FYI on Committeepersons in St. Louis

In keeping with some recent posts on various ward committees endorsing candidates I wanted to bring you the how and why of these committee postions. Basically, the state of Missouri requires each party to maintain committees.

Chapter 115 of the Missouri Revised Statutes governs the “Election Authorities and Conduct of Election.” A number of sections mandate political parties to maintain committees at various levels. In the city the ward-level committtees can be open or closed to member vote on endorsements. In fact, just finding out who comprises each ward committee in the city’s Democratic party is a chore. Before I get into that, here is some selected text from the statutes:

Purpose of committee.
115.605. Each party committee shall be selected as provided in this subchapter for the purpose of representing and acting for the party in the interim between party conventions.

County committee members, when elected (St. Louis City and County).
115.609. In each city not situated in a county and in each county which has over nine hundred thousand inhabitants, all members of the county committee shall be elected at the primary election immediately preceding each gubernatorial election and shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified.

County committee members, filing fees.
115.611. 1. Except as provided in subsection 4 of section 115.613, any registered voter of the county may have such voter’s name printed on the primary ballot of such voter’s party as a candidate for county committeeman or committeewoman by filing a declaration of candidacy in the office of the county election authority and by paying any filing fee required by subsection 2 of this section.

2. Before filing such candidate’s declaration of candidacy, candidates for county committeeman or county committeewoman shall pay to the treasurer of such candidate’s party’s county committee, or submit to the county election authority to be forwarded to the treasurer of such candidate’s party’s committee, a certain sum of money, as follows:

(1) One hundred dollars if such candidate is a candidate for county committeeman or committeewoman in any county which has or hereafter has over nine hundred thousand inhabitants or in any city not situated in a county;

3. Any person who cannot pay the fee to file as a candidate for county committeeman or committeewoman may have the fee waived by filing a declaration of inability to pay and a petition with the official with whom such candidate files such candidate’s declaration of candidacy. The provisions of section 115.357 shall apply to all such declarations and petitions.

4. No person’s name shall be printed on any official primary ballot as a candidate for county committeeman or committeewoman unless the person has filed a declaration of candidacy with the proper election authority not later than 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday in March immediately preceding the primary election.

To summarize in plain English:

• Elections for committeeman & committeewoman in our 28 wards are held in the August primary in same year as Governor (& President). Next election is August 2008.
• Filing deadline is 5pm March 25, 2008 — just over a year away.
• $100 filing fee to be paid to party for which you are running (Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian). Can be filed at the St. Louis Board of Elections.
• Candidate must reside in and be registered to vote in the ward for a year prior to election (see 115.607)

So why do I bring this up now, so far away from the election? Well, I want plenty of time for people to consider getting involved. I personally dislike that our local elections are partisan but until we change the city’s charter we are stuck with that. In the meantime I want to challenge the establishment that has a hold on the committee-level positions within the Democratic party. I’d also like to see the other parties get more organized and actually field some local candidates in the 2009 municipal election. Note to Greens: elect an alderman before you think you’ll elect a Mayor.

Running for committeeman & committeewoman is literally the most basic level we have in St. Louis. Thought about running for alderman but family and work committements too much for you? This is the perfect way to get involved. And while such an election won’t be a cake walk most of these candidates are never challenged. The proof? I looked up the election results for all 28 wards for both 2000 & 2004. I’ve summarized the democratic elections, see Commitee Elections (pdf). I looked up the republican, green and libertarian for the city but they are a joke. Pretty much if you want to be a committee person for any of those three parties simply pay your fee and the odds are very good you’ll be the committee person.

I also requested a copy of the current democratic central committee (see citydems.org). I took the 5-page Excel spreadsheet that was sent to me and reduced it down to a 2-page PDF file, see Roster of Committee persons. This will show you who is currently holding each position within the democratic central committee and how to reach them. This is also helpful if you wish to be involved in your ward with respect to the upcoming elections. Sorry, at this point I don’t know which wards are open vs. which are closed although I did make a few notes about the ones I knew.

So contact your committee people and get involved. If you don’t like what it is all about, consider running next year to replace them.