Why Did Blairmont Associates Contribute to the 25th Ward?

So who is Blairmont you ask? Michael and Claire over at Ecology of Absence certainly know. They first commented on Blairmont as the owners of the historic but crumbling Clemmens Mansion in July 2005:

It’s distressing to know that Blairmont Associates LC is causing yet another annoyance to a rehabber; Blairmont owns many properties on the Near North Side of St. Louis and is notoriously hard to reach. No one can find out anything about Blairmont except that a man named Harry Noble supposedly owns the company — but even that isn’t verified. A search through the Missouri Secretary of State’s corporation registry reveals that the “CT Corporation System” registered the name “Blairmont Associates LC” on behalf of an anonymous party or parties.

Many of Blairmont’s properties seem to be vacant lots in Old North St. Louis, St. Louis Place and other neighborhoods, although the company recently purchased a vacant St. Louis Public Schools property at 2333 Benton.

Other people report needing to make agreements with Blairmont to repair shared utilities or utilities that run through Blairmonnt properties, and having difficulty finding a phone number.

Nice folks huh? Interestingly enough, it turns out Blairmont Associates gave $750 to the 25th Ward Democratic Club during the aldermanic race last year in which I was a candidate. You see, contributions directly to candidate campaigns were limited to $300 per election but contributions to ward committees don’t seem to have limits.

The really funny thing is the timing of the contribution — the day after the 25th Ward committee endorsed my opponent, the former committeewoman of 20 years, by a vote of 26-4. Wow, how convenient was that. Also the day after the committee vote they also received $1,800 from a Clayton law firm called Stone, Leyton, Gershman which has ties to Blairmont and other front companies buying up St. Louis. Add another $2,500 from Anheuser-Busch and you’ve got a nice sum of money to get around the $300 campaign contribution limit. 25th Ward reports show thousands of dollars were used for printing and phone calls during primary election above and beyond the over $13K+ spent by the Kirner campaign. Of course, it is perfectly legal. Just not necessarily above board.

I just can’t help but wonder why this mysterious Blairmont Associates, who is buying up North St. Louis under many various names, is so interested in the 25th Ward. Could it be they wanted to make sure someone didn’t get elected to the Board of Aldermen that wouldn’t look the other way when they decide to unveil whatever devious plot they have for North St. Louis? However, I seriously doubt these lawyers and investors even had a clue about our race. More than likely Kirner’s hired gun Lou Hamilton knew his client was weak & vulnerable and told the monied folks I would be trouble to them if elected. That kind of threat to their way of life got the money rolling in.

– Steve