Resident calls for investigation of crestwood's ward 4 election

Volume 19, Number 16

1 Section, 20 Pages

Thursday, April 21, 2016

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Mehlville Board of Education elects Stormer new president

By GLORIA LLOYD Staff Reporter In what is likely a first, all the officers of the Mehlville Board of Education are women, led by new board President Samantha Stormer.

In the board’s annual reorganization meeting last week, Stormer, new Vice President Jean Pretto and new Secretary Lisa Dorsey

were elected by acclamation, with no other nominees. Stormer was nominated by outgoing board President Venki Palamand, who originally recruited her to run for the board when he was re-elected and she and Pretto were elected in 2014.

Stormer told the Call that the addition of new board member Kevin Schartner, who (See PRESIDENT, Page 9A)

Trakas’ term on school board ends; says serving community ‘an honor’

By GLORIA LLOYD Staff Reporter Although for years Mehlville Board of Education member Lori Trakas has not shied away from criticizing Mehlville, she had nothing but positive things to say about the district, the community she served and her fellow board members as

she left the board last week.

Trakas finished third in a race for two seats in the April 5 election, behind newcomer and top vote-getter Kevin Schartner and longtime board member Larry Felton.

“It’s been a great blessing, and it’s been an honor to serve the community in this (See TRAKAS, Page 8A)

Bill Milligan photo

‘Food Truck Party at the Plaza’ a smash

Saturday’s ‘Food Truck Party at the Plaza’ was an unqualified success, according to Crestwood officials, as 12,000 to 15,000 people attended the event at the former Crestwood Plaza at Watson and Sappington roads. The send-off of the former mall was co-sponsored by the St. Louis Food Truck Association and the city of Crestwood. Chicago resident Jennifer Haddad, left, joins Affton residents Lisa, Nathan and Nancy Guthrie at the event. Visit www.callnewspapers.com to view more photographs from the party.

County police presentation to Crestwood start of conversation with residents

By MIKE ANTHONY Executive Editor St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar’s presentation to the Crestwood Board of Aldermen last week is the begin-

ning of a conversation with residents about how to stabilize the city’s finances, while continuing to provide the high level of services they have come to expect, according to City Administrator Kris Simpson.

With many members of the city’s Police Department present April 12, Belmar oversaw a presentation and questionand-answer period about the possibility of his department (See POLICE, Page 4A)

Election winners take seats on Lindbergh school board

Resident calls for investigation of Crestwood’s Ward 4 election

By GLORIA LLOYD Staff Reporter Lindbergh Schools voters just elected two new members to the Board of Education, but a pending appointment to replace board member Kate Holloway may give the runner-ups a second chance.

Board President Kathy Kienstra swore in new members Jennifer Miller and Mike Tsichlis last week, replacing outgoing board members Gary Ujka and Kara Horton.

In what is set to be the new members’ first major decision, the board will select someone May 9 to fill the

By MIKE ANTHONY Executive Editor A longtime Crestwood resident is calling for the city’s Board of Aldermen to investigate the April 5 Ward 4 aldermanic election, as he believes the outcome was “tainted.”

In a statement read by board President Mary Stadter of Ward 2 at last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting, David Brophy said he believes such an investigation could lead to one of the candidates in the April 5 Ward 4 election, Ismaine Ayouaz, being Lindbergh Board of Education President Kathy charged with a felony for allegedly misrepresenting his qualifiKienstra, right, swears in new board members cations to be on the ballot.

Mike Tsichlis and Jennifer Miller at last week’s Four candidates — Ayouaz, Tony Kennedy, former Alderman board meeting.

(See INVESTIGATION, Page 12A)

(See WINNERS, Page 5A)

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• Investigation Aldermanic election ‘tainted,’ resident writes in statement (Continued from Page 1A)

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Steve Nieder and Ryan Pascoe — sought the Crestwood Ward 4 aldermanic seat currently held by Cindy Minor. Kennedy was the winner with 369 votes. Ayouaz finished second with 289 votes, followed by Nieder with 166 and Pascoe with 94.

Minor, who did not file for election, was appointed to the seat last year to replace former Ward 4 Alderman Mike Tsichlis, who won a seat on the Lindbergh Board of Education.

In October, Ayouaz announced his intention to run as a write-in candidate, issuing a press release that stated he wasn’t qualified to be placed on the ballot because he would not be a registered voter for one year before the filing deadline, as required by the city Charter and code.

