Absentee Voting Begins Today for August 2nd Primary

Absentee voting for the Missouri’s August 2nd primary begins today. Since the St. Louis region has too many units of government to list all races/candidates, I’m focusing on the ballot voters in the City of St. Louis will face.

My list here differs slightly from the sample ballot:

1. I’ve omitted races with only a single candidate
2. Races listed here are in reverse order, though candidates are still in ballot order for their respective race.

If you read this in the order presented you’ll see smaller parties/races first.

At this point I’m endorsing in only three races, all on the Democratic Ballot:

• Megan Betts for Committeewoman 5th Ward
• Rasheen Aldridge for Committeeman 5th Ward
• Bruce Franks for State Rep. District 78

All three are challenging Rodney or Penny Hubbard. I know all three personally and have donated a small amount to each campaign. We recently hosted a meet & greet for them.

Below are challenged races in the August 2nd partisan primary:

GREEN PARTY

FOR TREASURER

• JEROME BAUER
• DON DE VIVO

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

FOR U.S. SENATOR

REPUBLICAN PARTY

FOR U.S. REP. DISTRICT 1

• STEVEN G. BAILEY
• PAUL BERRY III

FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL

• JOSH HAWLEY
• KURT SCHAEFER

FOR SECRETARY OF STATE

• WILL KRAUS
• JOHN (JAY) ASHCROFT
• ROI CHINN

FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:

• ARNIE C. – AC DIENOFF
• BEV RANDLES
• MIKE PARSON

FOR GOVERNOR

• CATHERINE HANAWAY
• ERIC GREITENS
• JOHN BRUNNER
• PETER D. KINDER

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 27

• PAMELA BOYD
• RACHEL JOHNS

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 27

• NATHAN BOYD
• CHRIS CARTER
• JIMMIE MATTHEWS

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 26

• TISHAURA O, JONES
• KARLA MAY

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 26

• JOSEPH (JOE) PALM
• DONALD L. GAGE II

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 22

• NORMA J. WALKER
• ANNIE MILDRED COOPER

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 21

• ABDUL-KABA ABDULLAH
• JAMES A. KEYS

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 20

• KEMATA K. MCCLINE
• WENDY CAMPBELL

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 20

• GLENN BURLEIGH
• DALE SWEET

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 19

• CLINT HARRIS
• RICHARD R. WILSON

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 14

• MADALINE BUTHOD
• LAURA OWENS

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 11

• ADAM KUSTRA
• JACOB W. HUMMEL

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 10

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 10

• ROB STELZER
• MAX ROBERT CASSILLY

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 9

• PAT ORTMANN
• SARA JOHNSON

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 8

• ANNIE RICE
• NORAH J. RYAN

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 8

• TONY ZEBROWSKI
• PAUL F. FEHLER

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 7

• MARTY (JOE) MURRAY, JR
• BRIAN ANTHONY WAHBY

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 6

• MARY ENTRUP
• ALISON DREITH

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 6

• MATTHEW CARROLL-SCHMIDT
• MICHAEK BUTLER

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 5

• PENNY V. HUBBARD
• MEGAN BETTS (endorsed)

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 5

• RODNEY HUBBARD
• RASHEEN ALDRIDGE (endorsed)

