The showdown over who gets to pick 最新杏吧原创 County鈥檚 next prosecutor is about more than just competing legal arguments. It鈥檚 also yet another demonstration that the once-sacrosanct Republican principle of respecting local control no longer exists 鈥 at least not in situations where it would benefit Democrats.
最新杏吧原创 County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell鈥檚 congressional electoral victory on Nov. 5 means he will be headed for Washington, D.C., in January, opening a mid-term vacancy for the job of top county cop. The county鈥檚 charter says County Executive Sam Page, a Democrat, must appoint a replacement. But Republican Gov. Mike Parson claims the Missouri Constitution gives him superseding authority to make the appointment.
There appear to be rational legal arguments on both sides, but one very clear precedent: When St. Charles County was in an identical situation last year, and its Republican county executive moved to appoint a prosecutor to fill a vacancy, Parson stayed out of it. It鈥檚 a reasonable precedent that he should adhere to now.
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Section 4 of the says: 鈥淭he governor shall fill all vacancies in public offices unless otherwise provided by law 鈥︹ Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, argues that passage lets Parson step in and appoint Bell鈥檚 replacement.
Page鈥檚 office counters that there is an 鈥渙therwise provided by law鈥 exception here: the county charter, which specifies that the county executive must fill vacant county posts.
Bailey and Parson have tried to muddy the issue by noting that when former 最新杏吧原创 Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner was forced to resign, Parson appointed her replacement, Gabe Gore. That鈥檚 an irrelevant red herring, because the city doesn鈥檛 have the same charter language as the county, and city leaders supported Parson鈥檚 involvement.
A better comparison is St. Charles County, whose charter contains the same language regarding appointments as 最新杏吧原创 County鈥檚. When St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar resigned last year, Republican County Executive Steve Ehlmann appointed his replacement, Joseph McCulloch.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 contact the governor鈥檚 office,鈥 Ehlmann told the Post-Dispatch鈥檚 Joe Holleman, 鈥渁nd we never heard from them either.鈥 Go figure.
Bailey and Parson may claim that it鈥檚 their prerogative to decide whether to bigfoot into a local appointment decision, but the very constitutional passage they cite doesn鈥檛 indicate that: 鈥淭he governor shall (emphasis added) fill all vacancies in public offices unless otherwise provided by law,鈥 it says.
That would seem to mean that either the governor must intervene in all cases, or must stay completely out of the ones covered by other laws 鈥 one or the other.
If there鈥檚 a constitutional provision that says Parson gets to decide which part of that passage to ignore based on partisan politics, let him cite it. Otherwise, he should get his meddling nose out of this local decision.
