Poll: Gov. Nixon signed ‘compromise’ bills on puppy mills & vetoed workplace discrimination bill, thoughts?

In a poll prior to the November 2010 elections 67% of readers approved of the proposition to regulate puppy mills in Missouri (see Majority of Readers Support Proposition B).  In the election the measure passed with 51.6% of the statewide vote.  As you can see from the graphic above it was the St. Louis and Kansas City regions plus two counties in the far southern part of the state that voted yes, enough votes to pass the measure. Here in the City of St. Louis 78.4% of voters approved Proposition B. Six months later things have changed:

Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday signed into law his “Missouri solution,” which blends a bill that weakens regulations for dog breeders in Missouri with some language from voter-approved Proposition B aimed at cracking down on puppy mills.

Nixon signed Senate Bill 161, hours after he signed Senate Bill 113. Both measures remove a cap of 50 breeding dogs, but Senate Bill 161 keeps other Proposition B requirements in place regarding cages and vet exams as part of his compromise with farmers and animal welfare groups. (Nixon signs puppy mill compromise)

Many of my friends were angered by Nixon signing these.  But Friday Gov. Nixon made some of the same friends happy:

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday vetoed an employment relations bill passed by the Missouri Senate, saying it would strike down central tenets of the Missouri Human Rights Act.

Nixon struck down Senate Bill 188, which caps punitive and compensatory damages in workplace discrimination cases and requires plaintiffs to prove that discrimination was an employer’s “motivating” factor in a discrimination claim, rather than the current “contributing” factor standard. (Nixon vetoes bill increasing burden of proof in workplace discrimination cases)

The veto took place at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. This brings us to the poll question for this week, what are your thoughts on the signing of the puppy mill bills but vetoing the other? Did he make the right decisions, in your opinion?

– Steve Patterson

Guest Opinion: Weaker Anti-Discrimination Policy is Bad for Missouri

by Rachel Boeglin

HB205 and SB188 are harmful to the state of Missouri, its employees, and even to those looking for housing.

These bills change the language of the Missouri Human Rights Act to make it harder to prove discrimination.  If these bills succeed, instead of showing that discrimination was a “contributing factor” in an adverse action, victims of discrimination will have to show that discrimination was the “motivating factor”.  As the burden is already on the victim to prove discrimination, this change in language makes it much harder to prove that discrimination is the majority of the reason for the resulting firing or unequal treatment in employment or in housing. The bills make it easier for employers and housing providers to hide behind a pretext, or even simply ignorance of the law.

Despite the fact that this legislation has been brought to the table with the guise of bringing state law closer to that of federal law, it ironically may do the opposite, making state law no longer substantially equivalent to federal law. According to the Committee on Legislative Research’s Oversight Division, this would mean the loss of over $1.1 million, via the withdrawal of funding from H.U.D. and the E.E.O.C. to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.

This loss of funds could even lead to the closing of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, thus requiring that victims of discrimination file cases with H.U.D. and the E.E.O.C., federal entities that can already be overwhelmed. This, in turn, could also lead to Missouri discrimination cases being evaluated by out of state assessors.

The bills have other very negative impacts on employment, such as the capping of punitive damages that can be charged to discriminating employers and erasing individual liability against discriminators.

As of April 18th, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has fifteen days in which to either approve or veto the bill.  Concerned Missouri citizens can contact the governor’s office to encourage a bill veto.

—

Rachel Boeglin is a senior social work major at St. Louis University, currently completing her practicum at the St. Louis Metropolitan Equal Housing Opportunity Council (their mission is to “ensure equal access to housing for all people through education, counseling, investigation and enforcement”).

Readers Optimistic We Can Elect More Independent Candidates

Yesterday Scott Ogilvie was sworn in as alderman in St. Louis’ 24th ward.  Ogilvie is a political independent, whereas the 27 other aldermen are Democrats. Republican Fred Heitert was defeated by Democrat Larry Arnowitz earlier this month.

Q: Can we elect more Independent candidates like Scott Ogilvie to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen?

1. Yes, bright young candidates free of the local Democratic machine can be elected again 66 [61.68%]
2. Maybe, but Tom Bauer winning the Democratic primary helped Ogilvie win 21 [19.63%]
3. No, won’t happen again for years 5 [4.67%]
4. Unsure/no opinion 5 [4.67%]
5. I hope not. We need to stick to electing democrats. 5 [4.67%]
6. Other answer… 5 [4.67%]

Clearly most who voted were optimistic as a result of Ogilvie being elected.  The combination of a fresh face, hard work and Bauer winning the March primary got Ogilvie elected.  Ogilvie could have beaten Waterhouse, but it would have been very close. Interesting that so few think we should stick with Democrats.

The five other answers were:

1. Democrats are sooo last century!
2. I hope so.
3. who cares
4. Yes, but most likely only in a few South City wards and the central wards.
5. Too many wards in the city…

Hopefully we will have more Independent candidates in 2013 — start planning now!

– Steve Patterson

Sine Die at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen Today, New Session Starts Tomorrow

Today is “Sine Die” at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.  This Latin term is used, in this case, to mean the last day of session. Today is the last day in office for two aldermen not reelected: 32-year member Republican Fred Heitert (12th ward) and Democrat Bill Waterhouse (24th ward).

Not enough change for my taste.  Hopefully in 2013 we can replace 3-4 long time incumbents, Phyllis Young and Fred Wessels come to mind. At the end of their current terms they will have served 28 years. They were both sworn into office in April 1985, the year I graduated high school. Give it up guys, let someone else have a chance to lead!

Tomorrow 15 aldermen elected, and reelected, this Spring will be sworn into office.  This includes all 14 even numbered wards and one odd numbered ward. Carol Howard, elected to the 14th ward seat last fall after Stephen Gregali resigned, was elected to a full four-year term.  Freshmen aldermen are Larry Arnowitz (D-12), Scott Ogilvie (I-24) and Thomas Villa (D-11). Villa replaces Matt Villa who resigned earlier in the year to spend more time in the family business, Villa Lighting.

The following is the swearing in of odd numbered aldermen two years ago:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Pm1Lqx0NQ

Lewis Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen, will be sworn into his second term tomorrow.  Thank you to Matt Villa, Bill Waterhouse and Fred Heitert for your service to the city.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Can we elect more Independent candidates like Scott Ogilvie to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen?

Last Tuesday voters in St. Louis’ 24th ward elected Independent Scott Ogilvie rather than Democrat Tom Bauer.  In a city where the winner of the March Democratic primary is almost always the winner, the election of Ogilvie is a big deal.

Thus, the poll question this week is Can we elect more Independent candidates like Scott Ogilvie to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen?

The choices I’ve provided are:

1. Yes, bright young candidates free of the local Democratic machine can be elected again
2. No, won’t happen again for years
3. Maybe, but Tom Bauer winning the Democratic primary helped Ogilvie win
4. I hope not, we need to stick with electing Democrats
5. Unsure/no opinion

The choices are presented randomly.  The poll is in the upper right of the site.

– Steve Patterson