Blackwell v. City of St. Louis, 50961
| Decision Date | 03 February 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 50961,50961 |
| Parties | Donald G. BLACKWELL, Respondent, v. CITY OF ST. LOUIS, et al., Appellants. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
James J. Wilson, City Counselor, Julian Bush & Kathleen A. Gormley, Asst. City Counselors, St. Louis, for appellants.
Jerome A. Diekemper, Janet E. Young, St. Louis, for respondent.
This appeal follows a judgment of the Circuit Court reversing an order of the Civil Service Commission of the City of St. Louis ("Commission") which suspended Donald G. Blackwell for 28 days without pay. The Commission held that Blackwell acted in a manner that violated prohibitions in the City's Charter against political activity. We affirm the Circuit Court's decision.
Our review is limited to whether the Commission's findings are supported by competent and substantial evidence based on the whole record. Crafton v. State Bd. of Chiropractic Examiners, 693 S.W.2d 320, 321 (Mo.App., E.D.1985). The reviewing court may not substitute its judgment for that of the Commission and must view the evidence in the light most favorable to that decision. Stovall v. Civil Service Comm'n, 636 S.W.2d 364, 366 (Mo.App., E.D.1982).
At the time the charges were brought against him, Blackwell had been a fire fighter for thirty years and had an unblemished record. He held the position of Battalion Chief and also served as President of Local 73 of the St. Louis Fire Fighters, IAF, AFL-CIO ("Local 73"). The charge filed against him alleged that he violated certain provisions of the Charter of the City of St. Louis ("Charter") and the Civil Service Rules ("Rules"). It was alleged that Blackwell had engaged in the type of political activity proscribed for public employees in his position. The charge arose following two local newspaper stories which quoted Blackwell, as Union President, in reference to James Shrewsbury, a St. Louis City Alderman, and Shrewsbury's role in the rejected proposal to increase the St. Louis Fire Fighters Pension Fund.
At the evidentiary hearing before the Commission, it was established that Blackwell had attended the October 5, 1984 Board of Aldermen's meeting at which the Fire Fighters Pension proposal was rejected. He attended in his capacity as Union President and wore civilian clothes. Following the vote on the proposal, he was approached by five or six members of the news media and interviewed for his reaction to the vote. Thereafter, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the South Side Journal each published one article on the subject.
In the Post-Dispatch article, which appeared one day after the interview, Blackwell was quoted as saying, "I'm sure the Fire Fighters will be acting in preventing his [Shrewsbury's] election." The South Side Journal article appeared five days after the interview and it quoted Blackwell as stating that the Union would "be active in preventing his [Shrewsbury's] re-election." Both articles identified Blackwell only as President of the Fire Fighters Union.
The Commission found Blackwell in violation of Section 19 of Amended Article XVIII of the Charter of the City of St. Louis and Rule XV, Section 2(b) of the Civil Service Rules. 1 Specifically, it concluded that he used his official authority or influence to coerce political action. It stated that, "[t]he public threat against Alderman Shrewsbury that the St. Louis Fire Fighters would work to prevent the re-election of Alderman Shrewsbury is such conduct and speech by a Battalion Chief in the Fire and Fire Prevention Division which is prohibited by the Charter." On appeal, the Circuit Court reversed the Commission's order.
The Commission raises two related points on appeal. Both points question the lower court's ruling that the Commission's order was not supported by competent and substantial evidence.
In its first point, the Commission claims that Blackwell's acts following the Board of Aldermen's meeting constituted a use of his official authority and influence to coerce the political activity of subordinate fire fighters, other public officials, and the Board of Aldermen. Such coercion is prohibited conduct under the Charter and Rules. The Commission characterized Blackwell's statement, as reported in the press, as a "threat" which it then found to be synonymous with "coerce."
However, BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 234 (rev. 5th ed. 1979) defines coerce as "[c]ompelled to compliance; constrained to obedience, or submission in a vigorous or forcible manner." The prohibited conduct, according to the plain and unambiguous language of the Charter and Rule, is the use of "official authority or influence to coerce the political action of any person or body...." The Commission did not charge Blackwell with actual coercion, intimidation, or pressure of anyone. There is no evidence that Blackwell actually coerced, intimidated, or pressured anyone. Moreover, the record is devoid of evidence to show that Blackwell's official capacity placed him in a position to actually coerce others, by means of discharge, discipline, demotion, transfer or reassignment. The fact that Blackwell held an official position within the Fire Department is not, in itself, sufficient to find coercion. Neither the Charter nor the Rules prohibit the possibility of coercion, only the actual exercise of the same.
Further, Blackwell's role at the Board of Aldermen's meeting was well-delineated by the fact that he was there as President of Local 73 to lobby for the increase to the Pension Fund. The reporters testified that they approached him because he was the Union President and identified him as such in their articles. Absent some evidence that Blackwell used his authority or influence as Battalion Chief to coerce someone to political activity, the Commission's finding is unsupported by competent and substantial evidence. This point is denied.
The Commission's second point alleges that there was competent and substantial evidence to find that Blackwell engaged in proscribed political activity by "interfering with an election and taking an active part in a political campaign by...
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