St. Louis Aldermen Press Pause On Picking Freeholders
Date Posted: October 17, 2019
Posted In: News, Regionalism,
From St. Louis Public Radio: The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has delayed voting on Mayor Lyda Krewson’s nominees to a board that will consider changing governance in St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Members of the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday decided not to take a vote on any of Krewson’s nine nominees to the Board of Freeholders. Members of the Black Caucus, who are concerned about the racial and geographic makeup of the nominees, want to present their own names to Krewson to consider.
The nine nominees are:
- Independent Abdul-Kaba Abdullah, executive director of Park Central Development
- Democrat Bridget Flood, executive director of the Incarnate Word Foundation
- Republican Joe Hodes, director of State and Industry Relations for the National Corn Growers Association and the 16th Ward Republican committeeman
- Democrat LaShana Lewis, CEO and founder of L.M. Lewis Consulting
- Republican Taunia Allen Mason, who works for the St. Louis Science Center in a STEM outreach program and is the 28th Ward Republican committeewoman
- Democrat Earl Nance Jr., pastor at Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church
- Independent Eddie Roth, an attorney and former director of the city’s Department of Human Services
- Democrat Jerry Schlichter, an attorney who helped develop the state historic preservation tax credit
- Republican Dan Zdrodowski, an attorney at Hais, Hais & Goldberger
Four of the nine are black, and three of the nine live in wards historically thought of as north St. Louis. But just one of the nominees — Abdullah — lives north of Page.