When Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon needed to find a new county counselor, he didn’t have to look far – just a couple of blocks up Maple Street in the Jefferson County Justice Center, as a matter of fact.
The center houses the county’s Municipal Court, and that’s where he found Jalesia F.M. Kuenzel, whom Gannon appointed to serve as the Municipal Court judge in November 2022.
Since then Gannon recommended the County Council hire Kuenzel as the county counselor, replacing Wes Yates, who was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson to fill the vacant Div. 15 associate circuit judge spot in Jefferson County’s 23rd Circuit.
The Jefferson County Council unanimously approved Kuenzel’s hire in an April 24 closed session.
Kuenzel, 51, of De Soto will start her new duties as the county counselor on June 1.
In addition to her experience as the county Municipal Court judge, a part-time position, Kuenzel also has run a private law firm based in Sunset Hills with her husband, Anthony.
She said she wasn’t necessarily wanting to make a radical change in her career.
“When I took the job as municipal judge that Dennis Gannon appointed me to, I was looking forward to being a judge,” she said. “And it’s been a great job. I thought that it fits me well because I know how to be impartial and treat everyone with respect while following the law.
“When the news started circulating around that Wes Yates would be appointed associate circuit judge, people around me asked me whether I was going to apply. I had applied for the job a few years ago (when Tony Dorsett was hired in 2017 after Yates was appointed to the Div. 1 circuit judge spot). But I said no, that Dennis appointed me to do this job. I like this. I’m not going to go around him to apply for something else. I agreed to do this job.”
However, she said, Gannon reached out to her.
“A month later, I got a call from Dennis and David Courtway asking me to go to lunch. They asked me to put my name in the hat for the county counselor’s job. To me, that was a different situation because Dennis asked me. I said I’d think about it. Because it’s a full-time position, it was different. It would change some things around for my family.
“I talked about it with my husband. We are a team; we talk about everything that affects our lives, and this will, considering time, and finances and all that other stuff. But he’s fine for whatever’s best for our family, and so am I. What we came up with is 'We can do this.’”
Under the county charter, the county counselor’s position is a full-time job, and she is required to give up her partnership in the law firm.
“This time (in May) is being spent doing everything that is legally required for me to relinquish my share in our law firm,” she said. “We’re in the process of transferring all my clients to my husband, if that’s what they choose.”
Gannon said six people applied for the county counselor’s job.
“I think what stood out was her varied experience. And she has governmental law experience in Wellston,” Gannon said. “I’m looking forward to getting her started,” he said.
Kuenzel said she has served for eight years as the city attorney for Wellston, a city in north St. Louis County, and she has submitted her notice of resignation there.
“I’m very familiar with the role of a municipal attorney. I think that’s one of the things that made me qualified for this job,” she said. “Wellston certainly presented a lot of challenges, but the mayor and city administrator and the current council have been great. If that wasn’t the case, I would not have been there that long. The experience was a great one. I believe the lessons I learned in Wellston will help me in this new job in Jefferson County. I’m very excited to begin.”
A graduate of the Southern Illinois University School of Law, Kuenzel was born on an Air Force base in Japan. Her father was in the service, so she said her family moved around quite a bit. She said her mother, from Peru, immersed her in the Spanish culture.
She and her husband have five children.
Kuenzel said she’s ready for her new challenge.
“I think in some ways, a municipal judge has some of the same skill set as a county counselor. The No. 1 thing is that I’m providing a legal service to the county. There is one client, the county, but so many different people to represent – the officeholders, the administration, the members of the County Council. So there are a lot of different interests. So you have to listen to everyone and take their concerns into consideration, but because I am representing the county, I have to make sure that we are not exposing the county to liability, and be firm about that, while being respectful to the client and the people they’re serving.
“And you have to be firm and stick to the law. You can’t allow disrespect from other people. You don’t put up with B.S. on the bench, and you can’t put up with it as the county counselor. So there are a lot of skill sets that are the same, and I believe I have those skill sets.”
Kuenzel will be paid a $119,000 annual salary as county counselor. She is being paid $60,000 a year to serve as municipal judge.
Yates was being paid $119,913 in the county counselor job.
Gannon said he’s already received interest in the soon-to-be-vacant municipal judgeship.
“We have all the applications from last year (four others had applied), so we’ll be going through those and revisiting the interviews we had then. And we’ve had some interest from some other people since we hired Jasha (Kuenzel’s nickname). We’ll be starting the process of finding a new municipal judge soon.”