ST. LOUIS — Aldermanic President Megan Green is calling out Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and other critics of a new plan aimed at helping the homeless, saying they have been negotiating in bad faith and are reneging on campaign promises.
Green said she and Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier have repeatedly sought input on the plan from elected officials, including Jones, who ran as progressive Democrats and made promises to reimagine the way the city deals with homeless people.
But, Green said, when the two have made changes to accommodate critics’ concerns, the criticism has continued. It seems Jones and aldermen such as Michael Browning, of Forest Park Southeast, who campaigned in part on making big changes to city homeless policy, aren’t interested in following through, Green said.
“When it comes down to it, I think there are folks who are comfortable with the theory of providing housing to people who are unhoused,†she said, “but they are uncomfortable with the practicality of providing housing to people who are unhoused when they have to have it in their own neighborhoods.â€
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Green’s comments escalate a fight that has divided left-wing Democrats here like few other issues have. Many of the new aldermen swept into office promising to challenge the status quo and help reimagine how the city works. And together, they strengthened police oversight, ramped up scrutiny of jails and sent cash to the poor.
But they have struggled to find consensus on homelessness. Sweeping bills making it easier to open shelters in neighborhoods across the city, and harder to close down tent encampments, have riled residents and surprised key aldermen.
On Tuesday afternoon, a slew of key aldermen and the mayor’s office said they could not support the legislation as written, leaving it without the votes to advance.
Afterward, a frustrated Green said it felt like opponents weren’t being honest with her.
On Wednesday, Browning and Jones’ office brushed off the suggestion they’ve been less than forthright in negotiations. Browning blamed the legislation’s authors for its current woes.
The bills, he said, have too many holes and questionable ideas, like a provision to repeal rules against aggressive panhandling. He said he’s yet to see how the city will actually pay for the “safe camping areas†the bill requires for those unwilling or unready to go to shelter. And he’s not sure it’s a good idea to promote people living in tents in the winter anyway.
“I don’t think proposing solutions that are unfeasible is progressive,†he said.
He also criticized Sonnier and Green for moving all of the bills on homelessness at the same time: The bill making it easier to open shelters addresses an urgent issue — it’s become nearly impossible for new ones to open in the city. But one of the bills, an “Unhoused Bill of Rights,†was too much, Browning said. A controversial provision exempting homeless people from public urination laws — which has since been removed from the text — created a media firestorm that crowded out real issues.
Browning noted he is not alone in his thinking. Alderwomen Anne Schweitzer, of Boulevard Heights, and Shameem Clark Hubbard, of the West End, have supported other progressive legislation, such as the bill sending $500 monthly payments to struggling families.
But they both said they couldn’t support the homeless bills as written, citing concerns about whether the city-run encampments would actually help people and where the money to pay for them would come from.
And several aldermen expressed reservations about Green and Sonnier’s plan to make it easier to open shelters. The bill would eliminate a requirement for operators to gather signatures from neighbors before starting up. But aldermen didn’t want to remove what many residents see as their best tool to control what comes into their neighborhoods.
Nick Dunne, a spokesman for Jones, said the mayor’s office is negotiating in good faith and has made its concerns clear to Green and Sonnier:
Jones worries the “Unhoused Bill of Rights,†which requires the city to give at least 30 days notice before it moves to evict an encampment, could run afoul of a state statute banning people from sleeping on state property and prohibiting cities from hampering enforcement.
It also creates a task force to manage encampments that notably does not include a representative from the city’s homeless service division, which aides said made no sense.
Dunne did not address Green’s allegation that the mayor is backing off campaign promises.
“Above all else,†he said in a statement, “our offices share the same goal to ensure our unhoused neighbors can get the resources they need to be set on a path to permanent supportive housing. Even when we respectfully disagree on certain issues, we must continue to move forward under our shared goals to find common ground on practical solutions.â€