最新杏吧原创

The 最新杏吧原创 County Charter amendment, Proposition C, passed with nearly 62% of the vote Tuesday, giving the council some added heft in potential legal battles or investigations into Page鈥檚 administration.

The council鈥檚 attorney now is an employee of the 最新杏吧原创 County Counselor, who is appointed by the county executive. Page and his allies opposed the measure, arguing the council鈥檚 attorney still gives them independent advice. But Page鈥檚 critics say the county counselor鈥檚 office slow-walks requests for legislation and the council鈥檚 attorney is not truly independent if his or her boss is a political appointee of the county executive.

In her conversations, many voters thought the council already had its own lawyer, said Rita Heard Days, a Bel-Nor Democrat who is part of a bipartisan bloc sometimes at odds with Page.

鈥淭hey were surprised how linked the council was to the administration in terms of legal representation,鈥� Days said.

Many legislative bodies have their own attorneys on staff so they don鈥檛 have to rely on lawyers that work for the executive branch, including Congress, the Missouri House and Senate and the 最新杏吧原创 Board of Aldermen. Page himself was a proponent of the idea in 2018, when he was council chair and former 最新杏吧原创 County Executive Steve Stenger, who went to prison for corruption, used the county counselor鈥檚 office to stymie council oversight of his administration.

Mark Harder, a Chesterfield Republican who has clashed with Page, said voters saw the value of the measure.

鈥淲ith no money to speak of to help the cause, people realized how important these issues are and will help our council be able to govern and create policy in the future,鈥� Harder said. 鈥淢any of the policies that come down (from the administration) have loopholes in them and we need to know about them. If it鈥檚 being written in the favor of the executive branch or special interests, whoever it may be, we just need extra eyes on things when legislation is being considered.鈥�

But the measure also specifically gives the council the ability to hire lawyers independent of the county counselor to enforce subpoenas it issues, an ability that Harder said could have helped the council when it was investigating how much time Page was working as an anesthesiologist in addition to his county job.

鈥淚f we had a person representing our interests a little more aggressively, I think we would have gotten our answer a little quicker,鈥� Harder said.

Voters also approved another charter amendment opposed by Page, Proposition A, allowing each member of the council to appoint a member of the 最新杏吧原创 County Port Authority, which awards millions of dollars a year in grants and other contracts. The charter had reserved that appointment power for the county executive.

Meanwhile, Page is losing two of his longtime council allies after Kelli Dunaway, a Chesterfield Democrat, opted not to seek another term and Ernie Trakas, a South County Republican, was defeated in the August primary by Mike Archer. Archer, who has said he is not big fan of Page, bested Democrat Kevin Schartner by five points Tuesday. Filling Dunaway鈥檚 seat, voters elected Gretchen Bangert, a Florissant Democrat and former state representative who has been critical of Page and accused him of offering her a county job so she would drop out of the race.

Page, a Democrat, already faced an unfriendly bipartisan majority on the council, but it has now grown large enough to override the county executive鈥檚 vetoes and left him with only one consistent ally, Maplewood Democrat Lisa Clancy.

Asked about the potential for more conflict with the council, Page鈥檚 spokesman, Doug Moore, said the county executive was 鈥渨orking closely with the county council to address budget challenges and ensure that the excellent services our residents have come to expect continue.鈥�

鈥淭uesday鈥檚 election results will not change that,鈥� Moore said in a text.

The veto-proof majority and the council attorney power may ultimately encourage more cooperation, Harder and Days said, by forcing Page to try and repair his relationship with the council.

鈥淲e鈥檝e always had problems with communication,鈥� from Page鈥檚 administration, Days said. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that this will open up the lines of communication.鈥