HAZELWOOD — A councilwoman here swore at a resident this week during a public meeting after the man accused her of ignoring rundown houses.
Kevin Foley, the husband of another council member, was complaining that the city had been ignoring derelict property violations, including one “down the street” from Councilwoman Lisa Matlock’s residence.
Matlock responded with an impromptu tirade, which included multiple obscenities.
“I am so tired of him coming in here every month at our meetings and tearing this council apart,” Matlock said.

Hazelwood Councilwoman Lisa Matlock, Ward 5.
The exchange, during Hazelwood’s regular public council meeting Wednesday, prompted Mayor Matt Robinson to call Matlock out of order. Government meeting rules typically bar elected officials from addressing their comments to individual residents.
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It’s also the second time in two years a Hazelwood council member used profanity at a council meeting.
Last year, another sitting councilman called two colleagues a derogatory term. Afterwards, the council called a retreat to repair working relationships.
Both incidents were livestreamed on the city’s Facebook page.
Matlock, Foley and Robinson did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Foley’s wife, Councilwoman Kelly Wadlow, was not present at the Wednesday meeting, and declined on Friday to comment on her husband’s interaction with Matlock.
Foley was one of a handful of residents to take turns addressing the council during its regular public comment session Wednesday night.
Council members were each ignoring problem properties in their wards, Foley said. He named Robinson, Matlock and Councilman Robert Smith in particular for ignoring specific alleged problem properties. That included a house in Matlock’s neighborhood he said the city previously paid $60,000 to abate.
Foley criticized Matlock for public remarks calling for “community engagement” from residents, accusing her of failing her own duties as an elected official.
“I went by there today, and it’s back again that way, because there is a lack of code enforcement, because there is a problem with this council, because you are not asking questions,” Foley said. “In your own community, right down the street from your house, there is a lack of code enforcement.”
Later in the meeting, Matlock asked Robinson, the mayor, for time to speak and addressed Foley by name, over Robinson’s objections.
The house Foley referenced, Matlock said, was being addressed by the city but it was taking time to work through the legal process. But Foley, she said, was taking her words out of context and unfairly criticizing elected officials and city staff.
“We are trying our best and we are doing our jobs up here,” Matlock said. “Mr. Foley, you can shake your head all you want.
“That house in my subdivision is being taken care of ... it is going through the process, and if you don’t like it you can f—— — kiss my ass.”
Robinson interjected.
“We will not have that type of behavior from a sitting council member,” he said.
Matlock then said she took the comment “back” before wrapping up her remarks and leaving the room.
Last year, Councilman Warren “Butch” Taylor, used the word “bitch” to identify Wadlow and Councilwoman Jen Hatton while he Zoomed into a May 1, 2024, meeting from his home. Taylor was unaware that his computer microphone was not muted and that his words were broadcast on Facebook and in the council meeting room.
Hatton, Wadlow and Matlock said at the time that it was the latest example of mistreatment by some longtime male councilmen and that Robinson had failed to address their concerns. Several residents afterward called for Taylor’s resignation.
Robinson and Taylor later made public apologies and the council held a “retreat” in late 2024 meant to build better working relationships.
A resident said the councilman's slur was an example of "frank bullying and gender discrimination" on the council.
Warren "Butch" Taylor, a longtime councilman, used the word to identify the women on a Zoom call. He didn't realize he wasn't muted.
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