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City of St. Louis: Presidential Primary By The Numbers

March 21, 2016 Featured, Politics/Policy 1 Comment

Last Tuesday was Missouri’s presidential preference primary.

More than 1.5 million Missourians voted in Tuesday’s presidential preference primary. That is up from about 1.4 million, the state’s previous record, set in 2008. Overall turnout hovered at 39 percent of registered voters, up from about 36 percent in 2008, the last time Republicans and Democrats had divided contests to decide.

Those trends were repeated in the St. Louis area, where turnout surged in St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties. St. Louis County turnout topped 45 percent, higher than the state average.

The trend did not hold in St. Louis, where turnout and ballots cast were slightly under the 2008 levels. (Post-Dispatch)

In the City of St. Louis, we know that Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump were the winners in their respective parties citywide. Is that it? After digging into the breakdown of the 28 wards, the election was more nuanced.

CITYWIDE

  • Registered Voters: 181,167
  • Ballots Cast: 76,729
  • Turnout: 42.2%
  • Percent Democrat/Republican: 81.8%/18%
  • Democrat:
    • Clinton 34,458 (55.01%)
    • Sanders 27,748 (44.30%)
    • Others
  • Republican:
    • Trump (36.35%)
    • Cruz (32.41%)
    • Kasich (18.49%)
    • Others
2011 Ward boundaries map, click image to view larger PDF on Scribd
2011 Ward boundaries map, click image to view larger PDF on Scribd

WARDS (PDF map from City or Scribd)

Top 5 Most Democratic/Least Republican:

  1. 4th (99.1%)
  2. 22nd (98.9%)
  3. TIE: 1st & 27th (98.8%)
  4. 21st (98.2%)

Top 5 Most Republican/Least Democratic:

  1. 16th (42.4%)
  2. 12th (40.7%)
  3. 23rd (36.6%)
  4. 13th (30.4%)
  5. 24th (30.0%)

Top 5 Registered Voters

  1. 23rd 8,052
  2. 16th 7,974
  3. 27th 7,779
  4. 12th 7,360
  5. 21st 7,327

Bottom 5 Registered Voters:

  1. 20th 5,296
  2. 18th 5,324
  3. 25th 5,352
  4. 19th 5,380
  5. 5th 5,408

Top 5 Voter Turnout

  1. 8th (55.8%)
  2. 16th (54.0%)
  3. 28th (52.3%)
  4. 23rd (51.5%)
  5. 15th (48.4%)

Bottom 5 Voter Turnout

  1. 3rd (31.1%)
  2. 4th (31.3%)
  3. 1st (31.4%)
  4. 20th (32.2%)
  5. 22nd (32.4%)

CANDIDATES

Top 5 Wards won by Clinton — percentage

  1. 27th (76.31%)
  2. 21st (74.09%)
  3. 2nd (73.41%)
  4. 1st (73.18%)
  5. 22nd (72.64%)

Note: Clinton won 16 wards, Sanders won 12

Top 5 total votes for Clinton

  1. 27th (2,016)
  2. 21st (1,953)
  3. 6th (1,676)
  4. 28th (1,633)
  5. 26th (1,574)

Top 5 Wards won by Sanders — percentage

  1. 24th (65.04%)
  2. 15th (60.01%)
  3. 13th (59.67%)
  4. 8th (58.56%)
  5. 10th (58.02%)

Note: Sanders won 12 wards, Clinton won 16

Top 5 total votes for Sanders

  1. 8th (2,014)
  2. 15th (1,643)
  3. 24th (1,518)
  4. 23rd (1,485)
  5. 6th (1,333)

Top 5 Wards won by Trump — percentage

  1. 11th (51.47%)
  2. 20th (49.37%)
  3. 12th (43.74%)
  4. 10th (42.87%)
  5. 25th (42.37%)

Note: Trump won 13 wards, came in 2nd in 12, 3rd place in 3

Top 5 Wards won by Cruz — percentage

  1. 2nd (48.94%)
  2. 27th (48.39%)
  3. 1st (47.62%)
  4. TIE 4th & 21st (44.44%)

Note: Cruz won 13 wards, came in 2nd in 12, 3rd place in 3

Two Wards won by Kasich — percentage

  1. 28th (36.46%)
  2. 17th (29.12%)

Two wards where Ksasich placed 2nd — by percentage

  1. 19th (28.57%)
  2. 26th (26.74%)

Note: Kasich finished in 3rd in the remaining 14 wards.

You can download my spreadsheet to see the detail (Numbers | Excel), based on unofficial citywide & ward by ward results.

Graphic below made by others, click to view more:

View post on imgur.com

No real surprises: Clinton won North City, Sanders won South city. Southwest City has the highest percentage of Republicans.

