Reed’s Chief of Staff Owns Firm Located in Clayton
During the recent campaign for the President of the Board of Alderman opponents of incumbent Jim Shrewsbury made a big deal about his law practice being located in St. Louis County rather than the city. Shrewsbury’s successor, Lewis Reed, has just named accountant and former campaign treasurer Thomas Shepard to be his Chief of Staff. Interestingly, Shepard is the owner of an accounting firm located in Clayton:
Thomas Shepard & Associates, Inc. is a full-service certified public accounting firm, serving business and individuals for over fifteen years. We specialize in small business and employment tax issues. Located in Clayton, Missouri, we serve the entire St. Louis metropolitan area, as well as St. Charles and part of Illinois.Â
Frankly, I like the idea of a Chief of Staff being an experienced business person and a CPA to boot. As such, Shepard should be able to offer good guidance to Reed on various issues including complicated financial matters decided upon as one of the three members of the Board of Estimate & Apportionment (aka E&A). But I have to wonder how Shepard’s time will be divided between running a long-standing accounting firm in Clayton and serving as a full-time Chief of Staff.
Don’t you think he will simply close the accounting practice? Reed has made it clear that he will be a full time president. Do you think he’d operate his office with a part time chief of staff? Doubt it.
I’d be more interested in knowing that Shepard is a city resident. Is he? Where?
Is there a residency requirement for City Hall employees? If Reed hired a Non City Resident
to be his chief of staff, I wouldn’t be happy about it. On the other hand, if Shepard agreed to move into the
city as a condition of his employment, I’d be fine with that. Hopefully Shepard won’t
chafe at such questions. He is now a public servant, and thus he gives up a large measure of privacy. His life is an open book.
Ironic how Reed blasted Shrewsbury for having his law firm in the County, and now Reed chooses his Chief of Staff from the County.
What? Reed, can you not find any CPA’s in the City?
Hey Doug,
Shrewsbury spent (tens?) of thousands on campaign pros out of DC. In politics, its
trench warfare. You want the best players on your team. If they come from outside the
city limits of St. Louis, so be it. So Reed won. Now let’s see what he delivers. Do you think he’d
allow the embarassment of having a chief of staff residing outside the city limits?
It’s his mom’s house in the county? Sounds like either a residency scam or a tax avoidance issue….But I digress since all I know is what was posted here.
I think that as long as Reed has qualified people working for him, and that they at least have some sort of connection to the city, whether business or residential, they won’t be so quick to act and think of the long term implications for the city in general.
HOw big is his firm out in Clayton? I don’t see the argument for him to close it though. Politics is fleeting, so as long as there is no confict issues….
“Shepard owns a house in the Tower Grove East neighborhood but has the tax bill sent to an address in the county. Given the name on the county house, I’m assuming that it is his mom’s house.”
Ah, so he’s potentially a tax dodger — lovely…
“Ah, so he’s potentially a tax dodger — lovely…”
Is there any indication that he hasn’t paid the tax bill? By this evidence he’s as much of a potential tax dodger as you or me.
Is that your scooter I see secured outside the law school from time to time?
There are no thomas shepard’s in st louis city. 1019 Ferguson is the only one in the St Louis area and that’s in the county.
ok, ok, thanks for clarifying, Steve, I was proven wrong by whitepages.com.
I am concerned, though, that Thomas was late with filing campaign finance reports – was that a campaign maneuver or is that a work product of Shepard?
. . . this (the responses to this post) is exactly why it’s so hard to get good people involved in local government! Why are we assuming that every action by an elected official is or should be suspect? I like the residency rule. I assume anyone in a high-profile position (like this one) will be or come into compliance, as required. Can he do the job? Fine, end of story.
As for owning a high-profile professional firm, of any type, many owners phase out of the day-today operations over time and are only involved in larger mangement decisions. (I doubt Mr. Shepard was there this past weekend filling out 1040’s – that’s what his staff does, and probably better.) I’d much rather see his apparent skills applied in city government than on the golf course . . .
“I have no reason to doubt his taxes are fully paid.”
I was referring to the earnings tax which he will now have to pay regardless. But someone living in the city and working in the county with an “official” county address has subverted the system (and committed fraud in my mind). I know several high-income city dwellers (on CWE private streets) that use other addresses to avoid taxes. Some even list their residence in Illinois to avoid Missouri’s personal property tax.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
President Reed Introduces Members of Staff
ST. LOUIS — One day after his swearing-in as the new President of the Board of Aldermen, Lewis Reed introduced three members of his staff.