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 4

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 3

• LUCINDA FRAZIER
• MARGUERITE DILLWORTH
• SHEILA RENDON

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 3

• ANTHONY BELL
• BRANDON BOSLEY

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 2

• JOYCE M. HALL
• LISA MIDDLEBROOK

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 2

• LARRY MIDDLEBROOK
• DAVID [DA] MOSLEY

FOR COMMITTEEWOMAN WARD 1

• MANDA DAVIS
• RAQUEL GANT
• YOLANDA [GLASS] BROWN

FOR COMMITTEEMAN WARD 1

• AZIM AZIZ
• STERLING SAMUEL MILLER

FOR SHERIFF

• JOSEPH [JOE] VACCARO
• VERNON BETTS
• JOHNNIE CHESTER, SR.
• CHARLEY [BIG WILL] WILLIAMS
• JIMMIE MATTHEWS

FOR CIRCUIT ATTORNEY

• KIMBERLY M. GARDNER
• PATRICK HAMMACHER
• STEVE HARMON
• MARY PAT CARL

STATE REP. DISTRICT 81

• ALFRED J. (FRED) WESSELS
• STEVE BUTZ
• ADAM KUNSTRA

STATE REP. DISTRICT 80

• BEN MURRAY
• PETER MERIDETH

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 78

• BRUCE FRANKS (endorsed)
• PENNY V, HUBBARD

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 77

• JESSE TODD
• STEVE ROBERTS
• JOHN COLLINS-MUHAMMAD
• BRIAN ELSESSER

FOR STATE REP. DISTRICT 66

• TOMMIE PIERSON, JR.
• KHALIL ABDUL MUMIN
• MARLENE TERRY

FOR STATE SENATOR DISTRICT 5

• JAMILAH NASHEED
• DYLAN HASSINGER

FOR U.S. REP. DISTRICT 1

• (WILLIAM) BILL HASS
• LACY CLAY
• MARIA N. CHAPPELLE-NADAL

FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL:

• JAKE ZIMMERMAN
• TERESA HENSLEY

FOR STATE TREASURER

• PAT CONTRERAS
• JUDY BAKER

FOR SECRETARY OF STATE

• BILL CLINTON YOUNG
• ROBIN SMITH
• MD RABBI ALAM

FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

• WINSTON APPLE
• RUSS CARNAHAN
• TOMMIE PIERSON, SR.

FOR GOVERNOR

• LEONARD JOSEPH STEINMAN II
• CHRIS KOSTER
• ERIC MORRISON
• CHARLES B. WHEELER

FOR U.S. SENATOR

• CHIEF WANA DUBIE
• CORI BUSH
• JASON KANDER
• ROBERT MACK

Whether you vote at the polls or via absentee ballot, please research the races/candidates in your ward/district.

Not registered yet? You’ve got until July 6th.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills 6/10/16

The following board bills were introduced at the 6/10/16 session of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen:

Board Bill No. 82 | Ordinance to vacate 4900 block of Terry

BOARD BILL NO. 82 INTRODUCED BY ALDERWOMAN SHARON TYUS An ordinance to vacate all commercial driveway apron and/or curb cuts that abut the front roadway know as the 4900 block of Terry and prohibiting any new commercial driveways, aprons, and/or curb cuts from being constructed or permits to construct a commercial driveway, apron, and/or curb cuts from being issued, and containing a emergency clause.

Editorial: this isn’t to vacate the street, but commercial driveways connecting to it.  See the block here.

Board Bill No. 83 | Ordinance pertaining to commercial traffic

BOARD BILL NO. 83 INTRODUCED BY ALDERWOMAN SHARON TYUS An ordinance pertaining to commercial traffic and commercial semi service trucks prohibiting such traffic along certain portions of Terry, exempting from prohibition emergency vehicles, including tow trucks when providing service to non commercial vehicles, and containing a emergency clause.

Board Bill No. 84 | Honorarily designate 5000-5200 Lotus as Lou “Fatha” Thimes Ave

BOARD BILL #84 INTRODUCED BY ALDERWOMAN SHARON TYUS An ordinance authorizing and directing the Street Commissioner to take all necessary actions to honorarily designate the 5000-5200 blocks of Lotus Avenue as Lou “FATHA” Thimes Avenue