But on the last day of filing, Jan. 19, Ayouaz filed for office on the advice of his attorney, and city officials placed his name on the April 5 ballot. Ayouaz repeatedly has declined to identify his attorney.

No city officials commented on Brophy’s statement on the election after Stadter read it April 12.

In his statement, Brophy wrote, “In my opinion, the election was tainted, unfair to the three other candidates and legally invalid. The results of the election show that the winner of the election could have lost if the votes garnered by Mr. Ayouaz were distributed among the candidates who actually met the qualifications for the office of alderman.”

The resident also wrote, “On April 6, 2016, Crestwood resident Martha Duchild, who had been working at the polls, informed me that during a conversation with Mr. Ayouaz on Election Day he told her that he knew he could run legally as a write-in candidate but that he would lose if he chose to do so. Further, he indicated that based upon information provided to him by three attorneys who cited conflicts between the city Charter and the state Constitution, he chose to file his candidacy papers with the city, despite acknowledging that he had known at the time he filed that he did not meet the qualifications for the office of alderman.”

Brophy noted that he served on the city’s 2005 Charter Review Committee, an “experience that has familiarized me with our city constitution, the city Charter, in depth.”

“Since that time, I have become concerned that the provisions of the Charter are often either violated or at least ignored, simply disregarded or misinterpreted,” he wrote.

Brophy’s statement cited the Charter, which states that the Board of Aldermen “shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of the mayor and members of the Board of Aldermen ... and for such purposes shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and require the production of evidence. Any person charged with conduct constituting grounds for forfeiture of office shall be entitled to public hearing on written request. Decisions made by the Board of Aldermen under this section shall be sub-

ject to review by the courts.”

Brophy contended that a new election could be required. “... I am asking for a Board of Aldermen investigation into the Ward 4 election issues, which may well lead to a new election and with Mr. Ayouaz — and any other official knowingly inducing voters to cast votes which would be rejected — being charged with a felony. Finally, I do not believe that Tony Kennedy should be seated as an alderman until the legal validity of the Ward 4 election is determined and a new special election is held if it is required to remedy this situation,” Brophy wrote.

“All of the residents of Crestwood have a stake in this matter, since while an alderman is elected to represent the residents of a ward, he also votes on issues affecting all Crestwood residents and, thereby, represents them as well. Corruption of elections undermines, and could eventually destroy, our democratic system of government. It is the responsibility of the Crestwood legislative body to ensure that our elections are conducted with integrity, and that the ballots placed before the voters are not tainted by fraud,” Brophy wrote.

In a Facebook post Friday afternoon, Ayouaz took exception with a March 30 Call online article that reported the city incurred nearly $6,000 in legal fees related to his qualifications to be on the ballot.

“The SunCrest Call newspaper has falsely accused Ismaine Ayouaz as responsible for $6,000 incurred by the city of Crestwood in legal fees in February related to the issue of his qualification to run for aldermanic office in Ward 4 ...,” Ayouaz wrote.

In his Facebook post, he contended the legal costs were “directly incurred” as a result of public-records requests made by the Call, Nieder, former Ward 3 Alderman Jerry Miguel and Duchild about his qualifications.

Miguel was elected to his former Ward 3 seat in the April 5 election.

However, all of the expenses cited in the Call’s article were categorized under “legal opinions” in invoices submitted

by Lashly & Baer — not public-records requests, as Ayouaz asserted.

Ayouaz also wrote in his post: “Ayouaz’s attorney said in an email that ‘If there is a question regarding your qualifications, let the election authority challenge it. In order to challenge your qualifications, someone would have to file a complaint in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County.’ By law, anyone can challenge a candidate’s qualification before candidacies are certified by the St. Louis County Board of Election at their own expense with their own attorney.

Nobody did challenge Ayouaz’s qualification before Feb. 23.

“Five persons repeatedly called, emailed and made requests to Crestwood to have Ayouaz’s name removed from the April 5, 2016 ballot. Costs were incurred. Those individuals knew that they could file a complaint in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County to challenge Ayouaz’s qualifications, but did not do so,” Ayouaz wrote.

Additional documentation related to this story, including Ayouaz’s October press release and candidacy statement, can be viewed at www.callnewspapers.com.