County Council Could Honor Controversial Florissant Mayor Bob Lowery

Bob Lowery, former Florissant mayor and potential St. Louis County Council honoree.

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Scandal? What scandal?

The St. Louis County Council is poised to honor controversial outgoing Florissant Mayor Bob Lowery at its meeting this evening, despite revelations last year that led to an abrupt decision not to seek reelection this April.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch revealed last year that the long-time mayor, who makes $135,746 annually, has been logging part-time hours, using city workers for his campaigns -- and waiving fees so that his church could use municipal facilities for free. Following the P-D's expose, Lowery said he'd repay the fees. (Four months later, he hadn't.) He also said he'd run for reelection, only to change his mind last December, blasting politics as "evil and disgusting."

But County Councilman Mike O'Mara has nevertheless asked the county counselor to prepare a resolution commending Lowery to be considered at tonight's meeting -- honoring his service and congratulating him on his retirement.

We'll let you know tomorrow how the vote goes.

In the mean time, a little more info about the retired mayor: As Daily RFT reported in January, Lowery found his city sued by the ACLU over a ridiculous city policy that gave the mayor ultimate say in which political signs were permitted and which were verboten. The suit alleged, not surprisingly, that Lowery used his power to force a rival for the mayoralty to take down a small sign posted at his home.

You can also check out this seven-minute Lowery rant of the mayor criticizing his detractors, check out this video from 2007, helpfully posted on YouTube by a Florissant gadfly.