By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – Four former St. Louis mayors got the cold shoulder Tuesday from several aldermen who are opposed to major city charter changes.
Jim Conway, Vince Schoemehl, Freeman Bosley Jr., and Clarence Harmon dropped by a hearing of the aldermen's Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. The four are leaders of the charter reform effort.
Most aldermen are opposed to proposals on the November ballot that would thin their ranks and give the mayor more power.
But when one alderwoman on the committee invited the mayors to speak, she didn't get the necessary support from her colleagues.
Former mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. was with the group.
"They're really not interested in hearing from us," Bosley said. "Now would have been as good a time as any to really ask those people who are responsible for this process the questions that you want to ask them."
The aldermen wanted Jason Hannasch to testify instead. He heads the charter reform group Empower St. Louis.
The committee was told Hannasch was on vacation. Hannasch did not return a call seeking comment.