— Steve Patterson

 

Sunday Poll: Winter Heating Bill Compared To Previous?

March 20, 2016 Environment, Featured, Sunday Poll Comments Off on Sunday Poll: Winter Heating Bill Compared To Previous?
Please vote below
Please vote below

Spring is here!

Astronomically speaking, the equinox (March 19/20) marks spring’s beginning begins in the Northern Hemisphere (whereas it announces fall’s arrival in the Southern Hemisphere). At this moment, the Sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north along the ecliptic. The equinox happens at the same moment worldwide, even if our clock times reflect a different time zone. 
Did you know this is the earliest spring of our lives thus far? Do you remember when spring started on March 21? It’s due to leap year madness.  Read more about, “The Earliest Spring of our Lives.”

Meteorologically speaking, however, in the Northern Hemisphere the official spring season always begins on March 1 and continues through May 31. Summer begins on June 1; autumn, September 1; and winter, December 1.

Weather scientists divide the year into quarters this way to make it easier to compare seasonal and monthly statistics from one year to the next. The meteorological seasons are based on annual temperature cycles rather than on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun, and they more closely follow the Gregorian calendar. Using the dates of the astronomical equinoxes and solstices for the seasons would present a statistical problem because these dates can vary slightly each year. (Old Farmer’s Almanac)

Today’s poll question isn’t about Spring, it is about the Winter that just concluded:

The poll is open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

 

Local Propositions on April Ballott, Filing Period Still Open for August Primary

March 18, 2016 Featured, Politics/Policy Comments Off on Local Propositions on April Ballott, Filing Period Still Open for August Primary
The St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners is on the first floor at 300 N. Tucker (@ Olive)
The St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners is on the first floor at 300 N. Tucker (@ Olive)

We just finished a primary, but election season continues — switching now to local & state issues/races.

Filing is still open for offices like city Circuit Attorney, Sheriff, Treasurer, and party committeeman & committeewoman. The last day to file is Tuesday March 29th, it opened in late February. Here is a summary of the filings, as of March 14th (list obtained March 16th):

  • Circuit Attorney: four (4) seeking the Democratic nomination, Jennifer Joyce is not seeking another term.
  • Sheriff: five (5) seeking the Democratic nomination, One (1) seeking the Republican nomination.  Jim Murphy is not seeking another term.
  • Treasurer: One (1) candidate filed for the nomination in each of the following parties: Democrat, Republican, Green.  Tishaura Jones is seeking a 2nd term.

Committeeman/Committeewoman, which are filled for each party in each ward in August, is a great way to get involved in the political process. As of March 14th filing report, the following are the only ones with 2 or more Democratic candidates:

  • Committeeman, Ward 1
  • Committeewoman, Ward 1
  • Committeeman, Ward 3
  • Committeewoman, Ward 3
  • Committeeman, Ward 6
  • Committeeman, Ward 7
  • Committeeman, Ward 8
  • Committeewoman, Ward 8
  • Committeeman, Ward 9
  • Committeeman, Ward 10
  • Committeewoman, Ward 10
  • Committeeman, Ward 11
  • Committeewoman, Ward 14
  • Committeeman, Ward 19
  • Committeeman, Ward 20
  • Committeewoman, Ward 20
  • Committeeman, Ward 23
  • Committeeman, Ward 26
  • Committeeman, Ward 27

The other Committeeman/Committeewoman seats in the Democratic party either had zero or one candidate as of March 14th.

Republicans have one candidate for Committeeman in each of the following Wards: 7th, 8th, 16th,  & 23rd.  Greens have one candidate for Committeeman in each of the following Wards: 8th, 20th, 24th, 26th, 28th; Committeewoman in: 20th. Again, the above is all based on the March 14th filing report.

St. Louis has 28 wards. Following the 2020 Census, the number of wards will be cut in half.

The following are the five items on the April 5th ballot, see official sample ballot:

PROPOSITION E

Shall the earnings tax of 1%, imposed by the City of St. Louis, be continued for a period of five (5) years commencing January 1 immediately following the date of this election?

PROPOSITION F

Shall the following be adopted:

Proposition to issue bonds of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, in an amount not to exceed Twenty-Five Million Dollars ($25,000,000) for the purpose of purchasing, replacing, improving, and maintaining the buildings, bridges, and equipment of the City of St. Louis, including (1) acquiring fire trucks, ambulances, personal protective equipment, and other fire-fighting apparatus for the St. Louis Fire Department; (2) acquiring refuse trucks for the Refuse Department; (3) updating computer hardware and software for City departments; (4) providing match share funds to repair, renovate, and replace bridges; (5) renovating recreation centers, buildings, and facilities owned by the City of St. Louis; and (6) for expenses associated with the issuance of the bonds. If this proposition is approved, the property tax levy is estimated to remain unchanged.

