Candidates Must Actively Seek Out Endorsements

A week ago I posted my sole endorsement for the upcoming primary (see 20th Ward Endorsement: Shannon J. McGinn).  The next day I got a call from another candidate in the primary in one of the 14 even numbered wards.  Why had I not contacted that candidate?

I met this particular candidate at the Board of Elections on the first day of filing in November and gave s/he my card.  I heard nothing until the day after I made my sole endorsement. And this person called me to ask why I didn’t contact them!  Really?

Hopefully some of you out there are contemplating a run in 2013. You can start laying the groundwork now and pick up steam in mid 2012.  One of the many things you need to do is determine the support you want/need to win.  Like voters on election day, you can’t sit back and hope they find you.  If you want to be elected to public office for a four year term you’ve got to go out and earn it.  You want my endorsement, you’ve got to ask for it.

The same applies to unions or professional organizations like the St. Louis Association of REALTORS.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on Local Control of the St. Louis Police?

ABOVE: State Rep Jamilah Nasheed

The controversial idea of returning control of the St. Louis Police to local officials rather than with the state in Jefferson City is again a hot issue. A recent editorial in the St. Louis American got me thinking this would make a good poll question:

Given our determined opposition to the proposed elimination of the city earnings tax and of the state income tax, both promulgated by billionaire ideologue Rex Sinquefield, and the many times we have questioned the leadership and motives of Mayor Francis G. Slay, we can understand why it raises suspicions to see Sinquefield helping to fund the latest effort to put St. Louis city government in control of its own police force, with Slay stumping for it heartily. Sinquefield has ponied up $300,000 to fund a ballot initiative for local police control in St. Louis and Kansas City, and Slay – so often silent when needed – has been very outspoken in favor of passing local control this session.

We certainly agree with critics of Sinquefield and Slay that they may have ulterior, and even sinister, motives for supporting local control, which for years has been a rallying cry for the African-American and progressive communities in St. Louis. Furthermore, we have a long-standing criticism against the form of local control currently provided for in the St. Louis City Charter, which would become the governing document should the state Legislature pass new legislation that ends the current system of administration by a police board appointed by the governor. The City Charter provides for a single police commissioner who reports to the director of Public Safety (a mayoral appointee) and who could be fired by this mayoral appointee – or the governor – “with or without cause.” Plainly, this would make the police commissioner helplessly vulnerable to both city and state politics. (full editorial – recommended!)

State Representative Jamilah Nasheed (D-60) has introduced House Bill 71 which “Allows the City of St. Louis to establish and maintain a municipal police force completely under the city’s authority.” There are no shortage of opinions on this issue, here’s mine.

If I were to organize city government from scratch I would do many things differently.  Local control of police is logical.  We don’t live in the Civil War era anymore.  That said, there are many officers who have risked their lives for years that have earned their pensions, soimething they fear they might lose under local control.

I’m no expert on union contracts & pensions but hopefully those that are experts can find a way to make this happen, it is time.

As always the poll this week is located in the upper right corner of the blog.

- Steve Patterson

20th Ward Endorsement: Shannon J. McGinn

This year I’m only making one primary endorsement: Shannon J. McGinn.  I’ve known Shannon, who is running in the 20th ward democratic primary against 4-term incumbent Craig Schmid and candidate Rod Yeager, for many years. I first met Shannon at the popular coffeehouse she started, Hartford Coffee.

Shannon J. McGinn

I’ve known incumbent Craig Schmid nearly twice as long.  Schmid is a nice guy with the best of intentions.  Much has changed in the city since 1995, but Schmid hasn’t.  Schmid remains locked in nuisance problem removal mode rather than transitioning to attract residents & business mode.

From a recent article in the RFT:

“Her implication is that the current alderman, Craig Schmid, who’s held his post for 16 years, isn’t tapping into the needs of all his constituents in the 20th ward, one of most ethnically diverse, with a thriving Mexican community. It’s anchored by Cherokee and Chippewa streets, and bounded by Dutchtown, Marine Villa, Gravois Park and Benton Park West.” (RFT:  Shannon McGinn: Fresh-Faced Alderman Candidate, Discusses Her Campaign With RFT)

Shannon would bring a variety of real-world experience to the Board of Aldermen, including community involvement and as a former small business owner.If you are a registered voter in the city’s 20th ward please vote for Shannon J. McGinn on Tuesday March 8th.  Not a resident of the 20th ward? Consider volunteering and/or donating.

Find Shannon  online, on Facebook and  Twitter  @ShannonJMcGinn.

