Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday swore in the 16 members of the Ferguson Commission: a mix of lawyers, CEOs, former and current police officials and educators 鈥 along with one 20-year-old protester.
Nixon created the commission to address the 鈥渟ocial and economic conditions鈥 highlighted by protests after the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9.
At least one member of the commission, Felicia Pulliam, lives in Ferguson. She is development director at Focus 最新杏吧原创 and was an adjunct criminal justice professor at 最新杏吧原创 Community College. Another member, Scott Negwer, owns the Ferguson-based Negwer Materials.
Some of the appointees were selected by the governor from a pool of more than 300 people who applied. Nixon introduced them Tuesday afternoon at the Missouri History Museum.
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The co-chairmen of the commission are the Rev. , president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation and pastor of St. John鈥檚 United Church of Christ in 最新杏吧原创, and , chairman of the 最新杏吧原创 Regional Board of Teach for America, and former president of UniGroup Inc. and of Civic Progress.
McClure was also chief of staff for former Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft.
鈥淐hange of this magnitude is hard,鈥 Nixon said. 鈥淏ut maintaining the status quo is simply not acceptable.鈥
One community activist, Phillip Duvall, criticized the makeup of the commission, saying it 鈥渉as too many established people on it.鈥
Duvall applied to serve on the commission and was interviewed by Nixon鈥檚 representatives for about an hour a few weeks ago. On Monday, he said he learned that he was one of 60 finalists, but was not selected. Duvall, a former pastor of churches in north 最新杏吧原创 and west 最新杏吧原创 County, said he wanted more voices of dissent represented.
鈥淚 am going to have a hard time selling the commission now to people who are disenfranchised because I can鈥檛 give them anybody they can identify with,鈥 he said.
The commission includes 10 men and 6 women; nine are black, seven are white. One African-American member, Brittany Packnett, the executive director of Teach for America in 最新杏吧原创, wrote in an Aug. 14 blog post that 鈥渞acism killed鈥 Brown. She also wrote how, as a child, her brother watched police throw her father, a pastor and college professor, against the hood of his car and beat him.
鈥淢y brother was 5,鈥 Packnett wrote.
Nixon announced . He has said it was not an attempt to prepare the community for the possibility that Wilson won鈥檛 face charges at the state or federal level. A 最新杏吧原创 County grand jury is weighing whether to indict Wilson.
That decision is expected any day.
On Monday, Nixon declared a state of emergency and called up the Missouri National Guard to help deal with reaction to the grand jury鈥檚 decision.
The commission鈥檚 youngest member, protester Rasheen Lamont Aldridge Jr., said he did not support calling up the guard.
鈥淲e have been peaceful this long,鈥 Aldridge said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to get that out of hand.鈥
But he said it was important for protesters to be 鈥渋n every spot鈥 to help change the system.
Nixon said the commission will have 鈥渢he full authority of my office.鈥 He expects the group to issue a report no later than Sept. 15, 2015.
That deadline does not prohibit the commission from making recommendations in the meantime.
鈥淲e are not going to be waiting for a year,鈥 said Wilson, the co-chairman, adding that the commission would take advantage of opportunities 鈥渆ven during this legislative session.鈥
Five commission members do not appear on a list of applicants supplied to the Post-Dispatch by the governor鈥檚 office two weeks ago. Those are McClure; Daniel Isom, Missouri鈥檚 director of public safety and a former 最新杏吧原创 police chief; 最新杏吧原创 Police Sgt. Kevin Ahlbrand, deputy commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater 最新杏吧原创; Becky James-Hatter, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri; and Rose A. Windmiller, an assistant vice chancellor at Washington University.
Channing Ansley, a spokeswoman for Nixon, said that some members were selected based on recommendations.
Notable candidates who also applied for the commission but weren't selected included: Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III; Charles Jaco, a former television reporter and anchor; Chris Nicastro, outgoing Missouri commissioner of elementary and secondary education; Lewis Reed, president of the 最新杏吧原创 Board of Aldermen; and Shelley Welsch, University City mayor.
Also on Tuesday, . The lone dissenter on the board was Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.
Kinder said similar studies have been done since the 1960s. He doesn鈥檛 think this one, which 鈥渨ill gather dust on lots of shelves, will be an important part of the solution to Ferguson.鈥
Additional funding for the commission will be sought through private contributions.
Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Mike Downing, who also is on the finance board, has said the commission could need as much as $1 million to complete its mission. He did not provide details.
Alex Stuckey of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
