Sunshine Requests Reveal MWBE Suspension Decision Details
Public record requests fulfilled by the city have provided additional context around the series of events leading to the mayor’s decision to halt its MWBE contractor diversity program. Emails provided by the city answer some questions that have been raised in the aftermath of the decision to suspend the longstanding program. Other questions remain unanswered.
No Specific Federal Threats Over The Program
One of the most commonly asked questions following the seemingly abrupt decision to suspend the MWBE program is whether the city had received specific communications from the federal government demanding that the program be ended. Most coverage of the issue has pointed to a Department of Justice letter received by the city in May, which appears to have been a bulk letter sent to federal grant recipients nationwide. The letter did state the Trump administration’s new interpretation of civil rights laws, which underpins the threats to federal funding. In addition to the May letter, the public records request also produced an April letter from the Department of Transportation, echoing the Department of Justice’s May letter. Both letters reference the Trump administration’s desire to end Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
The city also received a letter that was dated much closer to the mayor’s announcement. Just a few days before the suspension was announced, the city received an additional letter about the Trump administration’s desire to end DEI programs, reiterating that failure to do so could result in the loss of federal funding. This letter came from the Department of Justice. This also appears to be a generic letter sent to many recipients. It doesn’t mention any specific city programs. This letter was likely received by most municipalities and counties in the United States. At that time of the program’s suspension, the mayor said that the city was receiving escalating threats from the federal government. This is potentially the communication referenced in Mayor Spencer’s open letter announcing the program’s suspension.
Unless further communications were omitted from the city’s response to our public records request, there is no evidence that the city received any communication from the federal government that specifically mentions the MWBE program or demands it be ended. All three pieces of communication provided appear to have been bulk letters sent out en masse to municipalities and counties across the country. This would seem to bolster critics’ argument that the mayor made this move prematurely and without any imminent threat city funding.
Little Official Communication With Aldermen
As previously reported, four northside aldermen, all of them Black, have complained that aldermen were given no advance notice of the mayor’s decision to suspend the MWBE program. Ald. Boyd was quoted in the St. Louis American saying, “We reminded her that she was once an alderperson and knows how important these relationships are, and still, nobody cared to pick up a phone and speak to us.” The mayor’s office has insisted that there was communication with the aldermen prior to the program’s suspension. A public records request shines a light on the claim that the mayor did not properly communicate with the aldermen.
The notification email from then Policy Director Casey Millburg, which announced the MWBE program suspension to the members and staff of the Board of Aldermen, does in fact indicate that they were notified after the mayor’s letter had been publicly released. “This morning, the City began sending out the attached public letter that reflects difficult conversations held this week on the M/WBE program with a range of community and City department partners, including the City’s legal department,” stated the email sent to the members and staff of the Board of Aldermen. This would seem to support the aldermen’s claim that the mayor’s office did not properly notify or discuss the program’s suspension with the aldermen. Ms. Millburg was recently announced as the mayor’s new Chief of Staff.
This does not account for any face-to-face conversations that may have occurred between the mayor’s office and aldermen. Given the fact that most of the aldermen, including a majority of those who identify as women and/or racial minorities, have not pushed back on the decision, it is likely that at least some offline discussions were had. A request was made to the mayor’s office for any documentation of meetings on the subject with aldermen. As of publication, we have not received a response. Discussions about the issue were likely informal, owing to the sensitivity of the subject. While informal conversations provide confidentiality, the method also makes it impossible to prove that they occurred.
Interim City Counselor Offers Legal Justification
In response to our previous questions about the mayor’s legal authority to unilaterally halt the program, the mayor’s office offered an explanation from interim City Counselor Michael Garvin. The response references the city’s red light camera ordinance as an example of a law that the city has suspended without aldermanic action.
A legal expert consulted on the matter noted that this is not necessarily an applicable comparison. The city’s red light camera ordinance was deemed illegal by the Missouri Supreme Court. The city’s MWBE program has not faced a similar legal challenge and loss. As of today, no court has found the program to be illegal. In fact, President of the Board of Aldermen Megan Green has explicitly stated her belief that the ordinance is legal and would survive a court challenge, based on the precedent set in Richmond v. Croson (1989). ”Let me be clear: MWBE ordinances are laws. They cannot be ignored unless repealed or struck down in court. If we don’t follow the law, we open the City up to lawsuits,” said President Green in a public Facebook post.
