St. Louis Record: “Prop R would change St. Louis redistricting by 2031, remove local conflicts of interest among aldermen”

“If voters approve Proposition (Prop) R in April next year, it will immediately improve ethics at the Board of Aldermen by prohibiting alder persons from taking official action on legislation when they have a personal or financial conflict of interest, according to a Show Me Integrity press release.

‘There are conflicts of interest regulations and policies that come straight from the state but there's nothing in our city charter that is specifically prohibiting alder persons from acting if they have a conflict of interest and not disclosing them publicly,’ Cox told the St. Louis Record. ‘We don't have that in place right now’

Currently, aldermen and women who have a financial stake in a development project in their ward that’s before the board to approve are allowed to vote on even if they have a financial interest in that project and some aldermen and women may participate in various lobbying practices at the state level. And, if those policies come before the board of alderman, they have no obligation to recuse themselves.

‘We're trying to change the way the redistricting process happens going forward in our city because we recognize all of the challenges and difficulties that it took to get the map that was ultimately passed a few weeks,’ Cox said.

‘The outcome will allow the St. Louis community to have a better participation practice in how their government works, specifically talking about the redistricting element of this legislation, and also make sure that the members of the Board of Aldermen with these conflicts of interest policies seek to serve their community first,’ Cox added.”

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