Poll: Which Candidate Do You Want To Be Elected The Next U.S. Senator From Missouri?

It’s been a crazy week with national media focusing on comments made by Republican Todd Akin during a local television interview:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdisTOKom5I

Prior to Akin’s comments he held a comfortable lead over incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill. Just weeks earlier Akin won the GOP primary, defeating Sarah Steelman and John Brunner. Despite calls for him to withdraw. Akin decided to remain in the race and his campaign released a new ad asking for forgiveness:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R57E3S8RO7A

The poll question this week is which of these two candidates do you want to see elected on November 6th. The poll is in the right sidebar.

 — Steve Patterson

Readers: Move Parking Out of Treasurer’s Office

During the democratic primary Tishaura Jones noted that no other city places the responsibility for parking management under the office of treasurer. I didn’t check other cities to verify this claim but it seems valid.

In the poll last week it became very clear readers agree with Jones about removing parking from the treasurer’s office:

Q: Parking Management, Planning, & Revenues for St. Louis Should:

1. Made part of a city department subject to oversight by the mayor and board
   of Aldermen 58 [90.63%]
2. Be kept within the “county” office of treasurer 6 [9.38%]
3. Unsure/No Opinion 0 [0%]
4. Other: 0 [0%]

Moving responsibility for parking will require changing Missouri law, as Jones indicated during the primary.

Missouri statues Chapter 54 establishes the office of treasurer for each county and details the office responsibilities. The office is about handling the county’s money (St. Louis is a city-county), not parking meters and garages. Except for the City of St. Louis.

St. Louis is a “constitutional charter city” which has its own chapter, Chapter 82. There are numerous  statutes relating to the office of treasurer such as:

82.485. 1. The treasurer of any city not within a county is hereby made and constituted supervisor of parking meters. (full statute)

and

82.516. For such services as supervisor of parking meters, the city treasurer may receive the sum of sixteen thousand dollars per year from the parking fund, as approved by the parking commission. (statute)

Nice salary bonus for handling parking!

Tishaura Jones will face two challengers in the November 6, 2012 general election, a Green and Republican. Jones is expected to win. The winner will be sworn into office in January 2013.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Parking Management, Planning, & Revenues for St. Louis Should…?

Last Tuesday State Rep Tishaura Jones won the democratic nomination for the county office of treasurer. On November 6th she’ll face Republican Timothy Bachmann and Green Anthony Stevens in the general election. Given the St. Louis political landscape Jones will easily be elected.

During the primary campaign Jones differed from her three opponents on the issue of parking falling within the responsibility of the treasurer’s office:

No major city in the US has a “Parking Czar” that controls the building of city garages and where parking meters are placed. The primary function of the Treasurer’s office should be to collect, manage, and invest the city’s funds…period. If elected, I will work with other city elected officials and the Missouri Legislature to transfer this function to the appropriate department and concentrate on increasing the return on investment of the $1.5 billion currently under management. (tishaura4treasurer.com)

Is this why Jones defeated her three opponents? Would moving the responsibility for parking to another part of city government just shift problems? Would development deals be easier or harder? Will city & neighborhood leaders better be able to plan the parking component?

The poll this week asks for your take.  Vote in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Wrong On Closest Primary Race

I know from experience that political polls generate fewer responses than other topics I cover, still this was a timely poll and I was curious.

\Here are the final poll results:

Q: Which race in the August 7th primary will be the closest:

1. MO US Rep Dist 1 (Dems: Britton, Clay, Carnahan) 26 [36.62%]
2. STL Treasurer (Dems: Wessels, Wahby, Jones, Boyd) 21 [29.58%]
3. MO US Senate (GOP: Akin, Beck, Steelman, Brunner, Memoly, Lodes, Poole, Maldonado) 13 [18.31%]
4. Unsure/no opinion 6 [8.45%]
5. MO State Senate Dist 5 (Dems: Wright-Jones, Nasheed, Mott-Oxford) 3 [4.23%]
6. MO Lt. Gov (GOP: Kulmann, Lager, Kinder, Carter) 2 [2.82%]

Readers clearly thought Russ Carnahan stood a chance against Lacy Clay. Voters yesterday proved otherwise.  With 97% of the precincts reporting Clay won with a 27 point spread — not even remotely close. So which race was the closest?

Lieutenant Governor (R): The Republican nomination for Lt. Governor turned out to be the closest of those on my list. Incumbent Peter Kinder defeated Brad Lager by just 2 points (44% to 42%). Only two readers correctly selected that option in the poll.

St. Louis Sheriff (D): Also by a 2 point spread was the democratic race for St. Louis Sheriff. Incumbent James Murphy defeated challenger Vernon Betts by 2 points (46% t0 44%). A third candidate, David Mosley, received 10%.  This race wasn’t in the poll but an option for a race not listed was, no readers voted for that answer.

US Senate (R): US Rep Todd Akin was 6 points ahead of John Brunner with 96% of the precints reporting. Sarah Steelman was just behind Brunner with 29%. Readers correctly thought this would be the third closest race.

St. Louis Treasurer (D): State Rep Tishaura Jones defeated #2 Ald. Alfred Wessels with an 8.6 point spread (34.92% to 26.31%). Ald. Jeffrey Boyd finished less than a point behind Wessels with 25.50% and Brian Wahby finished a distant 4th place with 13.27% of the vote. Readers thought this race would be the 2nd closest.

Missouri’s 5th Senate District: State Rep Jamilah Nasheed defeated incumbent Robin Wright-Jones by 11 points (41%  to 30%). State Rep Jeanette Mott-Oxford came in third with 29%.

My personal choices were among the winners and losers. In most of these races no candidate got at least 50% + 1 vote.  Instant-runoff voting would’ve been a nice option and it might have changed a few outcomes.

Note: This post was finished at 11:30pm Tuesday August 7, 2012. Final results may vary from those shown above.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Planning In The St. Louis Region Is Fragmented

Not surprisingly few picked neutral of positive answers in last week’s poll to describe planning in St. Louis.

Q: Which Term Best Describes The St Louis Region Attitude Toward Urban Planning

1. Fragmented 46 [32.86%]
2. Lacking 23 [16.43%]
3. Backwards 19 [13.57%]
4. Parochial 14 [10%]
5. Other: 14 [10%]
6. Dated 11 [7.86%]
7. Meh 5 [3.57%]
8. Desperate 3 [2.14%]
9. Average 3 [2.14%]
10. Adequate 1 [0.71%]
11. Progressive 1 [0.71%]
12. Unsure/No Opnion 0 [0%]
13. Staid 0 [0%]
14. Leading 0 [0%]
15. Appropriate 0 [0%]

Similarly the “other” answers readers used were also mostly negative:

1. like a Potemkin Village
2. non-existent
3. almost non-existent
4. democratic
5. Once bitten twice shy
6. Sluggish – 5-10 years behind
7. hostile
8. Insightful and very thorough
9. opportunistic (for developers, NOT residents)
10. Uninspired
11. Anti business
12. Only used to line the politician’s pockets.
13. The region is much more focused on development than planning
14. show me the money!

Well-functioning regions don’t happen by chance with business and political interests looking out for their own interests. Good planning can look past short interests at the long term big picture.  I’m not optimistic we’ll ever find out what that’s like in greater St. Louis.

— Steve Patterson