St. Louis County Split Widens
Date Posted: December 27, 2018
Posted In: Discussion,
From Cherokee Tribune: At the St. Louis County Government Center in Clayton, the year ended the way it began, with acrimony over the county budget. It also ends with two port authority boards, each claiming legitimacy. It’s all about the widening feud between County Executive Steve Stenger and the County Council, with no end in sight.
The council and Stenger have been at odds for more than two years over spending authority, development projects and other issues. Stenger says the executive’s broad authority in the County Charter gives him the final say on most issues. But he also faces a hostile council with a demonstrated ability to override his vetoes, even with Democrats holding a 4-3 council majority. Since voters created the County Council in 1950, overriding vetoes has been the council’s big gun.
It used that power in a 6-1 vote to adopt the current 2018 budget. Stenger retaliated on Jan. 3 by withholding money from the council’s own operations. It was a strike at the council’s effort to hire staff for its in-house auditor, a post the executive does not control.
“I am hoping that reasonableness prevails,” Stenger told KMOX radio. Council Chairman Sam Page, a fellow Democrat, called Stenger’s move “petty and illegal.”
Trouble simmered as Stenger campaigned for renomination, narrowly edging a vigorous challenge by Mark Mantovani in the Aug. 7 primary. Voters rejected the council’s request to hire its own staff attorney. But Democrats in the mid-county 5th Council District dumped incumbent Pat Dolan, Stenger’s last reliable council ally, for Lisa Clancy of Maplewood, who has “concerns” with Stenger’s performance.