- Steve Patters0n

Last Day To File For March Partisan Primary, Independents Have More Time For General

ABOVE: Former offices of the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners

Today is the last day to file to be on the March primary ballot. Here are important dates from the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners:

March 8, 2011 Primary Municipal Election:
a. November 29, 2010 – Opening of filing.
b. January 7, 2011 – Close of filing.
c. January 27, 2011 – Last day to withdraw as a candidate.
d. January 25, 2011 – Start of absentee voting.
e. February 9, 2011 – Close of registration.

April 5, 2011 General Municipal Election:
a. December 14, 2010 – School Board Candidate Filing Opens
b. January 18, 2011 – School Board Candidate Filing Closes
c. March 9, 2011 – Start of absentee voting (or as soon after March 8 as possible).
d. March 9, 2011 – Close of registration.

Not mentioned above is how to bypass the partisan primary on March 8th but be on the April 5th general ballot.  Independent candidates for the (14) even numbered aldermanic seats or for president of the board of aldermen need to collect signatures from registered voters:

Independent Candidates. A person who desires to run for municipal office as a non-partisan or independent candidate must pay the applicable filing fee to the Office of the City Treasurer, obtain a receipt therefor, and file the receipt with the Election Board at the same time he/she files his/her declaration papers. A non-partisan/independent candidate must also file with the Election Board a nominating petition signed by registered voters equal in number to at least two percent (2%) of the votes cast at the last preceding mayoral election. The deadline to file such a petition is the eighth Monday prior to the applicable General Municipal Election.

The filing fee for alderman is $333.33.  The deadline is February 14, 2011.  Using the 6th ward as an example, “the number of voters in April 2009 was 1,626; 2% of that number is 33 signatures, rounded up” says Deputy Democratic Director Matthew Potter.  Thirty-three signatures isn’t bad, the number may be more or less in your ward.  The number would be substantial to run for a citywide office as an independent.

As of the most recent candidate list, a number of offices only have one candidate.  It is hard to let “voters decide” with only a single candidate.  I’d love to see a bunch of independent candidates this year, making the April general election not seem so useless.

- Steve Patterson

Reducing The Number Of Aldermen

ABOVE: City Hall, Granite City IL

Many have long thought 28 members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is excessive for a population of 350,000.  Across the river in Granite City IL they will have the size of their city council go from 14 members to 10 in April.  The numbers of wards will go from 7 to 5, each ward has two representatives.

In the 2011 election, all 10 seats will be up for election for either two- or four-year terms.(source)

The two & four year terms will allow for staggered 4-year terms going forward.  Their thinking was fewer residents so you need fewer elected representatives. If only we’d get wind of such logic on this side of the river!

Here is a list of past decades with the number of residents per St. Louis alderman in parenthesis.

• 2000 (12,435)
• 1990 (14,167)
• 1980 (16,171)
• 1970 (22,223)
• 1960 (26,787)
• 1950 (30,600)
• 1940 (29,145)
• 1930 (29,356)

Were the aldermen of decades past so much more competent that they could represent more than twice as many residents as our current aldermen? Granted, they didn’t need to respond to constituent emails.  Maybe, just maybe, the bureaucracy was such that citizens went there first rather than ring their aldermen? As our population declined the aldermen changed the system so they were thought to be indispensable?

Ald Fred Heitert was first sworn into office in 1979.  After the 1980 census each alderman represented just over 16,000 persons.  If we were to use this number, from the first year of a current alderman, we could go from 28 to 22 (based on 350,000 residents).  1970 was in my lifetime, if we use the 22,223 per alderman figure we would be at 16. Based on the 1950 peak we’d have only 11.

I have no clue what the magic number should be.  Perhaps we should have two aldermen per ward such as Granite City does?  It is time to reexamine how our city government is structured.  If little Granite City IL can do it, why can’t we?

- Steve Patterson

Readers: Missouri Shouldn’t Lower Cap On Historic Tax Credits

ABOVE: Massive Arcade-Wright building still awaits renovation, historic tax credits will be key

In July of this year Gov Nixon created the Missouri Tax Credit Review Commission, co-chaired by Steve Stogel & Senator Chuck Gross, to review the various state tax credit programs, including the successful historic preservation tax credit.  From the detailed historic preservation subcommittee report:

“A well-thought-out and skillfully drafted tax incentive for historic preservation cannot achieve its objectives if the total amount of credits that can be awarded annually is subject to a statutory limit, particularly if the limit is fixed at a low figure…

…Where demand for credits exceeds the amount permitted by law, applicants either must compete for credits or participate in a lottery or other arbitrary allocation system. Projects that truly require the state credit to be financially feasible have tended to be discouraged from participating because of the lack of certainty as to the outcome, the cost of preparing a competitive application that nonetheless may be unsuccessful, and the difficulties of keeping financing commitments in place during the evaluation process.”

