to get you through the night. More tomorrow...
School Board President Veronica O'Brien...
We didn't get this lady's name, but you better believe nobody at tonight's meeting will forget her...
A St. Louis County mom that chooses to send her kids to SLPS...
The Post-Dispatch put a picture of the wrong John Bowman on the front page of today's paper.
In their story on the state representative's indictment yesterday, the Post mistakenly published a photo of Bowman's son, John Bowman, Jr.
In 2002, Bowman, Jr. ran for his father's 70th District State Rep seat against Matt Muckler while the elder Bowman ran for state senate against Rita Days. Both lost.
Two years later, Bowman, Sr. defeated Muckler to regain his House seat.
State education officials will hold a public meeting TONIGHT to hear comments from St. Louis residents about the St. Louis Public Schools.
The meeting will be from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Harris-Stowe State University, in the main auditorium of the Givens Administration Building, 3026 Laclede Ave.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is conducting the meeting to provide an opportunity for parents, employees and other concerned citizens to express their views about the status of the St. Louis Public Schools and the possibility of state intervention in the district’s operations.
The meeting will be conducted by Dr. Bert Schulte, deputy commissioner of education; Dr. Charles Brown, assistant commissioner of the department of education; and Dr. Robert Taylor, DESE's representative in the St. Louis area.
Those who wish to speak at the meeting will be asked to register when they arrive and to limit their remarks to three minutes. Written comments also will be accepted.
The St. Louis Schools Watch reports that, as expected, the School Board last night voted 4-3 to authorize the secretary of the board of education, Flint Fowler, to sign contracts for the school district.
School board member Bill Purdy said when making the motion that there has been a problem with the president refusing to sign contracts that had been approved by the full school board. Up until tonight, the president's signature was required to make any contract valid.
President Veronica O'Brien called Superintendent Diana Bourisaw "a liar" after Bourisaw detailed several contracts that she said O'Brien had returned unsigned over a period of months.
O'Brien, Ron Jackson and Bob Archibald voted against the resolution. Purdy, Fowler, Donna Jones, and Peter Downs voted for it.
The school board also ratified by an identical 4-3 vote recent appointments to principal and assistant principal positions.
Blogger and middle-of-the-road Republican John Combestsays yesterday's indictment of Black Caucus Chairman John Bowman may affect one of the state rep's recent clients, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill.
"Just one month ago, the St. Louis American took a look at the McCaskill campaign finance reports. The paper followed the national money through a Missouri Dem fund and noted that 'Bowman’s Consulting' took 'a lot of jack' from the Missouri Democratic State Committee," wrote Combest.
"To Claire, Bowman wasn’t just a workhorse — he was a show horse, too. When she went after Jim Talent on race, she had lots of black faces to choose from — and she chose John Bowman."
Combest predicts Sen. McCaskill will "wash her hands of Bowman faster than an obsessive-compulsive at a leper colony. And expect the people who have been waiting to nail Claire for her first snafu to have a field day with the campaign finance paper trail that ties the indicted to our junior Senator. " Click here to download the actual indictment from STLToday.com.
State Representative John Bowman has been indicted, along with 16 others, on bank fraud and credit card fraud charges.
U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway announced today that Bowman and former Bank of American Vice President Robert Conner were among 17 people indicted that were allegedly recruited as borrowers in a $1.2 million bank fraud and credit card fraud scheme. Four other people, including a former Pine Lawn Police Officer and a Wentzville doctor, have previously pled guilty to related charges and await sentencing.
"Rather than assisting fledgling small businesses with lines of credit, Connor is accused of taking advantage of a well-intended program to line his own pockets," said Hanaway.
Between June 2005 and November 2006, it was part of this scheme that Conner, then a Vice President of Bank of America at its Chesterfield branch, provided the 16 co-defendants, including Bowman, an opportunity to submit false applications for small business lines of credit with Bank of America.
The lines of credit were in the form of credit cards. According to law enforcement, in exchange for approving the fraudulent credit line application Conner demanded a cash kickback payment of $2500 to $5000 from each applicant. After the fraudulent credit applications were approved by Conner, he had the credit cards sent directly to him rather than to the applicants to facilitate his receipt of cash payment kickbacks at the time he provided the card to the applicants. Typically, the first transaction on the fraudulent credit cards was a cash advance, the proceeds of which were used to pay Conner a kickback.
Borrowers fraudulently applied for credit lines in the names of various business entities, many of which did not exist as legitimate businesses. The applications contained fraudulent information such as the business entity name, its status as a legitimate business, and the amount of time the business had been in operation; the annual income of the applicant; and the gross annual revenue of the entity listed on the application. Conner knew the borrowers were not personally credit worthy at the time the false credit line applications were submitted.
A total of approximately $1,213,970 in fraudulent charges were made on cards fraudulently approved by Conner.
The 37-count indictment was returned Thursday, January 25, but remained sealed until earlier today to facilitate the arrest of defendants. They are expected to appear in federal court Monday, February 5, before United States Magistrate Thomas C. Mummert.