PROPOSITION 1

Shall the Special Administrative Board of the Transitional School District of the City of St. Louis be authorized to increase the operating tax levy of the District by $0.75 per $100 of assessed valuation to continue offering early childhood education, to expand character and alternative education options, to improve safety and security equipment and personnel, and to offer competitive salaries to teachers and staff? If this proposition is approved, the adjusted operating tax levy of the District is estimated to be $4.50 per $100 of assessed valuation.

PROPOSITION Y

To comply with federal and state clean water requirements, shall The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) issue its sewer revenue bonds in the amount of Nine Hundred Million Dollars ($900,000,000) for the purpose of designing, constructing, improving, renovating, repairing, replacing and equiping new and existing MSD sewer and drainage facilities and systems, including sewage treatment and disposal plants, sanitary sewers, and acquisition of easements and real property related thereto, the cost of operation and maintenance of said facilities and systems and the principal of and interest on said revenue bonds to be payable solely from the revenues derived by MSD from the operation of its wastewater sewer system, including all future extensions and improvements thereto?

PROPOSITION S

Shall the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) impose a Stormwater Operations and Maintenance property tax upon all real and tangible personal property within the district at a rate of not more than Ten Cents ($0.10) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) assessed valuation for the purpose of providing revenue for the operations of the district’s stormwater utility, including stormwater system operation and maintenance, rehabilitation and limited construction of infrastructure and other capital improvements, and an operating reserve?

If this proposition is approved, MSD will repeal (a) the existing stormwater operations and maintenance property tax of approximately Seven Cents ($0.07) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) assessed valuation that is imposed on property within the original boundaries of MSD, as defined in the MSD Charter, and within the annexed areas described in MSD Ordinance No. 3753, and (b) the existing monthly 24-Cent or 18-Cent stormwater service charge that is imposed on each MSD customer account. As a result, a uniform districtwide stormwater revenue system for operations, maintenance, and limited capital improvements will be in place.

Absentee voting on the above issues began on the 14th! The first is easy — we must continue the earnings tax for at least another five years. I need to give more thought to the other four.

In addition to April & August, some are already preparing to run for Alderman next March — odd-numbered wards are up for reelection.

— Steve Patterson

 

Too Easy To Meander Inside Many Parking Garages

March 17, 2016 Crime, Downtown, Featured, Parking 9 Comments

Lately the issue of safety in parking garages has been in the local news:

There are surveillance cameras at the parking garage on N. 7th street near Washington Ave., however the company that owns and operates the garage, SP Plus, told the victim in a voicemail, “The cameras are not operational”

Now, two years later, it’s the same story. According to an email sent to News 4 by the victim of the sexual assault that happened two weeks ago, SP Plus told her “There are no cameras at 701 N. 7th Street. We apologize for the inconvenience.” (KMOV)

I’m no fan of parking garages — except when I want to take pictures from them. They can often provide some of the best vantage points. Well. assuming I can access them.

Structural repairs being made to one of the Kiener garages in 2010
Structural repairs being made to one of the Kiener garages in 2010

From a photography perspective I like that I can easily access many downtown parking garages without being stopped, but that’s not good for the personal safety of those who park in them. Newer garages seem to do a better job of keeping out people who aren’t retrieving their vehicle.  Still, with any public garage a person can get access if they drive in.

— Steve Patterson

 

Please Vote Today

March 15, 2016 Featured, Politics/Policy Comments Off on Please Vote Today

ivoted Today is presidential primary day in Missouri, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina. As you vote today you’ll see names of people who’ve dropped out of the race, plus names you’ve never heard of before — plus “uncommitted.”

The St. Louis sample ballot lists:

  • Democratic ballot: 10 choices
  • Republican ballot: 13 choices
  • Constitution ballot: 1 choice
  • Libertarian ballot: 6 choices

In the two main parties: Missouri has the least delegates to win today — Florida has the most.

Sen. Bernie Sanders at Affton High School on Sunday. Actor Danny Devito at far right. Secret service, center
Sen. Bernie Sanders at Affton High School on Sunday. Actor Danny Devito at far right. Secret service, center

In the February 5, 2008 primary St. Louis had 181,317 registered voters, with 77,911 ballots cast (42.97%).  Much higher than turnout for local elections but still pretty low.

In the 2008 general election the turnout was:

  • Jefferson County: 72.2%
  • St. Charles County: 77.2%
  • St. Louis City:  61.4%
  • St. Louis County: 69.6%

The lowest turnout in Missouri was 52.7% (Reynolds County), the highest was St. Louis County’s 77.2%. Overall the Missouri turnout was 69.4%.

Please vote!

— Steve Patterson

 

 

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