Still it is possible Missouri will lower the cap on our historic preservation tax credit, thus prompting my poll question & post last week:

Q: Missouri is considering lowering the cap on the Historic Rehab Tax Credit from $140 mil to $75 mil. Reaction?Bad idea, this credit pays for itself 75 70.75%

1. Bad idea, this credit pays for itself 75 [70.75%]
2. Good idea to lower the limit 11 [10.38%]
3. I’d set the cap even lower 6 [5.66%]
4. Other answer… 6 [5.66%]
5. We should eliminate this tax credit entirely. 4 [3.77%]
6. Unsure/no opinion 4 [3.77%]

The six “other” answers were:

1. Fight for $100 million in order to be realistic about state of politics
2. The cuts have to come from somewhere.
3. There are probably other tax credits that should be lowered before this one.
4. I’m not happy, but I realize we are in the middle of a recession
5. sacrifices have to be made to have a balanced budget
6. Good idea if and only if savings are put towards job creation tax credits

No surprise that over 70% of the readership wants the state to not lower the cap.

In November 2008 nearly 85% of St. Louis voters supported Democrat Jay Nixon for Governor.  Statewide Nixon received just over 58% of the vote, showing how much St. Louis voters support Democrats.  Will Gov Nixon listen to the people of St. Louis, or does he know we always vote for the Democrat regardless?

ABOVE: The historic arcade inside the long vacant Arcade-Wright

St. Louis and communities across the state need the historic tax credit to put buildings back into use, creating jobs & revitalizing areas along the way.

- Steve Patterson

An Open Letter To The St. Louis Board of Aldermen

ABOVE: Sausage getting made in the Board of Aldermen's chambers

Dear Board of Aldermen:

I appreciate your many years of pubic service, but after about 12 years that service changes to public disservice.  In my view, more than half of you have stayed around too long.

Let me explain my thinking.

To run for the Board of Aldermen you need to be 25 years old — born by 1985.  Alfred Wessels & Phyllis Young were both sworn into office in the Spring of 1985 (source). They’ve now been in office so long that a person born on the day they were sworn in is now qualified to run for their seats!

Young & Wessels were once the new folks coming in to change City Hall:

“Phyllis Young, the Democratic incumbent, was first elected in 1985 as a reform candidate against the old Webbe-Leisure organization that for decades controlled the ward, which now takes in downtown and neighborhoods just to the south. Her immediate predecessor, former Alderman Sorkis J. Webbe Jr., is serving a prison term on charges of vote fraud and obstruction of justice.”  (St. Louis Post-Dispatch March 23, 1989)

Each of you are all nice and have the best of intentions.  That said, by running for reelection ever four years you are not allowing a new group of leadership to emerge & grow in this city.

The following of you are up for reelection in March, and frankly, I’d like each and every one on this list to return to the Board of Election Commissioners and withdraw from the race:

1. Terry Kennedy (D-18, 1989)
2. Stephen Conway (D-8. 1990)
3. Craig Schmid (D-20, 1995)
4. Lyda Krewson (D-28, 1997)

And one more — Fred Heitert (R-12, 1979)  Yes the sole Republican on the Board of Aldermen will have served 32 years at the end of his current term.  32 years!  All the above need to step aside to let others be able to participate.

In 2013 the following shouldn’t seek another term:

1. Phyllis Young (D-7, 1985)
2. Alfred Wessels (D-13, 1985)
3. Joseph Roddy (D-17, 1988)
4. Freeman Bosley Sr (D-3, 1989)
5. Gregory Carter (D-27, 1993)
6. April Ford Griffin (D-5, 1997)
7. Matt Villa (D-11, 1997)
8. Dionne Flowers (D-2, 1999)
9. Ken Ortmann (D-9, 1999)
10. Jennifer Florida (D-15, 2001)

This is not personal, I believe we’d have less voter apathy and more citizen involvement in the community if people saw a chance for change, an opening to get involved.  Have you done good things for the city? Yes.  Would you continue doing good things for the city.  Probably so.  But each of you replaced someone just they replaced the person before them.  Is there risk we’d get someone we don’t like as well? Certainly, but we need to take that chance.  We must take that risk! So please, let three terms be your limit.  Don’t be a house guest that stays too long.

- Steve Patterson

Poll: Should Casinos Be Exempt From Smoke-Free Laws?

ABOVE: The Casino Queen casino in East St Louis IL is smoke-free, for now.

