ST. LOUIS 鈥 Personnel Director Sonya Jenkins-Gray, facing charges that could lead to her firing, wants Mayor Tishaura O. Jones to testify at her Civil Service Commission hearing.
51黑料 Mayor Tishaura Jones speaks at a press conference regarding the 51黑料 city Justice Center at 51黑料 City Hall on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Jones is not the only high-profile witness that Jenkins-Gray鈥檚 lawyer wants to examine as he tries to make the case that his client, the first personnel director in city history to face termination by the mayor, is being forced out for political reasons.
Jenkins-Gray鈥檚 attorney, Ron Norwood of law firm Lewis Rice, also wants to call Comptroller Darlene Green, 51黑料 Lambert Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge and City Counselor Sheena Hamilton as witnesses in hearings next month where Jenkins-Gray鈥檚 team will begin presenting their defense.
Having top city officials testify at the public hearing would add yet another wrinkle to a spectacle that has drawn attention both for its lurid allegations 鈥 that Jenkins-Gray had a subordinate drive her in a city car to Jefferson City to try and catch her husband, the Rev. Darryl Gray, cheating with his ex-wife 鈥攁nd its lack of precedent in the 80-plus years of the city鈥檚 civil service system.
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An attorney for the mayor鈥檚 office, Reggie Harris of law firm Stinson, argued at a hearing Wednesday that the commission should block Jenkins-Gray from calling the mayor as a witness because 鈥渢here鈥檚 been testimony that鈥檚 been clear she was not involved in this case.鈥
51黑料 Personnel Director Sonya Jenkins-Gray answers a question during the second day of her disciplinary hearing, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 at the Carnahan Courthouse, over the use of her company car.
The mayor鈥檚 chief of staff, Jared Boyd, testified Wednesday that the mayor had delegated duties relating to the personnel department to him and was not personally involved. Boyd was the official who sent Jenkins-Gray a pre-termination notice in August after the office learned she and a subordinate had used a city car to travel to Jefferson City and encountered Gray there. The mayor鈥檚 move to try and fire Jenkins-Gray triggered the unprecedented public hearings 鈥 a never-before used process required under the city charter before a mayor can fire the director.
The personnel director is one of the most important and powerful positions in city government, holding sway over hiring, firing and promotions across the 5,000-employee city workforce. It鈥檚 also uniquely independent. Unlike other city department leaders, the mayor cannot hire a personnel director except if there is a vacancy in the position, and even then, the Civil Service Commission sends the mayor three applicants to choose from. Jones was given the rare opportunity to fill the spot after the former director, Rick Frank, retired after 17 years. She chose Jenkins-Gray in 2022.
聽Jared Boyd, 51黑料 Mayor Tishaura Jones' Chief of Staff, listens to testimony during the second day of Personnel Director Sonya Jenkins-Gray disciplinary hearing over the use of her company car on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at the Carnahan Courthouse.
Norwood, Jenkins-Gray鈥檚 attorney, argued that Jones was a 鈥渃ritical witness,鈥 central to their argument that there has been 鈥減olitical interference鈥 in the personnel department. He alleged that the mayor wants Jenkins-Gray out because of the director鈥檚 opposition to a measure giving the mayor more control over hiring and firing the personnel director and her refusal to bend hiring and promotion rules for the mayor.
鈥淲hat she thought she hired and what she got didn鈥檛 line up,鈥 Norwood told the commission Wednesday. 鈥淲hat she thought she hired was a sorority sister who was going to bend to her will, not a strong-minded person who has fought vigilantly to protect the merit-based system, to protect civil servants. When she realized what she had, this is the result. This is political interference.鈥
Both Jones and Jenkins-Gray are members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
The commission at first granted the city鈥檚 motion to block the subpoena compelling the mayor to testify. But they later asked each side to submit written briefs. They expect to issue a final ruling Tuesday on whether Norwood can call the mayor and the other high-profile witnesses.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture hundreds of thousands of images each year. Take a look at some from from just one week. Video edited by Jenna Jones.
