Just days after asking a judge to move forward, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s office has withdrawn its effort to throw a Republican county council member out of office.
As recently as Monday, Bell’s office had been in front of 21st Circuit Judge John Borbonus, asking him to immediately remove Dennis Hancock, R-Fenton, from office.
Prosecutors filed a quo warranto petition against Hancock in August, alleging that he had hired his stepdaughter in violation of the state’s constitutional prohibition on nepotism. One St. Louis County judge, Julia Lasater, threw him off the council just hours before the legislative body was expected to meet and vote on a proposed charter change in which Hanock would have been the deciding vote.
A second judge, Borbonus, allowed Hancock to remain on the council while the case played out. He was reinstated in time to vote on a bill that asked voters to give the county council its own attorney. The charter change was adopted in November.
Borbonus then paused the case until Hancock could hire his own attorney. On Oct. 29, prosecutors filed court documents saying the judge lacked the authority to stop the case from moving forward and asked him to act immediately to oust Hancock.
The two sides presented their arguments to Borbonus on Monday. But before he could rule, Bell’s office decided Thursday to dismiss the original petition.
“Our office deputized a Warren County prosecutor with expertise in quo warranto petitions to ensure that we are fulfilling our duty to uphold the Missouri Constitution and enforce the anti-nepotism laws,” a spokesman for Bell said in a statement. “We have determined that it is in the best interest of the public to continue our investigation of this and related matters; therefore, we are withdrawing the quo warranto petition at this time.”
Hancock said he was happy with the withdrawal but wished prosecutors would have done an investigation before filing the removal petition.
His attorney, Kimberley Mathis, said the lawsuit’s withdrawal was proper.
“Now St. Louis County prosecutors can refocus their efforts on important matters, like keeping the County safe and crime-free,” she said.
