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ST. LOUIS — The bombshell corruption indictment of Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and two allies shook city government to its core Thursday, even spurring questions about how the Board of Aldermen would operate while their cases proceed in federal court.

Reed, who pleaded not guilty, announced Thursday night that he wouldn’t preside over the weekly board meetings until further notice although he would attend them.

The move came amid an effort by some board members to organize a boycott of Friday’s session to prevent a quorum and block the meeting from taking place.

Reed denied that was the reason for his decision. Instead, he said he did it to continue what he said had been a process of “working collaboratively together� at the board. “This keeps everything on track,� he told the Post-Dispatch.

By stepping aside for now from the dais, he added, his most diehard opponents on the board won’t have a reason to disrupt things.

Reed didn’t say whether he would continue another key role — assigning bills to committee. Reed late Thursday assigned Alderman Joe Vollmer to preside over board meetings. Vollmer and Alderman Jeffrey Boyd share the most continuous seniority among ward aldermen.

Boyd, who is the aldermanic vice president, also was indicted Thursday.

At least four board members had said they planned to not take part in Friday’s meeting if Reed presided.

“If this is true, I’m committed to protesting with my attendance (or lack thereof) at tomorrow’s meeting,� Alderman Shane Cohn, 25th Ward, said in an afternoon tweet. “I hope others amongst my colleagues will do the same.�

Agreeing with Cohn were Aldermen Annie Rice of the 8th Ward, Bill Stephens of the 12th and Megan Green of the 15th, who, like Cohn, are part of the board’s progressive faction. Reed is aligned with more politically moderate members.

“There’s concern about how the public perceives us as a body legitimately doing business with the indictments hanging out there,� said Green, who lost to Reed in the 2019 Democratic primary for aldermanic president.

Rice in tweets said the “behavior outlined in the indictments is unacceptable and a complete breach of the public trust� and that “I cannot in good faith be present under his presiding.�

Reed had told reporters after an afternoon court hearing on the case that he intended to take part in the board meeting.

Under aldermanic rules, Boyd, as aldermanic vice president, is supposed to fill in when Reed is absent. But Cohn and Green said they had the same objections to Boyd presiding because he also was charged in the federal cases.

Under aldermanic tradition, the next in line to be vice president would be Vollmer.

Vollmer said in an interview that he was “stunned� to learn of the charges against Reed and Boyd.

The behavior outlined in the indictment is “nothing I ever would associate with them in my mind, having known them for 20 years,� Vollmer said.

A quorum requires 15 members to be present, the board clerk said. There are two vacancies now on the 29-member board, including the 21st Ward seat formerly held by John Collins-Muhammad, who was the other one indicted Thursday.

He resigned abruptly last month, offering no reason but asking for forgiveness for his mistakes.

Collins-Muhammad and Boyd, like Reed, entered not guilty pleas to federal charges of using their offices for cash bribes and other items.

Cohn said various ideas on reacting to the charges are under discussion, such as trying to pass a censure resolution.

If Reed resigned, a city ordinance says the aldermanic vice president would replace him and serve until voters at the next city or state general election pick someone to fill out the remainder of the term. Vollmer presumably would become vice president if Boyd also resigned.

If Boyd’s 22nd Ward seat became vacant, it would be filled at a special election set by the Election Board. The election board has scheduled a special election to fill Collins-Muhammad’s seat on Aug. 2, the same day as the statewide primary.

The Board of Aldermen had been scheduled to meet in person Friday at City Hall after a one-week return to teleconferencing amid renewed coronavirus concerns after an alderman reported testing positive for COVID-19.

But board officials Thursday decided to hold another online meeting after all.

Mary Goodman, Reed’s legislative director, said the move had nothing to do with the indictments and had been discussed earlier in the day.

She said among the reasons: several aldermen had attended an event Wednesday with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who announced Thursday morning she had tested positive for COVID.

Green, one of the Reed critics, said she had no objection to the shift to an online meeting given the COVID situation.

Later Thursday, Jones’ spokesman, Nick Dunne, issued a statement saying the mayor was “deeply troubled by the allegations� in the indictments and that her office “will monitor this case as it progresses through the legal system.�

Jones has been at odds with Reed and Boyd over the years on various issues.

Comptroller Darlene Green’s spokesman, Tyson Pruitt, said Green is “saddened and disappointed by the actions asserted� in the charges and believes city residents “deserve elected officials who look out for the people’s interests.�

Meanwhile, Benjamin Singer, a leader in a successful effort at the April election to get voters to pass tougher conflict-of-interest rules for aldermen, said the indictment shows why the measure was needed.

The measure, Proposition R, also will shift ward redistricting from the Board of Aldermen to a new independent commission.

Reed, Boyd and Collins-Muhammad had been among critics of the proposal. The day before he resigned last month, Collins-Muhammad was among four aldermen who filed a lawsuit to try to get the new law thrown out. He later withdrew as one of the plaintiffs.

“This type of corrupt self-dealing alleged in the indictment is exactly why we passed Prop R for Reform to ban conflicts of interest at the Board of Aldermen,� said Singer, the CEO of Show Me Integrity, one of the groups involved in the effort.

News of the indictments sent political ripples into ºüÀêÊÓƵ County. Reed didn’t show up at a 5 p.m. fundraiser he was scheduled to co-headline for the reelection campaign of County Councilwoman Rita Days, D-Bel-Nor.

Days in an interview said Reed’s indictment had no bearing on the event or her campaign and that Reed had asked himself to take part.

“I do not have a crystal ball, so I had no idea about any of this,� Days said. “When he asked, in this business when folks want to support you, you say well, I don’t see a reason why not. There was nothing like this floating around at the time. The concern is for Lewis and for Lewis’ family at this particular point.�

Days’ opponent in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary, Jennings Councilman Terry Wilson, called on Days to return any money that Reed or Republicans have raised for her campaign.

“This is not good government and we need to send a strong message that we will not endorse corruption,� Wilson said.

Nassim Benchaabane of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Updated at 9:25 p.m. Thursday, June 2. 

Editor's note: This article was updated to include the correct number of aldermen required for a quorum.