JEFFERSON CITY • Allegations of misconduct in the St. Louis Police Officers' Association election have ended any chance that legislators will authorize local control of the Police Department in the current special session, according to the proposal's most vocal Senate critic.

As long as uncertainty hangs over the election, the bill's future remains uncertain, said Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City.

"This needs to be resolved before we can even think of moving forward," she said.

The proposal already faced long odds. The House and Senate remain deadlocked over a massive economic development bill that is the centerpiece of the special session, which must end by Nov. 5.

Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, has said flatly that without a deal on that, it's unlikely other legislation will even be discussed.

At issue is providing City Hall with oversight of a Police Department that since the Civil War era has been run by a board composed of four gubernatorial appointees and the mayor.

The bill appeared to have momentum last month, easily winning House approval. But Chappelle-Nadal stalled it in the Senate Ways and Means Committee, requesting a delay of a public hearing until the officers association finished its annual election. She said the outcome would show how the rank-and-file felt about the bill.

All seven leaders retained their spots in the Sept. 15 vote except for the president, Tom Walsh, who was ousted by Sgt. David Bonenberger. But now Bonenberger's victory is being called into question.

Bonenberger was vocal in opposition to local control and said he was not "100 percent convinced" that the current bill was the best deal.

Days after the balloting, association leaders fired longtime secretary Pat Heisner for "personnel reasons," said Jeff Roorda, the business manager. He said that ballots and return envelopes found on her desk compromised the integrity of the election. Only the association's accounting firm, Nichols, Stopp & VanHoy should have had the materials, according to a memo by association attorney Neil Bruntrager.

The board then voted to have another election, now scheduled for Oct. 11-26. It hired Hochschild, Bloom & Co., the firm that supervises elections for the St. Louis Police Retirement System, and asked the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police to oversee the voting.

Bonenberger's attorney, Jeff Jensen, asked the board this week to reconsider the new election, saying, "There is no evidence that the election lacked integrity."

Association leaders showed Jensen copies of envelopes from Heisner's desk that carried the former name of the accounting firm, suggesting they were from last year's election. Jensen said copies of ballots on her desk were proofs of the ballots she designed.

Heisner's attorney, James Simeri, said his client is angry. "Obviously, being falsely accused is one of most upsetting things that can happen to a person," he said. "No one deserves to be lied about, much less a loyal employee of 34 years."

The association still expects to have new leaders in place Nov. 1. Bonenberger has declined to comment about his qualms with local control until then.

On Sept. 19, he signed a letter that was sent to legislators supporting the bill as written. He declined to comment Thursday, on why he signed it. He did say he would like a provision to return control to the state if city control proved ineffective.

"This is a historical time for the Police Department," Bonenberger said. "We're going to have local control, and I think there needs to be things included that will ensure us more protections. ... When this is all over, whoever is president will still be faced with local control."

The association had been the proposal's most vocal opponent. But the threat of a local control ballot initiative backed by retired investment banker Rex Sinquefield motivated a compromise with city officials.

The legislation's sponsor, Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, said the association's election should have no bearing. "That organization clearly supports local control," he said. "Only one member who supported local control lost."

Keaveny said critics like Chappelle-Nadal are using the election as a stalling tactic but that he hasn't given up. "My hope is that even if the economic development deal collapses," he said, "cooler heads will prevail and we can get a vote on local control."