Krewson Submits New Freeholder Nominees But Some Aldermen Push Back
Date Posted: November 20, 2019
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mayor Lyda Krewson, hoping to end an impasse over who will represent the city on the regional Board of Freeholders, on Tuesday submitted names of four new nominees, but again faced potential opposition from aldermen who complained the choices were not fully representative.
Although the substitute names were recommended to Krewson by the chairman of an aldermanic committee that has held up action on her initial nine-person slate for a month, the panel on Tuesday opted for further delay.
Krewson’s new picks are former Alderman Antonio French, a local newspaper publisher; Dwinderlin Evans, the 4th Ward Democratic committeewoman; JoAnn Williams, a retired official with the Carpenters Union; and Jon-Pierre Mitchom, director of equity and inclusion at St. Louis Priory School.
Some Intergovernmental Affairs Committee members complained at a meeting Tuesday that they hadn’t been involved in behind-the-scenes maneuvering among committee chairman Sam Moore, Krewson and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed. They said they wanted more time to consider the new slate.
“We’re having backroom deals that the committee’s not even a part of the conversation,” said Alderman Dan Guenther, D-9th Ward, noting he wasn’t given the list until shortly before the meeting.
Guenther and fellow Alderman Bret Narayan, D-24th Ward — also were upset that one of the original Krewson nominees that would be replaced is LaShana Lewis, the only openly LGBTQ person who had been nominated to serve on the 19-member freeholders board.
If that holds up, they pointed out, there will be no representation for the LGBTQ community on the board, which is to consider changes in the governing structure of the city and St. Louis County.
Moore, D-4th Ward, said he had been polling his committee members in private conversations to reach a consensus although he had been unable to reach Narayan on the latest proposed slate. Reed has been trying to broker a solution to the dispute.