Updated at 5:15 p.m.
The president of the St. Louis County NAACP at a news conference on Thursday announced his group’s endorsement of the Better Together city-county merger plan, which he said would “improve the lives of African Americans in St. Louis.”
But the announcement was quickly overshadowed by John Gaskin III’s reluctant admission that he had quit his job to take a paid position advocating for the merger. And two officers in the county NAACP chapter interviewed by a reporter later in the day said they were not in favor of the merger and did not know Gaskin was holding a news conference.
Gaskin’s embrace of the controversial ballot measure put his chapter at odds with state and local black leaders who have been vocal in opposition to the plan. The city’s NAACP chapter says it is still studying whether it will support it. Later Thursday, a state legislator said she was taking steps to create a spinoff NAACP chapter for north St. Louis County.
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In a speech at the Cheshire Inn, which straddles the city-county line, Gaskin said the status quo of splintered government “harms African Americans every day” and “pits us against each other.”
After Gaskin stepped away from the podium, a Post-Dispatch reporter asked him to confirm that he had just resigned from his position as diversity and inclusion manager for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership. He said yes, he’d found a new opportunity. The reporter asked what it was.
“Right now I’m going to help push Better Together, or helping push Unite STL’s campaign.”
Gaskin had not disclosed in his speech that he was now being paid by the group whose plan he had just endorsed in the strongest terms.
The reporter asked if it was a full-time paid position with Unite STL. “Yes,” Gaskin said.
Asked what he was being paid, he referred a reporter to Johnny Little, a communications consultant for the county NAACP. Little has not responded with those details.
Gaskin said he expected to negotiate a salary “at some point.” He said the job offer had come several months ago.
Moments later, Gaskin was called back to the podium for questions. Kevin Killeen, a reporter for KMOX (1120 AM), who had overheard the interaction on the side, pointed out that Gaskin was working for Better Together.
“I’m not being paid by Better Together, I want to be very transparent and clear about that,” Gaskin said. “But there are several individuals and organizations that have voiced their support for Better Together who have received no monetary support from that entity.”
The Post-Dispatch interjected to note Gaskin had moments before confirmed he was being paid.
“I am working for Unite STL,” he said. “Unite STL is not Better Together. Unite STL is the political arm that is pushing for the city-county consolidation on the ballot. So I will be working with outreach efforts with various people across the state to hopefully rally support in favor of this ballot question.”
After the news conference, Gaskin noted that the endorsement from his NAACP branch came by vote from its board, although he did not remember the vote total. An email from Little later clarified that vote had been unanimous.
That came as news to Lula Hall and Maggie Strong, the branch’s secretary and treasurer, whom the Post-Dispatch reached later at home.
Hall said she didn’t know Gaskin was having a news conference on Thursday.
“I’m the secretary and I should have known that,” she said. She said she didn’t remember a vote on Better Together although said she might have missed a meeting. “I need to know more about the pros and cons and whether it’s going to be advantageous to us or not.”
Strong said she heard from a neighbor who had read a news story on Thursday about the news conference, and was in the process of looking for the Post-Dispatch story when a reporter called.
“I don’t know anything about a vote,” she said, although she said she had missed the last meeting. She said she did not know that Gaskin was being paid to support Better Together.
“Oh, Lord Jesus,” she said. “I’m blindsided by this. I surely wouldn’t vote for this. No way would I vote for the merger of the city and county.”
Gaskin said a Better Together representative approached him “a couple of months ago” and said, “‘Hey, John, we’d like you to come here regardless of what your organization does.’ And I said let me think about it. I think this has an opportunity for us to create the table versus accepting scraps from the table.”
He said his departure from the Partnership had nothing to do with a federal investigation into St. Louis County government. The Partnership has said it is complying with three grand jury subpoenas to provide documents.
In November, Gaskin was elected president, replacing his retiring grandmother. At 26, becomes the youngest leader in the branch's 75 years.
The city NAACP chapter has not decided on whether it will support the merger plan. President Adolphus Pruitt said Thursday his chapter was not in favor of merging the city and county circuit courts because it would dilute the jury pools and potentially expose more black judges to nonretention votes.
As far as Gaskin’s dual role, Pruitt said: “I think there is the potential to be some kind of conflict.”
A state legislator said she was organizing an effort to create a breakoff NAACP branch for north St. Louis County. State Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, said she felt it was outrageous for Gaskin “to use the name of a historic organization to further something that’s advantageous for his wallet.” She said she began the process of collecting signatures to create the new chapter.
“I can’t tell you the name of one black public official in St. Louis County who supports Better Together,” she said.
After a reporter tweeted details of Gaskin’s remarks, reaction on Twitter was harsh, with some suggesting that Better Together backer and political donor Rex Sinquefield had bought the NAACP’s support.
“An abomination!” state Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City.
“This is how billionaires buy the government they want,” tweeted St. Louis alderman Megan Ellyia Green, D-15th Ward. “Strategically paying the organizations/supporters they need to provide deflections from their faults.”
This is how billionaires buy the government they want. Strategically paying the organizations/supporters they need to provide deflections from their faults.
— Megan Ellyia Green 🌹 (@MeganEllyia)
Anyone been putting together a data map of all the orgs and consultants and their affiliations to Sinquefield?
The St. Louis County NAACP said : “The NAACP cannot be bought. We endorsed the plan to unite the City and County government because it is good for the African American community in St. Louis.”
Gaskin also recently took a controversial stand by supporting an effort in the Missouri Legislature, pushed by a dark money nonprofit, to change how colleges handle sexual assault claims.
Critics say the legislation would have a chilling effect on the Title IX complaint process, tilting the scales away from accusers and benefiting the accused. A statement issued in March by the county NAACP included a statement from Gaskin that “the denial of due process at Missouri’s colleges disproportionately impacts African American men.”
Nancy Rice, Better Together’s executive director, said there was nothing untoward about Gaskin’s dual role.
“It’s not relevant,” she said. “It would be terribly insulting to think that the NAACP would make a public endorsement on a highly charged issue because they wanted some person to come work in a temporary job.… We wanted the NAACP people to work with us in the community they serve. We feel that’s the highest value they can bring to us, is to walk us into the doors that are open to them and that’s what they are going to do. The proposal is very relevant to African Americans and the lives that they lead every day in north St. Louis County. We now have a partner who is going to help us tell that story to the people who we feel are most impacted.”
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