This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 16, 2010 - Listeners crowded the room and spilled into the hallway to hear arguments that most have heard many times before.
At issue: After 150 years, should the state of Missouri retain control of the St. Louis police department or return it to City Hall?
What was noteworthy Monday night was the setting, in Jefferson City in the state Capitol. The two-and-a-half-hour hearing before a state House committee marked the first time since the Civil War that the Legislature appeared to be giving serious consideration to the idea of relinquishing control of the police departments in the city of St. Louis and Kansas City.
And the bill proposing the idea has the backing of at least some House leadership. (Click here to read the House bill, HB1601 and here to view the Senate version, SB 643.)
About 75 people -- many from the St. Louis area -- attended the hearing conducted by the Special Committee on Urban Issues, a rare Democratic-led panel in the Republican-controlled House.
The audience included St. Louis officials who have long clamored for city control and dozens of police officers who'd prefer to keep things the way they are.
During the session, the panel heard testimony from each camp.
Those for the bill, led by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, said residents often seek help with crime problems from City Hall officials, who have no power over the police department, although the city pays its bills. And when a police scandal breaks, like the recent indictment of several officers in a car-towing scandal, Slay and his allies said there was little City Hall could do.
Referring to the state Capitol, Slay said, "The power's up here, but there's no accountability up here."
The mayor and others, including former Mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl, also contended that City Hall control would result in cost savings for taxpayers, by eliminating duplicative operations that City Hall and the Police Department now maintain.
State Rep. Tishaura Jones, D-St. Louis and a member of the House panel conducting the hearing, said a survey of her district showed 80 percent supported City Hall control of the police department.
But members of police organizations said local control wouldn't be a "silver bullet" to fix any police department problems. Instead, they asserted that putting City Hall in control would result in a system that favors political ties rather than skill.
"The interference of city politics would be ... unbearable," said Joe Steiger of the St. Louis Police Officers Association.
Police also voiced concerns that City Hall control would lead to city control of their pensions and other benefits, and potential cuts. The chief sponsor of the House bill -- state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis -- has emphasized that the measure would not apply to the pension system, and would keep it under state control.
Her side got a boost from state House Majority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville -- a key player in the House leadership -- who made a brief appearance during the hearing and indicated that he thinks the Legislature should return control to the city.
"You're just trying to be treated fairly, like every other municipality in the state," he told Slay.
Both camps have yet to hear from one top state official who wasn't at the hearing: Gov. Jay Nixon, who would have to decide whether to sign or veto any local-control bill that landed on his desk.
As a Democrat from Jefferson County, Nixon is well aware of the long-standing argument. As governor, he also now wields most of the power over the urban police departments.
A spokesman said Monday that the governor was paying attention, as he was to all bills before the Legislature, and would weigh in at the appropriate time.
The committee also includes: Chairman Ted Hoskins, D-Berkeley; Jason Brown, R-Platte City; Vicki Englund, D-St. Louis County; Tim Flook, R-Liberty; Jeff Grisamore, R-Lee's Summit; Jonas Hughes, D-Kansas City; Andrew Koenig, R-Winchester; Mike Leara, R-St. Louis County; and Kate Meiners, D-Kansas City.
Hoskins, D-Berkeley, said he would alert all interested parties before the panel decides what to do with the bill. If his committee approves the measure, it still would need to go to another House committee, and then to the House floor.
(Beacon political reporter Jo Mannies provided some information for this article.)