A St. Louis Civil Service Commission hearing on firing the personnel director continued Thursday with a deposition from the worker who drove her to Jefferson City in a city car.
The hearing featured part of a deposition recorded late last year of personnel worker Anthony Byrd. He testified that he drove Sonya Jenkins-Gray to Jefferson City last July.
A lawyer for the city alleges she went to the capital to see if her husband, the Rev. Darryl Gray, was cheating. She and her husband have denied that.
Byrd said she asked him to drive her in a city car. The rest of the deposition will be played when the hearing continues Jan. 28.
A lawyer representing the city argued Thursday that Jenkins-Gray put Byrd in an uncomfortable position.
Jenkins-Gray previously admitted that she took the vehicle for personal matters and that Byrd drove her to Jefferson City at her request. Jenkins-Gray said she didn’t realize she was breaking city policy and reimbursed the city $170.
She said Mayor Tishaura Jones is using the incident to get her removed from office over political and decision-making differences.
Thursday’s hearing included testimony from city human resource manager John Unnerstall. Jenkins-Gray’s attorney, Ron Norwood, asked him a series of questions, including if he was aware of people being disciplined for violating the vehicle policy.
“It’s not something that I would know,” Unnerstall said.
Jones appointed Jenkins-Gray in 2022. The city charter doesn’t give her the authority to fire the personnel director; only the Civil Service Commission can do that.
