State Senator Maida Coleman (D-St. Louis City) today voted against the reappointment of Peter Herschend of Branson to the State Board of Education. Coleman spoke against the nomination for more than 40 minutes in committee Wednesday and for nearly an hour on the Senate floor today before he was eventually confirmed by the Republican-controlled senate.She released this statement afterwards:

“In the committee hearing yesterday, Mr. Herschend told me I should be embarrassed of my school district,” Sen. Coleman said. “I think Mr. Herschend should be embarrassed that he has decided to play politics with the children of my district. He should be embarrassed that he callously disenfranchised the citizens of my district by turning control of the St. Louis School District over to the state.”In March 2007, the St. Louis Public Schools lost their accreditation when the State Board of Education voted 5-1 to rescind the accreditation after concluding that the district had met only four of the state’s 14 academic performance measures. Peter Herschend was serving as President of the State Board of Education when the decision to strip the school district of local control was made.At the time the state board voted to classify the St. Louis Public Schools as unaccredited, several other school districts possessed 2006 Annual Performance Review ratings that were equal to or below the scores assigned to the St. Louis City School District.“It makes me wonder why Mr. Herschend has taken no action to reclassify other low-performing school districts,” Sen. Coleman said. “There seems to be no apprehension by Mr. Herschend or the Board that they are disenfranchising the voters of a predominantly black city. We are still forced to pay taxes, so we have taxation without representation.”Additionally, Sen. Coleman expressed reservations about any person serving such a lengthy term on a state board or commission. Peter Herschend has served on the State Board of Education for 16 years, and with his confirmation by the Senate today, will serve another eight years on the board.“Is it a good idea to allow anyone to sit on what is arguably the most important board in state government for 24 years?” Sen. Coleman asked her colleagues on the Senate floor today.“If someone were to serve the maximum amount of time in the General Assembly, they could only serve 16 years. If the citizens of Missouri think it’s a good idea to limit the terms of their elected representatives, surely the length of service of an unelected official should be limited as well, especially one who wields so much influence over our children’s education.”   

Members of the Missouri Senate affirmed the reappointment of Herschend to the State Board of Education today on a voice vote.

Keep up with St. Louis politics at www.pubdef.net

State Senator Rita Days, a Democrat from north St. Louis County, and State Rep. Timothy Jones, a Republican from Eureka (”The home of Six Flags,” he reminded us.), have been elected to chair and vice-chair, respectively, the St. Louis Regional Delegation (formerly, the St. Louis Regional Caucus) in the state legislature.The mission of the bicameral, bi-partisan group is to promote and collectively push legislation to advance the St. Louis region.

Keep up with St. Louis politics at www.pubdef.net

In the middle of all this Super Tuesday excitement, the Missouri Senate confirmed the appointment of St. Louis Public Schools czar Rick Sullivan.

Governor Matt Blunt, who appointed the real estate developer to lead the largest school district in the state, had this to say:

“Education is my highest priority as Missouri’s governor and I appreciate the bipartisan support Rick Sullivan received today by the Senate.

“Rick is an honorable public servant whose strong leadership is making a difference for our students attending St. Louis Public Schools at a time when our children and parents need strong leaders who care deeply about the future of these students.

“Rick is already succeeding in this role and I am confident he will continue rising to the challenges facing the St. Louis Transitional School Board to ensure that students in the St. Louis Public Schools receive the world class education they deserve.”

A group of local elected officials gathered in front of City Hall today to call attention to a bill in the Missouri legislature which seeks to give the City of St. Louis control over its police department—control which was taken away over 100 years ago during the time of the Civil War.

Those in attendance included: State Senator Maida Coleman, State Reps Talibdin El-Amin, Rodney Hubbard, and Jeanette Mott Oxford, Aldermen Terry Kennedy, Jeffrey Boyd, and Frank Williamson.

The bill is SB 785.

Earlier Story:

Local Control of Police Debated in Senate Hearing

HAPPENING RIGHT NOW…

JEFFERSON CITY — As St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa and Police Board President Chris Goodson roamed the halls of the state Capitol today lobbying against a senate bill calling for a return of local control of the St. Louis Police Department on an unrelated issue, a group of city lawmakers were lobbying to return local control to the city police department

At this moment, several St. Louis aldermen are in the audience as the bill is being heard before the committee. Aldermen Terry Kennedy, April Ford-Griffin, Jeffrey Boyd, Kacie Starr Triplett, Frank Williamson, Marlene Davis, and Sam Moore are here in support of the bill.

Senator Maida Coleman is handling sponsoring the bill in the senate and Rep. T.D. El-Amin will be handling the bill on the House side.

The bill is SB 785.

