Four gubernatorial nominations to state boards have been withdrawn by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson because of opposition by state Sen. Steve Roberts, the governor鈥檚 spokesperson said in an email Wednesday.
The email said Roberts, D-St. Louis, had advocated for a paid position for himself on the Public Service Commission and for his father to receive an appointment to the UM Board of Curators.
Roberts said in an interview that he didn鈥檛 block the candidates because of their resumes but because of a lack of communication from the governor鈥檚 office.
鈥淭hey have not contacted me about any of the appointments and they know that there鈥檚 a process that鈥檚 supposed to be followed,鈥� Roberts said in his Capitol office. 鈥淪ome of them were great candidates, but it鈥檚 a procedure that we follow and they (the governor鈥檚 office) didn鈥檛 follow it. And anytime that happens, they鈥檙e going to be an automatic no.鈥�
That runs counter to the statement emailed to the Missourian by Johnathan Shiflett, the governor鈥檚 press secretary.
鈥淪en. Roberts has suggested he had no communication from our office over these appointments,鈥� Shiflett said. 鈥淲e, in fact, have communicated with Sen. Roberts on multiple occasions over the last few months. However, the only constituent Sen. Roberts advocated on behalf of was himself to get a paid appointment to the Public Service Commission and his father to be appointed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators.鈥�
Presented with that information, Roberts claimed again that Parson鈥檚 office never reached out to him about the people Parson was considering. He denied speaking to the governor鈥檚 office about his father.
When asked whether he reached out to the governor鈥檚 office about a paid position on the Public Service Commission Roberts said: 鈥淚鈥檓 focused on my next four years in the state Senate.鈥�
State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Parkville who serves on the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee, said the governor doesn鈥檛 always provide options or advance notice on who he recommends. He thinks the governor鈥檚 office has communicated well.
Roberts complained that the governor鈥檚 office's handling of appointments has been incompetent and that because of that incompetence they will get no one onto a commission before the end of session.
The appointments were all from the St. Louis region and included former St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson to the University of Missouri Board of Curators. Traditionally the senator from the area where an appointee resides sponsors the appointment regardless of party affiliation.
These commissions consult and make recommendations to state agencies and, in some instances, approve expenditures.
Here are the comments from the governor鈥檚 office about the appointees whose names were withdrawn:
鈥淵esterday, we withdrew four nominations, including Reverend Darryl Gray, Dan Isom, Winston Calvert, and Lyda Krewson, to various unpaid boards after Senator Steven Roberts refused to support them.鈥�
鈥淩ev. Gray has been an advocate for increasing workforce opportunities in the African American community, and we believe he would have been an excellent member of the Workforce Development Board.鈥�
鈥淒an Isom and Winston Calvert were to join the Bi-State Development Agency of the Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan District. We chose among a list of 3 names submitted to us by the St. Louis County Executive and St. Louis Mayor, and believe Mr. Isom鈥檚 background in public safety and Mr. Calvert鈥檚 experience in local government and nonprofit advocacy would have been valuable additions to the board.鈥�
鈥淔inally, former Mayor Lyda Krewson was withdrawn as a nominee for the University of Missouri Board of Curators. This appointment would have filled an expired term from the 1st Congressional District. Mrs. Krewson has been an advocate for the region and would have brought her valuable CPA skills to the board.鈥�
The email concluded, 鈥淲e will reassess our options during the interim and also look for nominees outside of Senator Robert鈥檚 district who wish to serve their region and the state.鈥�
This story originally appeared in the . It can be republished in print or online.
