LaShana Lewis and Benjamin Singer for the St. Louis American: “Proposition R a model for needed, powerful change”

In the federal indictment of St. Louis City Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed, he explained the difference between legal and illegal corruption. 

Some politicians shake down donors, then help them later. It’s totally legal, as long as they don’t explicitly state a quid pro quo—“If you give me that, then I’ll give you this.”

Reed asked a donor for $20,000. The donor, wearing a wire for the FBI, asked for a tax abatement. Reed said, “Let's have a break between this conversation and that conversation... legally I can't put them together in one meeting. So, let's finish this one, and then...talk about that."

It’s no surprise that voters have had enough. On April 5, 2022 nearly 70% of St. Louis City voters approved Proposition R for Reform to make corruption illegal and increase accountability, transparency, and ethics in City government. The campaign for Prop R achieved historic success as the first City charter amendment by citizen initiative in 80 years. In taking long-overdue conflict-of-interest reforms to voters, the campaign is a model for powerful, effective, grassroots change. 

In response to widespread concerns about conflicts of interest at the Board of Alderpersons, we invited the public, civic organizations like the League of Women Voters, and leaders to help shape the policy. We also polled to understand what the public wanted and oversampled Black residents to ensure a representative voice. The coalition agreed on a set of values to guide us and keep us accountable to each other. If any powerful group joined the coalition to influence the policy, their considerations would be vetted against these values. Elected officials provided input, but did not have a vote on the policy, since the goal was to hold them accountable. 

National experts wrote memos recommending best practices from other American cities. Alderwoman Ingrassia worked with the Brennan Center for Justice on the redistricting portion. The Campaign Legal Center recommended anti-corruption recusal rules from San Francisco and Chicago where alderpersons are prohibited from participating in votes that conflict with a direct, personal or financial, interest. Kansas City extends their recusal policy to relationships that cause conflicts, including family, labor contracts, and boards or commissions the official serves on as a private citizen. Both Chicago and Sacramento require all conflict of interest filings to be uploaded onto their city websites for public disclosure. We followed all of these recommendations. 

The top attorneys in Missouri wrote these into a charter amendment, which was then vetted by other local and national attorneys.

Finally, propelled by a $100,000 crowdfunding campaign and 30,000 signatures, Prop R was truly of, by, and for the people.

Like any policy that experts have written, vetted, or implemented, it’s possible that unintended outcomes may arise. As part of our commitment to being community-driven, we are willing to take a second look at specific provisions if the community raises concerns. Democracy is an ongoing process and at some point, certain policies might need to be sent back to voters for adjustments. We can support any changes that ensure the City Charter produces accountable, transparent, and equitable government for the people of St. Louis. 

What we do not support, however, are frivolous lawsuits by status quo politicians trying to block the implementation of Prop R. The citizens of St. Louis spoke loud and clear when they voted overwhelmingly for the measure: we do not want conflicts of interest at the Board of Alderpersons. The lawsuit filed by four Alderpersons, including one who resigned for bribery, is nothing more than a desperate attempt by politicians to intimidate citizens into not holding them accountable. These actions to subvert the will of the people are unacceptable. 

Proposition R’s community-driven policymaking process launched a powerful, focused, grassroots movement for change. It was built on the idea that working together, openly and transparently, with honest, best-practice recommendations, builds trust, ownership, and enthusiasm from the community. 

Imagine if we took the same approach to reforming the city-county divide, party primaries, or other broken, inefficient, unaccountable government structures?  We hope that the success of Proposition R will serve as an inspiring model for future community-driven reform in our city, region, and state. 

LaShana Lewis is a software engineer, CEO of L.M. Lewis Consulting, and Board Chair of Show Me Integrity Education Fund. Benjamin D. Singer is the CEO of Show Me Integrity.

Read this op-ed on the St. Louis American website here.