Letters to Candidates in the Mail
I had a productive weekend and got 25 letters ready to candidates for Mayor & Alderman who face a challenger in the March 3, 2009 primary. The letters were mailed yesterday.  After the primary I’ll do the same for candidates in contested races in the April 7, 2009 general election.
The letters request candidates to complete an online questionnaire. I’ve assigned a random ID code to each candidate to ensure no other candidate pretends to be another. The questionnaires will be accessible from this page. Each questionnaire (Mayor & Alderman) has a password so only candidates have access.
Topics covered include:
- Basic info like email/phone/website.
- Top five issues facing your ward (Aldermanic candidates only).
- Top five issues facing the city.
- Top five issues facing the greater St. Louis region.
- Charter Reform – term limits
- Charter Reform – partisan vs. non-partisan local elections
- Charter Reform – reduction of the number of Aldermen
- Charter Reform – consolidation of city/county positions
- Ban on Smoking in public places.
- Local control of the St. Louis Police.
- Adoption of form-based zoning
- Funding of public transit in the region.
- Expansion of MetroLink light rail.
- Thoughts on streetcars.
- Earnings tax
- Replacement/upgrading the Edward Jones Dome in the future
- Redistricting following 2010 Census.
- ADA/Pedestrian-friendly development
- Historic Preservation/demolition
- Bicycle advocacy
- Bicycle parking
- Parking for scooters/motorcycles
- Big box & strip center development vs. urban development.
- Tax incentives for affluent firms
- Ideal role of the Alderman (Aldermanic candidates only).
- Ballpark Village
- St. Louis Centre
- Homeless (Mayoral candidates only)
- Arch-Downtown Connection
- City reentering STL County
- Valet parking
- Communications (blog if elected?)
- Public schools
- Rental vs. owner-occupant development
I’m still finishing up the questionnaires. I indicated to the candidates the questionnaires will be open as of 5pm Friday January 30, 2009 and they will close a week later at 5pm 2/6/09. This means I still have a chance to include questions on additional topics not listed above so use the comments to suggest more for either aldermanic or mayorial candidates (or both).
Lots of neighbors want owner occupied developments, not rental. Same with aldermen. In this market, good luck with that. There is no legal basis to require owner occupied versus rental housing development. Zoning doesn’t address it. Working like a gatekeeper, some aldermen try to limit tax abatement to owner occupied developments. Is that a violation of the Fair Housing Act? I don’t know. It probably should be. Dumb me.
Tax incentives for affluent firms?
What’s the definition of affluent? # of employees? Salary structure/scale? Profitability?
No one likes it when Bryan Cave etc. get the incentives, but if Clayton becomes an acceptable alternative, Husch and Eppenberger are consolidating and not in the city, high paying jobs, and probably high earning residents, leave too.
I don’t have an answer. Well, I do, St. Louis City re-entering St. Louis County. That is not going to happen anytime soon. Municipalities are in a ‘tax race’ to get the jobs and have some tax base. Very few municipalities can dictate terms. Clayton, maybe? Then who.
I think there ought to be free parking for scooters and motorcycles just to encourage a less gas guzzling mode of transport. If it cannot be free then there should be spots set aside for those of us who scoot or ride a motorcycle. Why should we take up one large parking spot?
I think there is too much emphasis on parking in St Louis. It caters to the car culture that says one must not walk very far from one’s car when shopping or out and about.
Encourage use of bikes, scooters, motorcycles and public transit.
Steve, in your question on streetcars please make sure that you include the idea of bus rapid transit (BRT). This flexible, inexpensive, and attractive form of transportation is perfect for main thoroughfares like Grand, Kingshighway, Lindell, and Broadway. Several corridors, including Grand are already in Metro’s long range plan.
Also, another great question would be what to do about Blairmont and the systematic destruction of North City buildings and affordable housing by a handful of developers seeking to redevelop large swaths of North City at some (undesignated) point in the future. For an example of what can happen, one only need look at what happened to McRee Town (now Botanical Heights).
What’s wrong with tax incentives for affluent firms? Affluent firms have tax liability. Giving them an incentive to invest by reducing taxes generates economic activity, and provides investment returns. Isn’t that what we want? Or maybe not. Dumb me.
I know a good one – STOP signs? Should their placement and/or removal be left up to professional traffic engineers or to the alderman?!
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The Post-Dispatch had a good article on the apparent futility and/or abuse of TIF’s on Sunday. The local development community has pretty much come to expect that the government will “contribute” to every project they want to do. How can we change this? “Just say No”?
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Finally, how ’bout asking about their thoughts on aldermanic courtesy? That one issue is a big reason why we struggle on too many other issues.
Good thing you sent letters and not e-mails. Had you used e-mails, most of the incumbents wouldn’t have responded.
Vacating streets vs. restoring the street grid
Vacating streets vs. restoring the street grid? Wouldn’t that depend on the situation? Like say if Ikea wanted to open at the old MSD/Street Department site? Nothing is an always either/or proposition. At least that’s what I would think. Dumb me.
dumb me. restoring the street grid means that it previously existed at that location.
Irene Smith would like to know whether your survey should be completed in pencil or pen. And if in pen, can she use an erasable pen to make it easier to clean off her screen when she’s finished.
Earnings tax – I’m assuming you’re asking about the city tax, right?
What about a tax for non-city residents to use our wonderful city and its many services(including the airport)? An additional 1% charge for sales in the city to non-city residents. Including parking, event tickets, park use, THE ZOO(how about $5 to go to the Zoo for non-city residents!), Metro, restaurants, the Arch grounds, museums, tow truck fees, etc. Eventually, this phases out the “city tax” with a “non-city tax.” I would like to hear our candidate’s thoughts on that. I’m not saying it would be easy. But
then again, I’m not running for office.
Nick, since you feel so strongly that Slay will win a third term, why do you feel the need to snipe continuously at Irene Smith? Maybe your time would be better occupied helping your suburban community cope with rising oil prices and car-dependency? Just a suggestion.
Could you ask Irene Smith about her bathroom habits?
I’d be interested in hearing what the candidates thought about the role “aldermanic courtesy” should or should not play at the board of alderman. Some TIF question would seem interesting too.
Nick, that’s a nasty thing to say.