CLAYTON, Mo. — One day after a federal indictment, the resignation of the county executive, and the swearing-in of a new one the St. Louis County Council was back in session for its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night. But, it was anything but business as usual.
Former County Executive Steve Stenger is out, facing federal corruptions charges.
Councilman Dr. Sam Page is in as the new county executive.
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And at Tuesday's meeting, both the council and the crowd said they want this to be a fresh start.
The meeting started with Page praising Councilwoman Hazel Erby. Monday night, supporters of Erby walked out of an emergency council meeting threatening to take Page to court over his election to his new position.
Erby, who also wanted the executive job, was the lone vote among councilmembers against Page's election.
But a day later, they were laughing together before the meeting and Page credited Erby with being, "the first among us to sound the alarm when she sensed corruption. And I look up to her for that."
The near capacity crowd and council members applauded, and Page said Erby's "quest" led to the council working across party lines "in historic fashion."
"The quest became a cause and the result is opportunity we now have to transform county government from top to bottom," added Page.
Erby, who previously served as the vice chair of the council will now serve as the council chair and ran Tuesday's meeting where more than 40 people signed up to speak before the council – not a record, but not a regular number either.
Some expressed leftover frustration at the Page's swift election but also congratulated him on the post.
Public comments covered a wide range of topics. One of the recurring themes was opposition to the St. Louis city/county merger proposal Better Together. One man asked that Page make his position on Better Together known before the meeting was over, but he did not.