UPDATE: There was a tense exchange between between Alderman Boyd, speaking in favor of the bill, asked Senator Harry Kennedy, a member of the committee who seems to oppose local control, if he feels elected officials are “incompetent.” Kennedy, who is also a city committeeman, said he was offended by the question. The commiittee chairman quickly ended the exchange.

On the first day of the new legislative session, Republicans and Democrats in the state senate pledged today to get things done on behalf of all Missourians — despite this being an election year and the last session for many of the term-limited legislators.

Senate President Pro Tem Mike Gibbons said voters and taxpayers aren’t interested in political bickering and gridlock. “This is not a game to the people at home,” said the Republican leader. “They expect us to fix these problems.”

Democratic floor leader Maida Coleman said she hopes both parties can indeed move beyond the typical partisan battles and accomplish some important things this session.

“My hope is that — with this being an election year — that we do not have dissension that has sometimes crept into the chamber during an election year,” she said.

Time will tell. But if history is any indicator, this pledge of cooperation will disappear faster than an incriminating email in the governor’s office.

The second Regular Session of Missouri’s 94th General Assembly will convene at noon today. State representatives and senators have made their way across the state back to the Capitol in Jefferson City for this election year session of the state legislature.

There is a bit of Constitutional confusion in Jefferson City today.

As readers of PubDef had expected for weeks (and readers of the Post just found out today), Governor Matt Blunt withdrew the names of two of his controversial education appointees during last week’s special session of the State Legislature. Both State Board of Education appointee Derio Gambaro and St. Louis Public Schools CEO Rick Sullivan were withdrawn from Senate confirmation because of lack of support from their home senators — a customary requirement for successful confirmation.

PubDef has reported than both men are expected to be resubmitted to the Senate soon and would remain in power until at least January, when the Senate reconvenes and again takes up gubernatorial appointments. However, the Governor’s office believes it is not necessary to resubmit their names to the senate before next year.

According to a source close to the situation, the Governor believes that simply having the nominees on file with the Secretary of State’s office is sufficient enough for the two men to continue to serve on a interim basis. The well-placed source says the Governor is considering not resubmitting the names to the senate until next year.

However, the Missouri Constitution clearly states, in the case of Gambaro, that appointments to the Board of Education must be made with the “advice and consent of the Senate.” The law creating Sullivan’s positions says the same thing. And apparently, the Senate’s Republican leadership agrees.

State Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons (R-Kirkwood) told the Post-Dispatch the decision to pull the names was mutual to avoid a Senate vote. He also said he agrees with Blunt’s staff that Sullivan and Gambaro still hold their posts for now. But Gibbons also said he believes the state constitution requires that the governor renew their interim appointments by September 19 if he wants them to stay on until the Senate reconvenes in January.

If these men serve for three months without being submitted to the Senate, it may put every action, vote and decision under close legal scrutiny. And in the case of Sullivan, who serves on a three-person board, if any important decisions are made by a vote of 2-1, a judge may later rule the vote was in fact 1-1 since Sullivan could not legally cast a vote — especially if he is ultimately not confirmed by the Senate.

Developing…

Previous Stories:

SLPS: Our Czar Still Reigns

LETTER: Sullivan, Gambaro Withdrawn

BLUNT WITHDRAWS SULLIVAN, GAMBARO

Will Blunt Withdraw Sullivan? Gambaro Too?

The people of St. Charles have spoken. Republican Tom Dempsey has defeated Democrat Ed Appelbaum tonight to become Missouri’s newest state senator.

The final unofficial results are:

Dempsey — 6,671 (56.2%)
Appelbaum — 5,199 (43.8%)

Here’s a statement from the Missouri Republican Party:

“Tom Dempsey’s hard-fought victory is great news for the residents of the 23rd Senatorial District who will benefit from his strong work ethic and his dedication to improving the lives of Missourians. Tom’s strong support of Gov. Matt Blunt’s agenda including funding increases for public education, enhanced job creation, significant health care reform and disdain for tax increases played an important role in his successful campaign. Missouri Republicans congratulate Tom on his impressive victory and look forward to his continued success as a member of the Missouri Senate.”

Dempsey replaces Republican Senator Chuck Gross, who resigned to take another job.

BREAKING NEWS

The Missouri Legislature has passed Governor Blunt’s Economic Development Package, including the Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit. By a vote of 125 to 19, the House today passed the Senate version of House Bill 1.

Among those voting in favor of the bill were St. Louis State Representatives T.D. El-Amin, Rodney Hubbard, Rachel Storch, Tom Villa and Robin Wright-Jones.

Those voting against included Mike Daus, Jamilah Nasheed and Jeanette Mott Oxford.