Thomas Shepard will serve as President Reed’s Chief of Staff. Shepard is a certified public accountant and principal in the accounting firm Thomas Shepard & Associates, Inc. His responsibilities will include management of the Office of The President as well as liaison between the Mayor’s office, the Comptroller’s office, and various city departments and boards.
Shepard served as campaign treasurer and a valuable advisor during President Reed’s campaign. He currently lives in Richmond Heights with his wife. Similar to when the Mayor’s chief of staff was appointed in 2001, Shepard has already begun the process of relocating to the city as is required for all new city employees.
Like President Reed, Shepard will be working full-time for the citizens of the city. He has already made arrangements to turn over the daily operations of his accounting firm, which will be opening an office in the City of St. Louis.
“One day on the job and President Reed is already fulfilling his campaign promise to bring more residents and businesses back to the City of St. Louis,†said Antonio French, Reed’s Political Director.
Shepard is a native St. Louisan. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. He has been a practicing CPA for almost ten years.
Rory Roundtree will serve as a special assistant to President Reed. Roundtree, a native of Parks, Nebraska, currently lives in the Central West End. He graduated cum laude from Truman State University with degrees in Political Science and Justice Systems. He previously served as South City Area Director for Claire McCaskill’s U.S. Senate campaign and was Field Director for Lewis Reed’s Board President campaign.
Tina Johnson will serve as Secretary to the President. She is a veteran city employee with more than 18 years of experience. Johnson has worked in the Board of Aldermen office since 2002.
President Reed is expected to announce the fourth member of his staff later next week.
Frenchie can try to spin this ’til the cows come home.
The fact is REED IS A HYPOCRITE for making a campaing issue out of Shrewsbury’s law office and then hiring a chief of staff who doesn’t even live in the city!
Political reporters (such as they are in St. Louis) need to pay very close attention to what’s being said here and some other places. (not having taken $$ from Reed puts Steve Patterson is an excellent position to get the jump on the others when reporting on Lewis)
REED IS ALREADY STEPPING IN IT and it’s only his second day on the job. He’s promised a lot of things to a lot of people who are pulling him in a lot of different directions.
City Hall sharks do eat their own! Stay tuned!
pol junkie – I disagree completely – There’s a big difference between who we elect (and why) and who the elected official hires as staff. I expect any official to try and hire the “best and the brightest”, to (hopefully) allow them to do their best for their constituents. Anyone (elected or not) has trusted confidants. Political boundaries should not exclude anyone. And it doesn’t matter if they’re paid or not, they access to the politician that most of us lowly constituents will never have. And the bottom line is the politician is the one who has the final vote, not staff.
The type of staff members chosen are the key players in executing campaign promises. Historically, many who ran for political office were simply front men for those who were ultimately making the critical decisions behind the scenes. This continues to be a major problem in StL area and thus the need/call for greater transparency. There is a difference between who we elect and who our elected leaders elect but that obscures the main point. They are all part of a team but our election procedures don’t reflect these facts.
While I don’t agree with the decisions Reed is making, one has to admit that he’s bringing his best game to the table (largely, in my opinion, due to the political genius of Antonio French). Those of us who did not support Reed now have to match that game with one of our own as good — and as successful.
What is wrong with what Reed is doing? Specifics? Any? His old ward looks pretty darn good.
Reed had the chance to campaign on ideas and convictions but instead chose a lower road. I barely know where he stands on anything yet he proclaims himself to be bringing in a new style to city government. What is that? “Open for business?” City government has been open to the rich and powerful for years; that’s not progress or original.
Michael-
You’re hearing a different person than the Reed I’m hearing….
I’m hearing:
1. He’ll be a full time board president
2. He is promoting the idea of One St. Louis, from corner to corner, stating that what is good or bad in one neighborhood helps or hurts the whole city. For St. Louis, that’s about as non-parochial as you can get.
3. Promoting the city as being “open for business” is a reference to getting things done. For years, the city’s reputation was for being bogged down in bureaucracy and disfunction. Slay has changed that reputation in the Mayor’s Office, and it sounds like Reed is committed to bringing that philosophy to the Board of Aldermen.
