This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 9, 2009 - The day after Jeff Smith was sentenced to prison, his successor in the state Senate -- fellow Democrat Joe Keaveny of St. Louis -- was sworn in.
The swearing-in was conducted in the state Capitol today by Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael Wolff, also of St. Louis.
Keaveny, 53, was elected during a special election on Nov. 3. He will fill the remainder of Smith's term, which runs through 2010.
According to Keaveny, those attending today's swearing-in ceremony included his wife, Karen and his daughter Shannon. (The Keavenys, who reside in the Central West End, have four grown children.)
Joe Keaveny is a lawyer with degrees in finance and accounting. He served many years in the banking industry. He also is the Democratic committeeman for the 28th Ward.
“I am honored to represent the citizens of the 4th District, and I am eager to begin working on the issues affecting our great city during this challenging time in our history,” Keaveny said in a statement.
His top issues as he prepares for the coming legislative session: "Public education reform, mass transportation issues, and returning local control to the St. Louis Police Department."
Senate Minority Floor Leader Victor Callahan, D-Independence, has issued a statement welcoming Keaveny.
“Sen. Keaveny will be a valuable member of the Minority Caucus and a strong advocate for the City of St. Louis,” Sen. Callahan said. “I’m sure his experience in the financial industry will be an asset as we struggle through what is anticipated to be a difficult budget process.”
UPDATE:
State Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, issued his own welcoming statement late Wednesday that included some jabs at Smith (and implied that Shields was not among the notables who had sent letters to the judge on Smith's behalf.)
“As Senate Leader, I welcome Sen. Joe Keaveny to the Missouri Senate as he was sworn in today to represent the people of the 4th Senatorial District," Shield wrote. "Senator Keaveny fills the seat vacated by former Sen. Jeff Smith who resigned due to his admitted wrongdoings involving obstruction of justice in a federal elections investigation.
"We support Sen. Keaveny as he begins his new journey as a state senator and look forward to working with him as he rebuilds the faith the people of his district may have lost in our democratic process and elected leaders due to Jeff Smith’s actions.
"Upon Smith’s departure, we took actions to assure services continued to be provided to the citizens of the 4th Senatorial District and we are glad Sen. Keaveny’s election has been certified and he has been sworn in so that the people of the 4th are no longer without a voice, especially as we approach the beginning of next year’s session and the budget challenges it brings.”
NEW UPDATE:
On Thursday, the state Senate leadership announced Keaveny's committee assignments.
He will serve on: Financial & Governmental Organizations and Elections; Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families; Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence; and Veteran Affairs, Pensions and Urban Affairs.
In addition, he has been named to "the following interim or joint committees: Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health; Joint Interim Committee on Oversight of the Federal Stimulus and Stabilization Funds; Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement; and the Senate Educated Citizenry 2020 Committee."
