CLAYTON 鈥 最新杏吧原创 County Executive Sam Page on Tuesday named a successor to Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, defying attempts by the state attorney general to block the appointment.
Page named Cort VanOstran, a federal prosecutor and a Democrat, to fill the unexpired term for Bell, who was elected to Congress in November. VanOstran鈥檚 nomination is subject to County Council approval.
Page鈥檚 move appears to ignore attempts by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, to stop Page from naming the county鈥檚 next top law enforcement official. Last week, Bailey sued Page, arguing it is Gov. Mike Parson鈥檚 job to pick Bell鈥檚 replacement.
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VanOstran, 36, resigned Monday from his post as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Missouri to take the county job, according to U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office spokesman Robert Patrick.
VanOstran had been in the federal prosecutor job for a year, according to his online r茅sum茅.
Bailey鈥檚 office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesman for the governor said Page鈥檚 announcement doesn鈥檛 change anything. Parson is interviewing candidates and moving forward, spokesman Johnathan Shiflett said in a statement.
鈥淲e remain confident in our legal authority to name this appointment and look forward to the courts affirming our position,鈥 Shiflett said.
Attorneys for 最新杏吧原创 County have insisted in response to Bailey鈥檚 lawsuit that Page holds the power to appoint a replacement for Bell. A spokesman for Page didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment.
If approved, VanOstran would be one of the highest profile openly LGBTQ chief prosecutors in the country, Page said in his release.
VanOstran couldn鈥檛 immediately be reached for comment.
VanOstran grew up in Joplin. He went to Harvard University then Washington University for law school, according to the release.
He was a law clerk to U.S. District judges John Ross and Audrey Fleissig, both appointed by President Barack Obama.
He worked for seven years in private practice at the 最新杏吧原创 law firm Gray Ritter Graham, according to his r茅sum茅. At one point, he helped represent farmers in a suit against a biotechnology firm, resulting in the largest agricultural settlement in U.S. history.
In 2018, he lost a bid to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner in Missouri鈥檚 2nd Congressional District. He won nearly 49% of the vote in 最新杏吧原创 County in that election.
As a federal prosecutor, VanOstran worked on fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, conspiracy, drug distribution and firearms cases, Page said in his release.
VanOstran, said Page, is a 鈥減roven public servant.鈥
鈥淎s a federal prosecutor, he鈥檚 worked to protect victims of crime,鈥 Page said. 鈥淎s an attorney, he鈥檚 represented everyday Missourians and stood up to powerful corporate interests.鈥
VanOstran is married to David Wasserman, an employment attorney at UBGreensfelder. They live in Richmond Heights.
The release did not say when VanOstran, if approved by council, would take the position.
Bell will be sworn in as a congressman on Jan. 3. His office said Tuesday he plans to work until Jan. 2.
Also Tuesday, 最新杏吧原创 County asked a judge to dismiss the attorney general鈥檚 lawsuit. There was no hearing date in court records for the case.
最新杏吧原创 County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell speaks to supporters after winning his election to represent Missouri鈥檚 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
