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First meeting back, sparks fly
By Todd C. Frankel and Stephen Deere
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/22/2008
KIRKWOOD — The good feelings didn't last long.
Just one hour into the first meeting of the Kirkwood City Council since a deadly attack at City Hall two weeks ago, things turned confrontational. Any notion this meeting Thursday night would be a ceremonial exercise in moving on from tragedy evaporated with the first public speakers.
"You're taking our rights away from us," said Genevieve Hodges, one of at least 270 people packed inside the Robert G. Reim Theatre, which was serving as a temporary council chamber. "We want to be heard. We want to be respected."
But the reason for the outrage had little to do with any civil unrest or concerns about what caused a gunman to kill five people at a council meeting before he was fatally shot by police.
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It was about politics and who would be mayor of the municipality of 27,000.
With fiery words backed up by standing ovations and audience catcalls, person after person railed at the surviving councilmen and staff for removing the name of a slain councilwoman from the mayoral ballot of the upcoming April 8 election.
Connie Karr, who was among the six people killed Feb. 7, had filed to run for mayor. But last week, the council learned from county election officials that Karr was not an eligible candidate because she was deceased. With the consent of Karr's husband, the council voted to remove her name from the ballot. That left just one councilman, Arthur McDonnell, running for mayor.
And that touched off Thursday's uproar.
"We want an election, not an appointee," Ron Hodges told the council.
Pastor Miguel Brinkley of Kirkwood Church of God warned the council of "a negative impact" on the community if it did not undo the move to remove Karr's name. He called for an emergency ordinance to push the election to June. Other speakers echoed Brinkley's sentiment.
With tension rising, one woman stood up and asked the city attorney how the council managed to meet so quickly and without apparent public notice.
City Attorney John Hessel, notably understated as he sat on stage at a long table next to the council members, countered.
Hessel said he hurriedly organized a council meeting late last week when he was notified by the county elections board that the deadline to remove Karr's name from the ballot was fast approaching. He said he posted notice of the public meeting at City Hall on Feb. 14, and the council members met the next day. Hessel said he followed the law.
His answer was met with boos from the audience.
"This has been a tremendously difficult time for all of us," Hessel began to say.
"Us, too," someone shouted back, a response met with cheers.
Acting Mayor Tim Griffin at one point jumped to the city attorney's defense. He noted Karr's widowed husband was emphatic that he did not want his family to endure an election with Karr's name on the ballot.
"I can tell you that Kevin Karr said he did not want to go through with that. He could not have been more clear," Griffin said.
Some of the speakers were part of a newly formed group calling itself Kirkwood Coming Together for a Brighter Future. The members claim some city leaders are taking advantage of the deadly attack to consolidate their political power and deny residents a contested mayoral election.
Only Karr and McDonnell had filed to run for mayor. The current mayor, Mike Swoboda, who remains in the hospital after being shot two weeks ago, was not seeking re-election because of term limits.
Steven Garrett, attorney for the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners, said it appears the city has no choice but to press on with the scheduled election. Council members lack any legal authority to postpone it.
State law allows a municipality to reschedule an election in the event of a "disaster," Garrett said. A candidate's death, no matter how tragic, does not meet the legal definition, he said.
Still, even if the City Hall attack met the criteria of a disaster, Garrett said, the city could not change the names on the ballot because the deadline to file had passed.
Thursday's meeting opened with each council member thanking the community for their support and remembering the two council members, two police officers and public works director who were killed two weeks ago.
The council also voted to have Paul Ward, a former councilman, fill out the term of slain Councilman Michael H.T. Lynch, whose term was to expire in April.
It seemed to be intended as a moment of healing.
And when Ward walked on stage and was sworn in, the crowd greeted him with a standing ovation.
After that, the standing ovations were reserved for the speeches of residents.
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