Animal house: Could farm fears help city regain police control?
St. Louis legislators may have found an unlikely ally in their quest to regain control of the police department: Rural colleagues worried about Big Brother on animal farms.
State Rep. Talbdin El-Amin and others held a press conference this morning, discussing their effort to abolish the state-appointed board that has run the St. Louis Police Department since the Civil War.
The question of leverage came up: How can city lawmakers, all in the minority party, convince Jefferson City to shorten the reach of its power?
El-Amin had a quick, but unexpected answer.
There is something called the National Animal Identification System, which is, for now at least, a voluntary program that catalogs farm animals. The idea is that, in case of a disease outbreak like mad cow, the government would be able to swiftly trace the source.
Two legislators that are also farmers - Mike Dethrow in the House and Chuck Purgason in the Senate - have already filed bills restricting the state Department of Agriculture from becoming involved in the federal tracking system.
El-Amin suggested today that the city caucus could forge a voting bloc with their counterparts from outstate Missouri, creating a partnership that would advance both agendas.
If nothing else, El-Amin said, the two issues are ideologically linked: They each deal with local control.
Will El-Amin’s play work? Tough to say.
But after more than a century of state control at the police department, it’s hard to blame city officials for getting creative.
El- Buffoon forming an alliance with rural Republicans? Yeah, that’s probably going to happen.