最新杏吧原创

In defeating longtime 最新杏吧原创 County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch in the Democratic primary, Bell became the first African-American elected to the office.

He ran on a platform of criminal justice reform. He鈥檚 opposed to the death penalty. He wants to see changes to how the county applies cash bail in nonviolent offenses.

The surprise victory drew national headlines, from New York to Los Angeles.

So, too, might another historic election, this one on Monday.

On that day, in an effort that ramped up shortly after Bell鈥檚 primary victory, the assistant prosecutors in 最新杏吧原创 County will vote on whether to become members of the .

The timing is odd, if not outrageous.

For 28 years, the police officers association was one of McCulloch鈥檚 biggest backers, donating to his campaigns and supporting him when he declined to bring charges against police officers involved in questionable shootings.

Never during McCulloch鈥檚 tenure was there a serious attempt among the attorneys working for him to form a union. But now, with Bell taking over, apparently the ranks are nervous 鈥� about something.

The vote puts Bell in an odd position. He鈥檚 a supporter of unions, but officially, he鈥檚 not a party to the union organizing effort. He doesn鈥檛 take office until January.

So the police union鈥檚 president, Ed Clark, has been exchanging letters with County Executive Steve Stenger. In a November letter, Clark made it clear that time was of the essence in scheduling the union vote.

鈥淲hat is essential, however, is to move forward immediately to establish a timetable and procedure for the employees of the Prosecutor鈥檚 office to exercise their constitutional right to select (or not select) a collective bargaining representative,鈥� Clark wrote. 鈥淧lease understand that if the County delays or refuses to agree to a reasonable solution, It may waive its objections and allow this Union to establish an election procedure unilaterally.鈥�

What鈥檚 the rush? Maybe it鈥檚 between Stenger and the County Council over the Proposition P tax revenue, already tapped for raises in the prosecuting attorney鈥檚 office. Or maybe it鈥檚 fear over the county鈥檚 increasingly broken budget.

Or maybe it鈥檚 just Bell, who promises change.

In 最新杏吧原创 County, employees in the prosecuting attorney鈥檚 office already have civil service protections, so even if Bell wanted to, he couldn鈥檛 just come in and clean house overnight.

鈥淲e are all protected by the civil service rules, but if unionizing provides a greater benefit to workers鈥� rights, we support it,鈥� says Sam Alton, chief of staff to Bell, the prosecuting attorney-elect.

But, Alton notes, 鈥淭he timing is curious. For 28 years the employees have not unionized, and I noticed this happened just after the voters demanded sweeping change.鈥�

It is unusual but not unheard of for attorneys to unionize.

Earlier this year there was a short-lived effort to form a union among attorneys at the nonprofit Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. A similar legal aid organization in Brooklyn, N.Y., has a union.

So do the assistant prosecutors who work in Jackson County, Mo., and assistant prosecutors in Los Angeles.

But the arrangement can be fraught with potential conflicts, writes criminal justice journalist and author Radley Balko. In in the Washington Post, for instance, Balko pointed out a conflict between the L.A. prosecutors union opposing legislation requiring special prosecutors for police shootings. That advocacy put prosecutors on the same political team as the union representing the police officers they would be investigating.

If the 最新杏吧原创 County union vote were to pass on Monday, the city police union would be representing county prosecutors. Any veil of independence would be gone. The business manager of that union, Jeff Roorda, is a controversial figure who has posted and deleted racist social media posts. During the last mayoral election in the city of 最新杏吧原创, Mayor Lyda Krewson after he called Treasurer Tishaura Jones a 鈥渃op-hater鈥� and 鈥渞ace-baiter.鈥�

Roorda did not return calls or texts seeking comment.

The election is scheduled to take place Monday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the prosecuting attorney鈥檚 office in Clayton. There are 60 attorneys and investigators eligible to vote, among them investigator Joe Steiger, the former president of the police association when he was a detective in the 最新杏吧原创 Metropolitan Police Department.

Thirty-one yes votes will be required for the union election to succeed, according to a letter from Clark to Stenger.

In August, Bell slayed a giant. Soon, he鈥檒l find out if he鈥檚 going to battle with the army left behind.