Impeachment Fight Focusing on Motivations of Ellisville City Attorney

The drama that has engulfed Ellisville city hall shifted its spotlight Tuesday to fall on City Attorney Paul Martin, who embattled Mayor Adam Paul has said is acting out of a desire to preserve the hundreds of thousands of dollars he receives in legal fees through his work with city.

At the request of the city council, Martin compiled the 11 charges that were brought against the now-suspended mayor and form the basis of the case for his impeachment. Included in those charges were allegations that Paul tried to circumvent the city council and unilaterally remove Martin from his post.

The issue came to the fore in an article Tuesday in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, which noted that Martin’s firm, which also represents University City, Olivette and Rock Hill, was paid more than $372,000 for work for Ellisville. In 2012 alone, Martin brought in $115,000, of which $50,000 came from the Sansone Group, the company building a Walmart in the city financed in part by public tax incentives.

Paul told the paper that the implications are clear – Martin is seeking revenge and attempting to protect his job.

Martin has faced similar accusations and questions at several recent Ellisville city meetings and responded that he has no personal grudge against Paul and has only been acting on behalf of the city council.

He added that a circuit court judge found no conflict of interest issues when he refused a legal challenge from Paul’s lawyers several weeks ago to halt the proceedings on the basis that they were politically motivated.

Read More:

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