Lawsuit Seeks to Void St. Louis Charter Commission

Lawyers seeking to stop the activities of the St. Louis Charter Commission made their case in court yesterday before Circuit Court Judge Joseph Whyte — arguing that the commission was formed in a way that's contrary to law and must be declared invalid.

The lawsuit was filed by Charles Lane, a city resident and occasional plaintiff on litigation affecting taxpayers.

Lane's suit is funded by a coalition of lawyers and gadflies calling themselves the Holy Joe Society. They're critical of how the commission tasked with reinventing government was set up when voters approved it via ballot proposition one year ago.

The suit alleges that the Missouri Constitution holds that "the lawmaking body of the city" should submit charter changes to voters, not a separate commission. It also allegedly proscribes a different process for choosing candidates for the charter commission ("nominated by a petition signed by not less than two percent of the qualified electors voting at the next preceding city election"), which the suit says the ballot initiative creating the charter commission didn't follow.

Lane seeks to challenge the commission's existence on the fact that it's being funded by the city — and so as a taxpayer, he has a right to challenge it.

The city, however, has fought back. In its legal filings, it says the role played by the commission fits into the framework outlined in the state constitution, not violates it.

"Contrary to Plaintiff’s assertion, however, Prop C does not call on the Charter Commission to 'submit' to qualified voters charter revisions or amendments it may propose; rather it prescribes the Charter Commission’s role to that as a body that may 'frame' proposed amendments or revisions, leaving their 'submission' as an undertaking of the Board of Alderpersons," its attorneys write. "In turn, the Charter Commission’s duly 'framed' revisions and amendments are deemed, under the Charter, submitted to voters by the Board of Alderpersons, the City’s 'lawmaking body.' Thus, nothing about the work of the Charter Commission even remotely implicates, much less offends, the Missouri State Constitution..."

Attorney Bevis Schock, secretary of the board of directors of the Holy Joe Society, has many gripes about the city's current governance, from potholes to infrequent trash pickup to the system of patronage he sees at City Hall. Given that dissatisfaction, why not restructure and reimagine city government?

"If we're going to have the rule of law, then we're going to follow the constitutional requirements laid out in our founding documents," he says. "This is not a make-up-as-you-go business. You have to follow the rules."

In a press release, the Holy Joe Society says Judge Whyte asked "probing" questions. There's no timeline of when he's expected to rule on the request to invalidate the commission.

However, the lawsuit is only the latest complication for the commission, which has recently dealt with controversy over its original choice of chairperson. Jazzmine Nolan-Echols drew other members' ire for calling out a top aide to Aldermanic President Megan Green, as well as "inappropriate and disrespectful" emails to staff. At its last meeting, members voted unanimously to oust her.

The commission has until mid-June to present potential changes to the city's charter to the public. The proposals would need to be finalized by mid-August to make the November ballot.

As for the legal group backing the litigation seeking to block its work, the "Holy Joe Society” is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization named for Joseph W. Folk, an anti-corruption zealot who served as governor of Missouri 1905-1909. The Society has claimed as its mission "to use persuasion, education and litigation to challenge improper activities of Missouri local government."

In addition to Schock, prominent members include former circuit court judge Robert Dierker, an arch-conservative who (somewhat surprisingly) served under Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and then as an assistant city counselor before his retirement. Dierker is now the organization's director of litigation.

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