CLAYTON, Mo.– When the elected prosecutor in Missouri’s largest county leaves his job next month for a seat in Congress, an appointed replacement will take his place. The question is: which one?
Democratic St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and Republican Gov. Mike Parson have each named an appointee to the same position.
Page announced the appointment of former federal prosecutor Cort VanOstran on December 3. Parson on Thursday named Melissa Price Smith, a longtime St. Louis County assistant prosecutor.
The courts will determine which appointment is valid, and time is of the essence. The outgoing public prosecutor Wesley Bellwho defeated Rep. Cori Bush in the Democratic primaries and won easily in November, will be sworn into Congress on Jan. 3. His appointed replacement as prosecutor will serve the final two years of his term, which ends January 1. 2027.
Parson and Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued Page and the county in November, arguing that the Missouri Constitution provides that the governor “shall fill all vacancies in public office, except as otherwise provided by law.”
Parson’s spokesman, Johnathan Shiflett, also cited a statute that says the governor “shall appoint a competent person” in the event a vacancy for a prosecutor arises.
But Page counters that the relevant law here is the St. Louis County Charter, which “clearly states that the county executive has the authority to appoint the prosecuting attorney when a vacancy occurs,” his spokesman, Doug Moore, said in a statement Friday. “We are confident that the courts will agree. We will continue our focus on public safety.”
Another county with its own charter, neighboring St. Charles County, had a vacancy last year after Tim Lohmar resigned as prosecutor. St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann, a Republican, appointed a replacement, Joseph McCulloch, without opposition from the governor.
For now, both Parson and Page are touting their choices.
Smith, 56, has been with the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office since 2008 and currently oversees the team that prosecutes sexual assault and child abuse.
“For the success of our state and the safety of our people, we need an experienced prosecutor from St. Louis County to demand and enforce law and order,” Parson said in a statement. “Melissa is committed to the rule of law, and we are confident she will deliver, as evidenced by her distinguished career putting criminals behind bars, including child molesters, sexual assault perpetrators and violent offenders.”
Smith pledged in a statement to use her “experience and institutional knowledge to fight for justice for crime victims, hold offenders accountable and work with law enforcement to create a safer St. Louis County.”
VanOstran, 36, resigned as federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Missouri after his appointment. He handled fraud, embezzlement, identity theft, conspiracy, drug distribution and gun crimes, according to a news release from Page’s office.
He ran for Congress in 2018, barely losing to incumbent Republican Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd District.
“Cort VanOstran is a proven public servant,” Page said in a statement. “As a federal prosecutor, he worked to protect crime victims. As an attorney, he represented the people of Missouri and stood up to powerful corporate interests. As St. Louis County’s next prosecutor, he will work every day to keep our community safe.”