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ST. LOUIS — Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on Monday named John Unnerstall, an 18-year veteran of the city’s personnel department, as her director of personnel.

Unnerstall was a finalist for the director position in 2022 and most recently has served as deputy director. Unnerstall’s appointment fills the vacancy left by the mayor’s firing earlier this month of Sonya Jenkins-Gray over a July 3 episode where she had an employee use a city car to drive her to Jefferson City for a personal matter.

Jenkins-Gray, who was hired by the mayor in 2022, claimed the move was political retaliation for her refusal to support a mayor-backed law change giving the administration more power over the department and because of her husband’s political activities.

The “emergency appointment� of Unnerstall will last for 20 working days, the mayor’s office said. It cited a civil service rule allowing such appointments in the case of “an emergency which may result in loss of public property or serious inconvenience to the public.�

“We want to ensure any critical functions of city government regarding employment can continue with a director in place,� said Conner Kerrigan, a spokesman for Jones.

The move may sidestep former Personnel Director Rick Frank’s bid for his old job back. Frank, who retired in 2021, sought reemployment rights to his old position in 2023. Jenkins-Gray approved his request in November as she faced a pending public hearing that ultimately led to her firing.

Last week, the Civil Service Commission was set to vote on rule changes that would have allowed it to cancel reemployment rights for Frank. But Frank and the union representing city firefighters sued, and Judge Christopher McGraugh last week sided with them, blocking the commission from changing the rules.

All the maneuvering underscores the importance of the personnel director, one of the most powerful jobs in city government. The person who holds the position has broad say over hiring, firing and promotions across the 5,000-employee city bureaucracy. The personnel director is the only position the mayor cannot fill upon taking office. As a result, past directors have served long tenures across multiple administrations. Jenkins-Gray was the first in city history to be fired after a never-before-used public hearing process.

The department has been without a director since Jenkins-Gray was fired March 13. While the mayor’s office has said it can still fill positions via existing lists of eligible applicants, a director is needed in order to sign off on testing and new lists of eligible applicants for city vacancies, which the city has struggled to fill for years.

Jones had hoped to make an interim appointment to fill the vacant director’s position. But Frank argued his reemployment rights at least gave him the right to a job interview. His lawyer, Emily Perez, also said in court that the city can’t make a provisional appointment if there is an existing eligible candidate. Frank was the only eligible candidate for director.

The administration said it would interview Frank last week. The former director said Monday the interview was “thorough and cordial.� But late Monday afternoon, he received an email from the city. His application had been rejected.

“It was indeed a sham interview,� Frank said Monday. “This only confirms it.