One St. Louis. From what I remember, Jeff Smith chose this as his slogan before Lewis Reed announced his candidacy for the President of the Board of Aldermen. While it is a good message, I do not believe we should give credit to Mr. Reed as it is not his invention.
Lewis Reed’s approach, from what I can tell, is to promote development in every neighborhood similar to that which he takes credit for in the 6th Ward. He has said this on several occasions. This position of trickle down theory, that being if we promote high dollar development, while attracting more business, then the poor will benefit through more jobs and a better local economy. Will they be able to afford these homes, and will the jobs they qualify for jobs which actually provide benefits, or will they be slave wage service sector jobs with absolutely no benefits? Moreover, as we are issuing massive amounts of corporate subsidy to attract these businesses, will this development actually increase the tax yield enough to the point that services will be improved? These are important questions which were not answered. Few seemed to actually ask. Whenever we hear an official promising development, suddenly everyone cheers for joy. We need higher standards.
Moreover, I think every position on the BOA should be professional, thus this should not be something to promote during a campaign. As we have full time problems, we need full time pay. If Lewis agrees then he should reform the duties and responsibilities, along with pay, of Aldermen. Campaigning with the message that “ill work full time” indicates how far behind we are, about as much as Shrewsbury saying “we start on time” and “you don’t here about us like Overland! (emphasis added).
Finally, if Slay has done such a great job reforming the Bureaucracy, then why do citizens primarily contact Aldermen instead of the agency responsible? Either Room 200 isn’t getting the message out, the Agencies are not being responsive, or the legislature prefers to be the “ombudsman” for votes during a campaign. The Bureaucracy should act independent of the legislature and executive for day-to-day service delivery and the fulfillment of organizational goals. Micromanagement, especially for votes, is both inefficient and corrupt. If there is a failure in the Agency, then there needs to be reorganization, yet most likely this failure is a part of the organizational culture due to external pressures from the executive and the legislature. It is also possible that these failures existed, since the Agency’s inception, due to the nature of machine politics.
Take a breath, Doug. It’s the weekend and the sun’s shining. Decompress, dude. You’ll burn yourself out.
Doug – My limited experience with the “bureaucracy” is that they still very much feel like they’re held captive to the whims of the members of the BOA, and are afraid to second guess what they may or may not demand, resulting in a cretain degree of paralysis . . .
Reed’s “open for business” message is directed at other aldermen and city departments, letting them know that their old obstructionist ways will not fly. Reed and Slay are into getting things done, and if you examine their track records, they are successful. Most aldermen want to see things happen as well, so Slay and Reed are a breath of fresh air for them, and most city residents as well.
Since I first saw the “open for business” line in the Business Journal, I viewed it as an invitation to the business community–come to the City, we’ll happily subsidize your project and get it through with none of this inconvenient interference from the citizenry. Really, riverfront, given the well-observed tradition of aldermanic courtesy, I don’t think that anyone can logically argue about legislative obstruction, and as Jim notes–the bureaucracy does what they’re told, if they can parse the message. And before someone says I’m anti-development–I’m not. I just would rather that projects/businesses make their profits on their own merits, not my tax money.
Now I’m going outside in the last of the sunshine.
Hey, Alderman. Here are my thoughts about your comments.
“1. He’ll be a full time board president”
OK, but it’s not a full-time job according to the city charter. And that’s the easiest promise to make for any politician, and pretty cheap. Unless one is dramatically expanding the responsibilities of an office, the workload will be the same under one incumbent as the next.
“2. He is promoting the idea of One St. Louis, from corner to corner, stating that what is good or bad in one neighborhood helps or hurts the whole city. For St. Louis, that’s about as non-parochial as you can get.”
There is a difference between an idea and a practice. To me, Reed was pretty darned parochial in running a campaign that rested on the record of development in one ward while avoiding policy positions on citywide issues.
“3. Promoting the city as being ‘open for business’ is a reference to getting things done.”
Getting what done? Development? Well, DEVELOPERS are the ones who are “getting things done” with development. Standing out of their way all of the time is hardly progressive. What we need are leaders who can enable and refine development in the city, pressing for more development of a better quality than what we get.
Michael,
What ward is that new Skyhouse (or something like that) project in? You know, the 22-story modern glass and steel highrise condo project on Washington Avenue?
Does it pass your “refined and better quality development” test?