Indicted today:
Robert Connor, 44, 11000 block of Bristol Rock, St. Louis;
John Bowman, 50, 4200 block of Minoma, St. Louis;
Robert Baker, 52, 12000 block of Rush Creek Way, St. Louis;
William Hart, 27, 4000 block of Shenandoah, St. Louis;
DeAmon White, 26, 5900 block of Minerva, St. Louis;
Gerald Maurice Rankin, 36, 1800 block of Claudine Drive, St. Louis;
Monica Gholson, 30, 4400 block of Lee Avenue, St. Louis;
Jacqueline Green, 41, 3900 block of Salvation Road, St. Louis;
Jerry Brown, 61, 700 block of Mendocina Court, St. Louis;
Ulas Green, 39, 3900 block of Salvation Road, St. Louis;
Joanna Davis, 30, 15000 block of Debridge Way, St. Louis;
Glenda Chambers, 57, 2200 block of Colfax, St. Louis;
Lois Gholson, 54, 4400 block of Lee Avenue, St. Louis;
Regina Davidson, 49, 1900 block of Elkins, St. Louis;
Ronald Mason, 39, 1000 block of Sweepstakes Lane, St. Louis;
Karl Peters, 52, 300 block of East Olive, Royal Oaks, Illinois; and
Max Davis, 37, 15000 block of Debridge Way, St. Louis.
Besides Robert Connor, who is charged in every count of the indictment, each defendant is charged with one felony count of bank fraud and one felony count of credit card fraud. Additionally, count 37 is a forfeiture charge, wherein two of Connor’s vehicles; a 2006 Hummer and a 2006 GMC Yukon, are subject to forfeiture.
If convicted, each bank fraud count carries a maximum penalty of thirty years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million; each credit card fraud count carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.
Four other people have pled guilty in connection with this case, and await sentencing:
Dr. Pearleatha Phillips-Washington, 40, Homeshire Drive, Wentzville;
LeMoyne G. Thomas, Jr., former Pine Lawn Police Officer, 32, Homeshire Drive, Wentzville;
Arthur Thomas Webb-Carr, 30, 11700 Clarksdale Drive, Maryland Heights; and
Angela Webb-Carr, 48, 3800 block of Park Place Est, Bridgeton.
UPDATE @ 5:55 p.m.: According to the AP, Bowman is alleged to have met with Conner at a Bank of America branch office in Chesterfield in January 2006 and submitted a fraudulent credit application in the name of Bowman Consulting.
"Bowman is accused of obtaining a $4,050 cash advance using the fraudulent credit line, and also of obtaining things in value of $1,000 during a one-year period." reports the AP.
According to sources, Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury's campaign finance report, which has been turned in but is not available online yet, shows he raised $90,000 between Oct. 1, 2006 and Jan. 20. The report shows Shrewsbury spending $42,000, with $238,824 left in the bank.
Still awaiting numbers from Shrewsbury's challenger, Lewis Reed...
UPDATE: Shrewsbury's report is now available online. It shows he raised $84,650, plus $2,220 in in-kind donations and $5,974.79 in payments from Citizens for Voter Rights for a loan he gave them in 2004.
As reported earlier, he has $238,824 cash on hand.
More that two hundred supporters of Aldermanic President candidate Lewis Reed showed up at the incredible new Field School Lofts in the Central West End for a fundraiser Saturday night.
A partial list of those that attended: License Collector Mike McMillan, northside aldermen Dionne Flowers, Freeman Bosley, Sr., and Jeffrey Boyd, southside aldermen Steve Gregali and Kathy Hanrahan, midtown alderman Lyda Krewson with husband and Channel 5 reporter Mike Owens, Committeepeople Lucinda Frazer, Bev Buchheit, Norma Leggette, and Pat Cacchione, former Comptroller Virvus Jones, former alderman Kenny Jones, and former school board member Bill Haas.
As a side note, the 33-unit Field School Lofts were developed by husband and wife team Uan Nguyen and Sue Kuo-Nguyen and are a sight to behold. Walking through the building (even in its not-quite-finished state) inspires one to dream about what can be done with the large number of vacant public school buildings throughout the city, especially in north St. Louis.
We're sure the Nguyens would be happy to open the building to tours for any current or future School Board members that say SLPS should hold onto these buildings indefinitely or sell them to developers who plan to tear them down. There is clearly another option.
*Lewis Reed is a client of A.D. French & Associates
Tom Weber of KWMU reports that 8th Ward Alderman Steve Conway has introduced a bill (Board Bill #372) that would raise taxes to pay for a city band.
From the bill: "Under and by the authority of Section 71.640 RSMo., there is hereby imposed a City band levy at the rate of 2 mil per One Dollar of assessed valuation for the purpose of supporting a municipal band."
Word is that Conway, who is currently running unopposed, will not be seeking another term after this one.
Seven candidates, including former St. Louis Superintendent Creg Williams, are interviewing today for the top spot in the Toledo, Ohio public schools. Click here to read the story in the Toledo Blade.
On Saturday a group of elected officials and community leaders came together for a photo shoot in front of City Hall in support of Lewis Reed for President of the Board of Aldermen.
Among the supporters on hand: License Collector Mike McMillan, former mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr., former comptroller Virvus Jones, Aldermen Steve Gregali and Jennifer Florida, State Rep. Rodney Hubbard, Committeepersons Claude Brown, Jay Ozier, Curtis Royston, Earnestine Hill, Patrick Cacchione, Bev Buchheit, James Clayborne, Jesse Todd, future alderman Marlene Davis, former alderman Kenny Jones, the Rev. Sammie Jones, and others. *Lewis Reed is a client of A.D. French & Associates
In a letter written to Education Commissioner Kent King, Kennedy says, "I am writing to you to place in record my opposition to the possible vote eliminating the accreditation of the St. Louis Public Schools by the Missouri State Board of Education. Loss of accreditation could then lead to a complete takeover of the St. Louis Public Schools by a transitional board
