By Antonio D. French
Filed Friday, August 18, 2006 at 11:42 AM
Mayor Francis Slay took the stand today in the trial of Percy Green vs. The City of St. Louis. He testified -- as did his deputy, Barb Geisman, yesterday and his chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, later this morning -- that Green was not fired in retribution for comments he made in a June 17, 2001 article in the Post-Dispatch.
Percy Green contends that he was fired as director of the Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) Certification program because he was openly critical of what he told the Post was a "broken system." He also said this week that Slay wanted to weaken the office "because his major political contributors are owners of businesses that stand to profit from doing business with illegitimate 'front' companies."
Closing arguments in the case are expected around 12:30 after which Judge Jean C. Hamilton will hand the case over to a jury of 7 whites and 1 black. We expect a verdict later today.
Developing...
UPDATE: The jury found in favor of the City of St. Louis. Green says he has not decided yet if he will appeal.
4 Comments:
7-1 jury? Either the judge took an early panel, or the voir dire eliminated anyone who had ever heard of the former civil rights activist.
As for Percy, he made a better activist. He was fired for making his own rules, including favoring MBEs over WBEs and excessively interrogating any business with not enough employees to Percy's satisfaction, despite their legitimate certification.
8/18/2006 12:49 PM
Antonio:
I can guess at what you are so subtly hinting at with your mention of the race of the members of the jury, but does it really matter? The original post smacks of the same racial divide that can be found on NPR's "News and Notes," where the commenters turn every issue and topic into one of race. Let's work to bring people together, not tear them apart.
8/18/2006 7:55 PM
Those creatures of the mchine will say and do anything to keep their offices.
Since getting fire, has Percy Green ever once put the best interests of the city ahead of his own? He is on a vendetta that is embarrassing. He was a lousy civil servant, and now he's a lousy activist.
This reminds me of what Slay did to Landmarks Association by cutting its funding: another good decision made for a bad reason. City money and jobs should be no one's entitlement -- especially aging career activists.
8/19/2006 6:37 PM
I'm glad Green's case got to the jury, rather than being tossed out by the judge on a "technicality." (Note: federal juries are drawn from the entire Eastern District of Missouri, not just the City; Green and his attorney should have expected a majority-white jury in federal court.) He has now had his day in court, presented all his evidence, and the people have spoken. If Green's counsel has good sense, they'll let the matter go and waste no more time or resources on his ridiculous and meritless claims. Maybe now Green can go back to building his legacy, rather than mocking it.
8/21/2006 9:20 AM
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