Casinos are not for me, even if they are smoke-free.  Since the first of 2008 casinos in Illinois have been smoke-free.  In July 2009 the St. Louis Federal Reserve released a study, No Ifs, Ands or Butts: Illinois Casinos Lost Revenue after Smoking Banned,  showing Illinois lost $200 million in 2008 and the local economies lost $12 million:

“One of the reasons that the smoking ban has been more contentious for casinos than for other types of businesses is the contribution that gambling taxes make to state and local tax revenue. In Illinois, casinos are subject to a per-capita admissions tax, as well as a progressive tax on gambling revenue. Revenue from these taxes is divided between the state government and the governments of the communities in which the casinos are located.”

When the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County passed smoke-free laws in 2009 both exempted casinos.

ABOVE: River City Casino in St. Louis County will continue to have smoking even after January 2, 2011 when other businesses in St. Louis County go smoke-free.

Now the Illinois legislature is considering exempting their casinos.

“Smoking could soon be allowed again in Illinois casinos. State legislators are considering changing the two-year-old law because casino profits and local revenues are being hit hard.” (KMOV)

For the poll this week I’m asking if casinos should be exempt from smoke-free laws.  I’ve included a range of answers but if one doesn’t fit you can fill in your own.  The poll is in the upper right corner of the blog.

- Steve Patterson

Readers Think Slay Will Be Elected To Fourth Term As Mayor in 2013

Last week readers indicated, in the weekly poll, that current 3-term mayor Francis Slay would be elected to a fourth term in office:

Q: Who do you think will be elected St. Louis Mayor in 2013?

1. Francis Slay 86 [46.74%]
2. Lewis Reed 42 [22.83%]
3. Other answer… 16 [8.7%]
4. Unsure/no opinion 12 [6.52%]
5. Michael McMillan 10 [5.43%]
6. One of the 28 aldermen 6 [3.26%]
7. Darlene Green 4 [2.17%]
8. Bill Haas 3 [1.63%]
9. Greg Daly 3 [1.63%]
10. Sharon Carpenter 1 [0.54%]
11. Maida Coleman 1 [0.54%]

No St. Louis mayor has ever been elected to four 4-year terms.  The last to run for a fourth term, Raymond Tucker, lost in March 1965 to Alfonso J. Cervantes.

ABOVE: Lewis Reed (left) and Francis Slay (right)

The other answers provided by readers were:

1. Rex Sinquefeld
2. Jeanette Mott-Oxford
3. whoever wins the dem mayoral primary
4. Rex Sinquefield
5. steve patterson
6. You?
7. Nelly
8. Rainford
9. TERM LIMITS: We desperately need them in the city; city is doomed if no change
10. I think Lewis Reed should be elected mayor, but how should i know if he will?
11. Douglas Duckworth
12. Shane Cohn
13. Anyone but Bill Haas!
14. I HOPING anyone but FS. Time is up.
15. Who are these people? None are a Daley or Giuliani. or even John Nations
16. Antonio French

Prior to my February 2008 stroke I was plotting a run for mayor  – around 2019 at the age of 52.  I don’t see it happening now, physically or mentally.  I could see both Shane Cohn & Antonio French running for mayor at some point — but not 2013.

My prediction is Francis Slay will not seek a fourth term.  Given the budget issues facing the city he may want to escape before it gets too ugly.  Aldermanic President Lewis Reed’s leadership will be tested next year during redistricting.  When I asked Reed if he was running in 2013 he said he is focusing on 2011.  He didn’t say he wasn’t going to run.  I think Slay won’t but Reed will.  I don’t see McMillan running either, he is not a fan of contested races.

I think Lewis Reed will be elected the 46th mayor of St. Louis.  I’m not saying that is what I necessarily want to have happen, just how I see it going at this point.  But a lot can happen in two plus years.

- Steve Patterson

City Employee Parks City Vehicle Next To Fire Hydrant

ABOVE: City vehicle parked in no-parking area in front of fire hydrant on 11/10/2010

If you or I parked blocking a fire hydrant it wouldn’t be long before our car was ticketed and towed away, resulting in big fees.  But a city employee driving a city-owned vehicle, it seems, can get away with doing what we can’t.

ABOVE: City vehicle parked in no-parking area between disabled space and fire hydrant on 11/10/2010

I’m sure it was just for a few minutes but anyone could use the same excuse.  The fact is the city isn’t going to ticket or tow away it’s own vehicle.  This employee likely didn’t face any disciplinary action for how they parked.  As a matter of policy, city employees operating city vehicles need to be held to the same standard as anyone else.

Some vehicles mention the department on the door but this one didn’t so I assume it is a pool vehicle that can be checked out as needed.  This makes me wonder, who manages the vehicles? What does the employee agree to when they check out a car?

- Steve Patterson