Great. Just great. Still don’t know which St. Louis business organization nominated political consultent Darry Gray, St. Louis, to Missouri Workforce Development Board. I have been informed by Governor Mike Kehoe’s Office that they have no such nominating letter.
Per the Board’s By-Laws, “1) Business representatives are appointed from among individuals who are nominated by local business organizations and business trade associations.”
Gray, better known as a member of the clergy, has a political consulting business called Gray and Gray Associates. Sonya Gray, his wife, Personnel Director for City of St. Louis, was a part of the business until October 2024. I wrote about their business here.
I first Sunshined the Board for the nominating letter(s) and was told they have no record.
Then, I Sunshined the Governor’s Office for the record(s). The Governor’s Office surely knows where board and commission records of Mike Parson, the previous Governor who appointed Gray last year, are located. Right? I wrote about the Governor’s Office initial response here.
Not ready to conclude Governor Parson appointed Darryl Gray to the Board without following the By-Laws, so will Sunshine the Boards and Commissions Director, though neither Workforce Development Board or Governor’s Office suggested that I do that.
Why is it that nearly everyone who handles Sunshine requests does so in the least helpful way possible?
I have been trying since January 15, 2025, to find out which St. Louis business organization(s) or business trade association(s) nominated Darryl Gray to the Missouri Workforce Development Board.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe’s office, which I contacted on January 16th, says I can expect the record(s) on or before January 31st and they will let me know if the cost is over $50. January 31st would be eleven days after my email to Sunshine@governor.mo.gov.
I worked for decades in public records preservation and public access. My ass would have been fired if I had told a customer that it might take eleven days to retrieve a record.
The person handling this Sunshine request is Jordan Roling, Deputy General Counsel, a seasoned member of the Missouri Bar since… July 2024.
Roling’s previous jobs, per LinkedIn, were Assistant Tennis Coach at Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City and summer internships at the Cole County Prosecutor’s Office and U.S. Department of Homeland Security during law school at Mizzou.
Roling’s most recent job, per Missouri Ethics Commission records, was working on the campaign of Mike Kehoe, now his boss as Governor, at $2,500 a month since August plus mileage.
Back to Darryl Gray. He has a business- Gray and Gray Associates, a political consultant business. I wrote about it here. It’s a side story to the Mayor Tishaura Jones v. Sonya Gray, Personnel Director battle. The Mayor is trying to fire her for cause. Sonya Gray is wife of Darry Gray and was, until October 28th, agent for Gray and Gray Associates.
And allow me to insert here that this whole Jones v. Gray thing would not be news click bait if mayors of the City of St. Louis had the authority to hire and fire any cabinet level appointee. The Personnel Director and Police Chief do not serve at the pleasure of the Mayor in St. Louis under the City’s arcane Charter. You want to hold Mayor Tishaura Jones accountable for the Personnel Department or Police Department, hiring and crime? Sorry. The Charter has a confusing chain of command for both. Blame the Charter Commission and Alders for not sending a fix for this mess to voters.
Darryl Gray holds a “Business Representative” seat on the Board, meaning, per Board’s By Laws, he had to be nominated by one or more local business organizations and business trade associations.
I am trying to find out which business group nominated him. It seems odd that a business group nominated a political consultant to Democratic candidates. Workforce Development Board does not require a parity of political parties. Even more peculiar, a MAGA Governor appointed a Democratic consultant.
The Workforce Development Board said it did not have records. I emailed a Sunshine request to them on January 15th and heard back next day. They didn’t bother to tell me who else to ask for the record(s). This sort of thing annoys me because when I worked at City Hall, a county office, we were not allowed to say, “not my job.” We had to find the correct resource and refer, give the customer the contact info and, if by phone, try and tranfer them.
Since this is a former governor appointment, I decided to email the Governor’s Office regardless of the change in occupants. I had no idea the request would be handled by a recent tennis coach/political campaign worker.
The Great State of St. Louis 