Facebook Twitter Email
FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2001

The apparent actions taken by a politician in St. Louis, Missouri, bring new meaning to the term "potty parity."

During a recent filibuster on a redistricting plan critics said was discriminatory towards African-Americans in St. Louis, Alderman Irene Smith was told if she wanted to use the bathroom, she had to yield the floor.

Not wanting to give up her spot to protest the plan, Alderman had aides surround her with a tablecloth, sheet, and quilt while she appeared to do something with what appeared to be a trash can.

What did she do? "What I did behind that tablecloth is my business," she said later.

The board of aldermen never voted on the redistricting plan.

Get the Story:
St. Louis lawmaker apparently urinates in waste basket during a filibuster (AP 7/19)