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ST. LOUIS — Mayor Cara Spencer began putting her stamp on the city’s high-profile economic development arm Thursday, replacing Neal Richardson with her chief of staff, Nancy Hawes, as chair of the organization’s board of directors.

Even before she was sworn in, Spencer singled out the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Development Corp. as one of the agencies where she wanted to see new leadership. She had served on SLDC’s board as an alderman but, as her mayoral campaign heated up, later resigned over what she said was concern with Richardson’s management of the the organization in the wake of a troubled rollout of a north ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ grant program. 

But unlike department heads and other cabinet positions, picking a new SLDC chief isn’t as simple as just naming a replacement for Richardson, who still leads the SLDC staff as president and CEO.

Technically, SLDC is a nonprofit corporation and Richardson answers to SLDC’s nine-member board of directors, made up of two members of the Board of Aldermen and the chairs of the development boards it oversees, such as the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Port Authority and Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority.

Only one member of the board is directly appointed by the mayor: its chairman. Richardson had served in the dual role as chair and president under former Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. Spencer had taken issue with that arrangement, which had been used by mayors before Jones. 

“As I have previously said, I strongly believe that there should be separation of SLDC and the board that oversees the organization,� Spencer said in a statement. “This appointment is the first step in that direction.�

Whether Richardson, nominated for the job by Jones and hired by the board in 2021, would resign or whether the SLDC board would move to replace him had been unclear. SLDC’s regular monthly meeting, scheduled for Thursday morning, was pushed back by two weeks to May 1. And the day after Spencer’s election, Richardson sent a note to employees addressing the leadership change in City Hall.

“As we prepare for this leadership transition, I want to affirm that SLDC remains an apolitical, mission-driven organization,â€� Richardson wrote to employees and board members. “While administrations change, our commitment to the people of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ does not. Together with our board of directors, we will ensure that the important work this team does every day continues to move forward with focus, professionalism and urgency.â€�

In an interview Thursday before Spencer replaced him as chair, Richardson said he hadn’t heard directly from the administration about his future at SLDC. But he said he would help ensure a smooth transition because it would be “challenging� to promote economic growth without “clear alignment� between the mayor’s office and SLDC.

“I’m here to support the mayor’s office, I’m here to support her and this city,� Richardson said. “If she decides to want to go in a different direction, that’s not something that I would necessarily want to be against. For SLDC to be successful, it requires alignment with the mayor’s office, and Mayor Spencer’s earned that right for her vision to be implemented in the way that she she sees fit.�

Several SLDC board members on Thursday said they hadn’t yet heard from Spencer’s administration, only two days old, about leadership at the agency. But longtime board member Loura Gilbert, who heads the board that makes small business loans, said if Spencer wants a new leader at SLDC, the mayor “needs to say why.�

“She needs to justify it,� Gilbert said. 

Gilbert conceded there had been “bumps in the road� with some of the programs funded with an unprecedented infusion of tens of millions of dollars in federal pandemic aid, such as the North Side grant program. But Gilbert said launching so many new programs was “a learning curve for everybody� and would have challenged any SLDC leader.

As those programs spend down the remaining pandemic aid, some “continuity� makes sense, Gilbert said.

“For the most part, Neal has done a real good job organizing the department,� she said. 

Board Member Sean Spencer, who chairs the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, said the job of SLDC director was a “difficult and visible position� in city government, acknowledging “there’s something to be said� about aligning SLDC with the mayor’s office. But he also said Richardson had had some success overseeing the reorganization and rebranding of SLDC. 

“There are a lot of programs he’s stood up that I hope continue,� Sean Spencer said. 

One seat on SLDC’s board is open because the land clearance for redevelopment authority does not have a current representative on the board. Two other votes on SLDC’s board are filled by chairs of two aldermanic committees, and those assignments have not been set for the new aldermanic session. The two current aldermanic board members, Shameem Clark-Hubbard and Alisha Sonnier, are friendly to Richardson. 

But SLDC’s bylaws state that the head of SLDC is nominated by the mayor and elected by the board for a two-year term. Richardson was first elected by the board at the beginning of June 2021.

“I think the mayor has the prerogative under the bylaws to take action,� said Matt McBride, a longtime board member who serves as chair of both the LCRA and port authority. 

Austin Huguelet of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.