Wesley Bell

DemocratU.S. Representative, MO-1

Age	51 (b. 1974-11-05)
Gender	Male
In office since	2025-01-03 (~1 yrs)
Race / ethnicity	Black / African American
Education	BA (Political Science and Public Management), Lindenwood University, 1998; JD, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law
Prior occupation	Public defender (St. Louis County); criminology professor (Florissant Valley Community College); municipal judge (Velda City); municipal prosecutor (Riverview); St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney (2019–2025)
Military service	No
Birthplace	St. Louis County, Missouri
Residence	North St. Louis County, Missouri
Notable relatives	Grandfather Reverend Melvin T. Bell led a historic labor strike in 1967 at Duncan Foundry steel mill; stepfather was an electrician with IBEW Local 649

Wikipedia · Ballotpedia · OpenSecrets · Official site

Pending research: religion · languages · marital status · children · openly lgbtq.

Career & politics

First elected	2015
Previous offices	Ferguson City Council member (2015–2018) · St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney (2019–2025)
Committees	House Committee on Armed Services (Subcommittees: Strategic Forces; Tactical Air and Land Forces) · House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Subcommittee: Federal Law Enforcement)
Caucuses	Congressional Black Caucus · New Democrat Coalition · Black Maternal Health Caucus · Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (ally member)
Ideology	Moderate Democrat; member of New Democrat Coalition; received major support from AIPAC and pro-Israel PACs in 2024 primary against progressive incumbent Cori Bush
Signature legislation	Vacancy to Value Act of 2026 (redevelopment of vacant federal properties into affordable housing) · Tornado Preparedness Act (NOAA/FEMA modernization for tornado forecasting) · Reinvest in Public Schools Act of 2026 (school bond refinancing) · FEMA Accountability Act (monthly disaster relief fund reporting) · No ICE Ads Act (prohibiting DHS from funding ICE recruitment TV ads) · Defense Technology Hubs Act of 2026 (DoD regional innovation hubs for defense tech)

Financial

No holdings recorded yet (from official Financial Disclosure filings).

Top donors: American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) / United Democracy Project (super PAC) ($8.5 million (independent expenditures in 2024 primary)) · Daniel Loeb (billionaire hedge fund founder) · David Steward (billionaire tech CEO, World Wide Technology) · Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn founder) (Maximum contribution)

Top industries: Pro-Israel / foreign policy advocacy · Finance / hedge funds · Technology · Law

Scandals & crimes ledger

resolved — Wrongful Termination Settlement - Kathi Alizadeh

abuse-of-office · 2019-01-02 · On his second day as St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, Wesley Bell fired veteran assistant prosecutor Kathi Alizadeh, who had worked in the office since 1988 and had been responsible for presenting evidence to the grand jury that declined to indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown. Alizadeh was one of three longtime prosecutors given discharge letters on January 2, 2019. St. Louis County reached a $25,000 settlement with Alizadeh, which also covered back pay and legal fees. · County paid $25,000 settlement plus back pay and legal fees

St. Louis County paid a $25,000 settlement to veteran prosecutor Kathi Alizadeh after Wesley Bell fired her on his second day in office in January 2019; the settlement included back pay and legal fees.

Sources: FOX 2 (KTVI) · St. Louis Post-Dispatch

resolved — Wrongful Termination Settlement - Ed McSweeney

abuse-of-office · 2019-01-02 · Ed McSweeney, a 34-year veteran assistant prosecutor, was suspended without pay after criticizing Wesley Bell on social media the day after Bell won the August 2018 Democratic primary, and was then given a discharge letter on January 2, 2019, Bell's second day in office. McSweeney agreed to resign effective June 28, 2019, preserving his pension eligibility. St. Louis County paid a $75,000 settlement ($58,891.28 in back pay plus $16,108.72 in legal fees), and the settlement stipulated McSweeney would not sue the county over the termination attempt. · County paid $75,000 settlement (back pay plus legal fees); McSweeney resigned rather than being terminated

St. Louis County paid a $75,000 settlement to prosecutor Ed McSweeney, who was suspended and then given a discharge letter by Wesley Bell in January 2019 after McSweeney criticized Bell on social media; the settlement was announced in July 2019.

Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

resolved — Wrongful Termination Settlement - Jennifer Coffin

abuse-of-office · 2019-01-02 · Jennifer Coffin was among three veteran assistant prosecutors given discharge letters by Wesley Bell on January 2, 2019, his second day as St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney. Coffin appealed her termination to the county's civil service commission in April 2019. St. Louis County subsequently agreed to a $70,000 settlement with Coffin, released publicly on August 15, 2019 in response to a Sunshine Law records request. This was the third of three settlements (along with Alizadeh and McSweeney) stemming from Bell's initial-week terminations, totaling roughly $170,000 in county payouts. · County paid $70,000 settlement

St. Louis County paid a $70,000 settlement to prosecutor Jennifer Coffin, one of three career prosecutors fired by Wesley Bell in his first days in office in January 2019; the settlement was disclosed in August 2019.

Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch · FOX 2 (KTVI)

resolved — Employment Discrimination Lawsuit (Susan Petersen v. St. Louis County / Wesley Bell)

ethics-violation · 2020-10-01 · Circuit Court (civil); St. Louis County · Settled for $500,000 paid by St. Louis County

Former assistant prosecutor Susan Petersen, who worked in the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office for over 20 years, filed a lawsuit in October 2020 alleging that Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell discriminated against her based on gender, age, and race, and retaliated against her after she complained. Petersen alleged Bell hired and promoted significantly more male employees than female staff and maintained an all-male executive team. She also claimed Bell's decisions in two criminal cases — involving plea deals for Black defendants — constituted racial discrimination, with one judge expressing 'confusion and reluctance' about a plea agreement. Petersen was suspended in September 2019 and demoted in October 2019 before departing the office. St. Louis County approved a $500,000 settlement on January 24, 2025.

Sources: First Alert 4 · St. Louis Post-Dispatch