A third St. Louis Board of Aldermen member has resigned this year.
John Collins-Muhammad, representing the 21st Ward, joins Alderwoman Sarah Martin of the 11th Ward and Heather Navarro of the 28th Ward in leaving their elected positions.
Collins-Muhammad's resignation letter was submitted suddenly to President Lewis Reed a day before it was reported that St. Louis Development Corp. (SLDC) records were subpoenaed by Department of Justice investigators.
In his May 11 resignation letter, which was posted on Twitter, Collins-Muhammad stated that it had been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of the City of St. Louis but that he had made mistakes.
“I take full responsibility for those mistakes, and I am forever sincerely grateful to the residents of the 21st Ward for allowing me this most extraordinary opportunity,” he wrote. “The weeks ahead will be tough. I ask for continued prayers for myself and my family. I apologize to my family and to my constituents for my shortcomings and my mistakes.”
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that the former Missouri General Assembly intern is under investigation for bribery. Collins-Muhammad's resignation became effective on May 12.
“One of the things you try to do in politics is to make people happy and make them like you but sometimes people ask you to do things that may not be on the up and up and if you're not careful, you could be led down the wrong path," said Jean Evans, a former state representative and executive director emeritus of the Missouri Republican Party.
The married father of six children is the youngest person to be elected and the first Muslim, according to his website.
“At least he's humble,” Evans told the St. Louis Record. “I respect somebody who takes responsibility for their actions. They say how you handle failure is really indicative of the person that you become afterward.”
Collins-Muhammad was first elected in April 2017 at 25 years old and was re-elected in April 2021.
“You just never know who could be leading you astray in order to serve their own devices or use their influence to get you to do something for them and that chances are is not the right thing,” Evans said. “I've seen that happen. A lot of times, it doesn't amount to anything serious or anything that becomes discovered but I've often had conversations with young politicians being new to the business and told them to be careful.”
The SLDC oversees the St. Louis Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, which processes new construction projects’ property tax abatement applications.
“It sounds like a pretty small amount of money to lose your integrity and your job over but I don't have all the details,” Evans added. “If he helped somebody get out of a thousand dollars of taxes, it seems like a big price to pay as a human.”