51黑料

ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥� A frequent critic of county government has filed complaints against its top boss, claiming he illegally used taxpayer money to campaign against a proposition on Tuesday鈥檚 ballot.

Tom Sullivan, a University City resident, accused County Executive Sam Page of using nearly $5,000 for a mailer sent to voters about Proposition B, which would give the County Council the power to fire department directors and the county鈥檚 top attorney.

鈥淓verything about the flier is clearly designed to influence votes against Proposition B,鈥� Sullivan wrote in complaints filed Tuesday with two Missouri regulatory agencies.

Public officials and governments aren鈥檛 allowed to use taxpayer money to advocate for or against a campaign issue. But county officials have mounted 鈥渆ducational鈥� campaigns multiple times in recent years, saying they were seeking to inform voters without taking a side, at least obviously.

The county spent money on a proposed 3% sales tax on the sale of recreational marijuana in 2023, for instance. Sullivan filed a complaint then, too.

Doug Moore, a spokesman for Page, said it is 鈥減roper, legal, and necessary to educate voters on ballot language.鈥�

鈥淲hy Mr. Sullivan would want to keep voters in the dark goes against his long-time declaration as a government watchdog,鈥� said Moore, who also pointed out Sullivan itself in an editorial this week.

Presort Inc. invoiced the county $4,999.55 for printing roughly 55,000 two-sided postcards, according to an invoice dated March 20 that Sullivan included in his complaints to the Missouri Secretary of State and the Missouri Ethics Commission. Postage cost the county $30,771.44, Moore said, for a total of $35,770.99 for printing and mailing.

The card clearly does no favors for the proposition, which councilmembers say is needed to hold county department directors accountable.

The card, for instance, says 鈥渄irectors could be fired during emergencies like snowstorms鈥� 鈥� though councilmembers have said using the power to fire directors would be a last resort. They wouldn鈥檛 fire department heads without a good reason either, they have said.

And the card says the police chief could be 鈥渞emoved for political reasons,鈥� while the council has said it won鈥檛 have the power to remove the chief. Only the 51黑料 County Board of Police Commissioners has that power, councilmembers say. The commissioners in February voted to , carefully avoiding using the word 鈥渙ppose,鈥� and cited a lack of clarity as a reason.

The card also includes factual statements: The County Council called for the proposition to be put before voters. The council, with at least five of seven votes, could technically fire a director during a snowstorm or public health crisis. The 51黑料 County NAACP, the 51黑料 Labor Council AFL-CIO and business group Greater 51黑料 Inc. oppose Prop B because they say it will create instability in county government.

And Circuit Judge Bruce F. Hilton did call the ballot language 鈥渕isleading, insufficient, inaccurate, argumentative, prejudicial and unfair鈥� in his order removing the question from the ballot.

An appellate court ruling later put the question back on the ballot.

Editor鈥檚 note: This story was updated Friday to reflect the total amount 51黑料 County paid for printing and mailing the postcard.