Mike Palmer introduced himself to an audience of Ferguson residents on March 6 with a brief overview of the blighted properties across the city.
“That’s a house that has been burnt up seven years ago,” he said during the forum for those running to represent the three Ferguson wards. “It’s unacceptable for that house to sit there like that.”
Palmer, a lifelong Ferguson resident, made the connections among blight, crime and neighborhood decay. He also cited the programs that city leaders have started to address those concerns.
Palmer has served as a councilman in Ferguson’s 3rd Ward for three years and knows a lot about its blight. He’s a landlord who leases to businesses and residents and, according to St. Louis County real estate records, has well over 100 properties tied to his name and business.
Some business owners and residents say Palmer has built a name for himself while building a stretch of South Florissant Road. For others, questions surrounding Palmer’s residency have become a source of controversy; some in Ward 3 claim Palmer doesn’t live in the ward he’s representing but, instead, in Ward 1. Now, Palmer is running to represent that community in its municipal election.
Palmer declined multiple interview requests and did not reply to a list of questions.
The paper trail
St. Louis Public Radio went to three locations in Ward 3 where recent court filings say Palmer has lived. One neighbor on one street said that they had seen him off and on in a house but that another person lives there now.
Another neighbor on a Ward 3 street listed in the filings was shocked when asked about his residency.
“He’s never lived there,” said Heather Cordle, a Ferguson resident who said she supported the councilman.
Another resident on a another street said they had seen him in and out of the house for a couple of years but said someone else lives there now.
There are other documents that have tied Palmer to a large, gated Ward 1 address since at least 2014. St. Louis County property records show several vehicles in Palmer’s name registered to that address.
Residency and representation
According to Missouri Ethics Commission records from 2021, Palmer registered under a Ward 3 South Florissant Road apartment complex when running for the council in 2022.
“I do know he lives in the community, but where I don't know, I couldn't speak to that,” said Brandace Johnson, a co-owner of B Juiced, a juice bar and smoothie shop on the first floor of that same building.
But others who live in the ward said Palmer is breaking the city charter.
“You live amongst the residents that you represent, that's the rule,” said Mildred Clines, a Ward 3 resident who believes Palmer doesn’t live in the ward.
According to the Ferguson City Charter, all council members are required to be residents of the wards they represent during their entire term. That requirement has sparked a legal challenge from Palmer's Ward 1 opponent Henry Iwenofu.
Iwenofu sued Palmer this year, claiming Palmer altered his candidate filing affidavit by stating he will move to the first ward if he wins the election. Iwenofu argued Palmer was breaking Ferguson’s city charter by running in Ward 1 and claiming to live in Ward 3. He also said if Palmer didn’t live in the ward he represented, then he forfeited his current office.
“I felt that he has misled the citizens in terms of where his residence really is,” Iwenofu said.
But it’s incredibly difficult in Missouri to hold candidates accountable for their residency. In 2004 and 2010, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled the local government that the candidate is running to represent can’t decide whether or not that individual meets its residency requirements.
“I don’t think it’s something where people say they shouldn’t check the qualifications,” former Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said to St. Louis Public Radio in 2021. “But it’s trying to find the right person or entity that won’t be seen as biased or inherently biased.”
A St. Louis County Circuit judge ruled last month that Palmer can run to represent Ward 1 as long as he moves there if he wins.
Questions about accurate representation underscore the racial and class tensions in a city that’s 70% Black and 26% white with a council that’s majority white. Residents describe Ward 3 as poorer than the two neighboring wards.
Iwenofu is appealing the ruling.
“If I don't live in an area and I can run for an election in that position, how can the people who live in that community be able to get proper representation?” Iwenofu asked.
Conflicts of interest?
Palmer’s critics also say there’s a potential conflict of interest between his business and his role on the council.
For example, in January, Palmer and Ward 2 Councilman Nick Kasoff proposed a bill that sought to change how the city handled occupancy permits.
The bill removed occupancy permits for buildings with six or fewer units. Under the current rule, units are required to go through interior inspections anytime there’s a new tenant.
Some also worry it would then lead to more expensive repairs as time goes on and negligent landlords.
“If you have someone who moves out of one of your homes or your apartment and you’ve left it where you have to put a lot of money into it before you rent it out again, who wants to keep doing that?” Ward 1 resident LaRae Jackson asked.
The proposal sparked outrage from residents, who worry that fewer permits would lead to less safe homes in the neighborhood, sparking a special council meeting addressing those concerns. Residents, including Clines who’s also a landlord, argued the bill only benefited landlords by eliminating the need for frequent inspections.
Clines also argued that the landlords on the council were self-dealing.
“If you are a landlord on the city council, you should recuse yourself,” Clines said. “You shouldn't even be voting on that.”
The city charter includes a conflict of interest ordinance updated in 2019, but it doesn't include a provision that would force council members to recuse themselves.
Language from the occupancy bill said removing the occupancy permits was aimed at eliminating racist policies and instead promoting fair and equitable housing policies. But the council has since pulled it. In a social media post, Kasoff said they wouldn’t bring the bill back up for another vote after the outcry from residents.
Jackson said she’s still worried that the bill will return and that it will weaken her subdivision where a third are rentals.
“Occupancy permits are very important,” Jackson said. “This is for your safety.”
Business is business
Despite the questions some residents have about Palmer, some Ferguson business owners describe him as a reliable landlord who has helped bring businesses into Ferguson.
Johnson opened B Juiced on South Florissant after years of mobile operations and working at farmers markets. She doesn’t have any complaints about Palmer.
“If we have any issues, like maintenance-type issues, they are very responsive,” she said. “Just being a tenant here, we don't have anything negative to say.”
St. Louis County real estate records show properties down South Florissant Road tied to Palmer and his business, COF. The street is Ferguson’s downtown and its central business district. At least 19 businesses opened on the street since 2022, including Yummie Nutrition and Blend Boutique, which rents from Palmer.
“It has really brought value to Ferguson,” founder Juanita Thompson said.
She understands some of the questions surrounding Palmer, Thompson said, but her business and much of downtown Ferguson wouldn’t be what it is without him.
“I've seen him take care and mow lawns and things like that,” Thompson said. “He doesn't have to do that, but he does.”
