Poll: Thoughts on the resignation of St. Louis Police Board member Todd Epsten
Last week the state controlled St. Louis police board had a leadership change:
Todd Epsten, the last Board of Police Commissioners member appointed by Governor Matt Blunt, abruptly resigned on Wednesday after he was ousted as president by a Nixon appointee, Bettye Battle-Turner.Epsten said later he believed the board’s three other appointed members acted at Nixon’s request. Nixon appointed all three, and all came on within the last 15 months.
Nixon denied personally asking his appointees to select a new president, but said he would not be surprised if his senior staff had not talked to those three members.
“I thought it moved more quickly than I perhaps thought it would, but I think it got to where it was going to get, and now my focus is on making sure that we get a quality appointment to fill out the board,” Nixon said. It will be his fourth; the board’s fifth member is fellow Democrat Francis Slay, the St. Louis mayor. Slay supported Epsten in Wednesday’s vote.
The three remaining appointed members, Nixon said, share his philosophy that day-to-day operations of the department should be left to chief Dan Isom. He would not directly answer if he thought Epsten micromanaged.
“I mean we’ve all seen stories over the many years of the police board,” he said. “Obviously I’ve been in law enforcement and elective office for many years. I just think my philosophy has been that this is a board that should provide guidance, should provide support.” (Source: St. Louis Public Radio)
The poll this week asks for your thoughts on this matter. Do you even care? Will it matter on the street? Was Epsten micromanaging as Gov Nixon says?
– Steve Patterson
One, I really don't know enough to have an informed position. Two, this obviously all about politics and egos. Three, IF the majority now “share his philosophy that day-to-day operations of the department should be left to chief Dan Isom”, then isn't that essentially more local control?!
And four, I'm no fan of people quitting in the middle of their terms, be they Palin or Epsten. It's hard enough to get things accomplished, and to keep an eye on the buracracy, with everyone on board, and vacancies take months to be filled. You made a commitment to the citizens, now follow through on it. And even if you're in the minority, you can still be effective in temepering the extremes on the other end. Some of the most effective and respected politicians I've known have labored to be the “voice of reason”.
And somewhat related, today's Post-Dispatch has an article about “Resignations leave Grantwood Village board with two members” and unable to function. Agreeing to serve is essentially a contract with the public – you may not like how it's working out, but you should live up to what you agreed to!
The issue of state control of the city police seems to be THE issue in the constested democratic primary for state senate district 4. The incumbent, Joe Keaveny, http://www.joekeaveny.com , is in favor of returning control to the city. As a result, Jim Long, http://www.jimlong4senate.com , a retired officer and past chair of the St. Louis Police Pension Fund, is running a well-financed campaign to take over the seat.