No Record of Who Nominated Darryl Gray

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.

Took them eleven days to come to that conclusion.

Gray is a Business Representative of the Board.

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 Sunshined a Record from Governor’s Office, Sigh

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.

Letter from Governor Mike Kehoe's Office

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.

Back to Darry Gray. He was nominated to serve on the Workforce Development Board under former Governor Mike Parson, appointed by Parson. There’s a weird subplot involving accused rapist State Senator Steven Roberts trying to derail nominations. Of course there is.

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.

This qualifies as a Sunshine Fail, in my opinion.

Sonya Gray, Political Consultant?

last updated 5:11 pm 01/23/2025

The first of many questions. Are the Gray and Gray of Gray and Gray Associates LLC, political consultants, Daryll Gray and St. Louis City Personnel Director Sonya Gray?

January 9, 2018, Sonya Gray, as agent, and Daryll Gray, as organizer, both using the same address on Enright, filed Gray and Gray Associates LLC with the Missouri Secretary of State. Purpose of the company was to “Provide consulting services.”

November 5, 2018, Ecumenical Leadership Council of MO Political Action Committee paid $3,400 to Darryl Gray, same Enright address, not the company, as a campaign worker.

October 22, 2020, Nicole Galloway for Missouri paid $13,820 to Gray and Gray Associates, same address on Enright, for GOTV services.

November 2nd, 2020, Nicole Galloway for Missouri paid $20,000 to Darryl G. Gray, same address on Enright, not the company, for GOTV services.

December 14, 2020, Nicole Galloway for Missouri paid $7,780 to Darryl G. Gray, same address on Enright, not the company, for GOTV services.

October 6, 2022, St. Louis City Mayor Tishaura Jones announced the hiring of Sonya Jenkins-Gray as the City’s new Personnel Director.

June 5th, 2024, Missouri Governor Mike Parson appointed Darryl Gray to the Missouri Workforce Development Board. There was, prior to Governor Mike Kehoe’s inauguration, a press release for the appointment here. UPDATE: It is available tho on Internet Archive.

The Workforce Development Board’s web page shows that Darryl Gray is a Business Representative on the Board. 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.”

Which St. Louis business organization or business trade association nominated Darryl Gray to Governor Parson?

UPDATE 1: I made a Sunshine request to Workforce Development Board on January 15th for the nomination correspondence. They responded, no records on January 16th.

UPDATE 2: I made a Sunshine request for the nomination correspondence to Governor Mike Kehoe’s office, new governor sworn in on January 13th, on January 16th. Missouri’s Sunshine Law requires a response within three days. That has passed without a response.

UPDATE 3: I received a response from Governor Kehoe’s office at 9:26 am January 23rd and am now waiting for the record(s).

October 28, 2024, Daryll Gray, using an address on Waterman (not owned by him and located in a Special Business District), filed an amendment to the LLC with Missouri Secretary of State. He changed the agent to himself and the address to the Waterman address.

Why did Darryl Gray remove Sonya Gray’s as agent for the company?

There is no website for Gray and Gray Associates in St. Louis.

I did not search the Federal Election Commission database for Gray and Gray, the company or individuals.

Why was money for consulting services paid to Darryl Gray instead of the company?

Did Sonya Gray violate Civil Service Rules or Employee Code of Conduct by participating in or failing to disclose her participation in the company?

Disclosures: September 24, 2018, Darryl and Sonya Gray attended a Drinking Liberally Happy Hour, which I hosted, with guest speaker State Auditor Nicole Galloway and I donated $27 to Daryll Gray’s 2019 campaign for Alder. I have donated to the campaigns of Tishaura Jones for Mayor, most recently in December 2024.