St. Louis County voters could give the council its own attorney with Prop C

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – St. Louis County voters are filling out lengthy ballots as no-excuse absentee voting begins, and Councilwoman Rita Heard Days hopes people do not overlook Proposition C.

"There are three branches of government, and we need to be in control of the legislative process," she said.

Proposition C would give the county council its own attorney. Right now, the county counselor provides those legal services, but that role falls directly under the executive branch. Councilman Mark Harder says this has created numerous conflicts for years now.

"Where this would help us is in issues dealing with legislation that the majority of the board will be advocating for or against when it comes up against the county executive and his wishes," he said.

The entire council is not in agreement on this though. The proposition was only added to the ballot following a 4-3 vote back in August. We reached out to the three no-votes for an interview but we either never heard back or they were unavailable.

During that August meeting, Councilman Ernie Trakas said the ballot language is confusing and misleading.

“This bill will result in a lawsuit being filed against the county, which the county will lose,” he said.

Trakas was unavailable for an interview Tuesday but said Prop C is a bad policy so that the council can usurp executive branch authority.

"It's very difficult to serve two masters and when someone has hired you to do a job, you're going to lean into what their wishes are,” Days said. “But we need someone who can be independent in the thinking of the council.”

To read the ballot language, click here.