Board Bill No. 85 | Ordinance pertaining to vendors

BOARD BILL #85 INTRODUCED BY ALDERWOMAN SHARON TYUS An ordinance pertaining to vendors; repealing Ordinance 34889, approved on April 21, 1926, Section 29-104 of Ordinance 52030, approved on June 1, 1963, Ordinance 53070, approved on March 10, 1965, Ordinance 54719, approved on April 5, 1967, Ordinance 55785, approved on January 7, 1971, Ordinance 56640, approved on December 20, 1973, Ordinance 57583, approved on April 3, 1978, Ordinance 58086, approved on June 12, 1980, Ordinance 58514, approved on March 1, 1982, Ordinance 59090, approved on March 23, 1984, Ordinance 59454, approved on June 4, 1985, Ordinance 59533, approved on September 24, 1985, Ordinance 59923, approved on June 27, 1986, Section Two of Ordinance 64166, approved on October 24, 1997, Ordinance 64327, approved on March 13, 1998 and Chapter 8.48 of the Revised Code of the City of St. Louis; establishing comprehensive rules and regulations for vendors within the City of St. Louis, setting the fees to be collected by the License Collector for the operation of a vending business; establishing different classifications of vendors, creating special vending districts; Ordinance 64569, approved on February 11, 1999, Ordinance 64712, approved on July 29, 1999,Ordinance 65061, approved on October 11, 2000, Ordinance 65347, approved November 28, 2001 Ordinance 66655 approved February 28, 2005 , Ordinance 66860 approved November 8, 2005, Ordinance 68108 approved September 24, 2008, Ordinance 68588 approved March 16, 2010, Ordinance 68603 approved March 16, 2010, Ordinance 68757 Approved October 22, 2010, Ordinance 68990 approved October 20, 2011, and Ordinance 69639 approved December 30, 2013, prohibiting street vendors within the City of St. Louis except within designated vending districts; establishing vending districts within the City of St. Louis; prohibiting vending on any LRA owned property, promulgating rules and regulations for vending within vending districts; containing definitions, a penalty clause, a severability clause and an emergency clause.

Here is video of the 6/10/16 meeting.

See last week’s debut post listing new board bills here. To coincide with posting of bills online, this weekly series will move to Thursdays.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Opioids/Herion vs Marijuana — Are They Equally Dangerous Drugs?

In late April singer Prince died at age 57, the corner found he died due to an opioid overdose:

Toxicology tests for Prince concluded that the entertainer died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl, according to a report on his death by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.
Fentanyl, prescribed by doctors for cancer treatment, can be made illicitly and is blamed for a spike in overdose deaths in the United States. It’s 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (CNN)

Heroin is an opioid:

Heroin is an opioid drug that is synthesized from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian opium poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder or as a black sticky substance, known as “black tar heroin.” (drugabuse.gov)

Prescription opioids include Vicodin & OxyContin. The government classifies drugs relative to each other in five levels, here are the descriptions of the two most dangerous as described by the DEA:

Schedule I

Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are:

heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote.

Schedule II

Schedule II drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous. Some examples of Schedule II drugs are: 

Combination products with less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosage unit (Vicodin), cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), meperidine (Demerol), oxycodone (OxyContin), fentanyl, Dexedrine, Adderall, and Ritalin

For today’s poll I’m contrasting opioids/herion (Schedule 1 & 2) to marijuana (Schedule 1):

The term “dangerous” is how ever you define it.  The poll will close at 8pm tonight.

Wednesday I’ll share my thoughts with the non-scientific results of this poll.

— Steve Patterson

17th Street Connects Locust, Olive, Pine, Chestnut, and Market to Washington Ave

For years now I’ve tried to end the week on a positive note, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to be optimistic about St. Louis’ future. Today is the final vote on BB64 to give public land to a developer, cutting off others from Washington Ave. The following image illustrates the potential problem.

Behind me is the massive Butler Brothers Warehouse, at left is 1701 Locust — both vacant and in need of rehab. At right is one of our two buildings at Printers Lofts, the 5,500 sq ft first floor is currently vacant and for sale. Cutting them off from access to Washington Ave will not help.

Voting yes on BB64 would be incredibly short-sighted sided.

— Steve Patterson

Architects Labeled 17th Street An Alley

When Ald Davis & Ald Hubbard visiting our condo association on June 8th they left behind developer’s plans intended to convince to stop fighting the city giving away an important piece of the street grid: 17th Street. See: Proposed 17th Street Closure Would Reduce Safety & Security For Existing Residents Around Monogram Project.

I looked through the materials — many of which are Google Street View screen captures. They couldn’t even come take photographs?  One page explained a lot about the view of the developer & architects:

The final vote on BB64 will likely take place tomorrow, hopefully the full board will reject it outright.  Many signatures have been collected on petitions opposing the vacation of 17th St, from numerous adjacent condo projects. The Downtown Neighborhood Association has also gone on record in opposition. We want to see the Monogram/CPI building occupied, but not at our expense. The public uses 17th Street daily.

Thankfully we’ll know how each alderman voted after the fact — votes are now listed online.

— Steve Patterson