25th Ward Democratic Club Moves Up Endorsement Vote

Our ward club was scheduled to meet on our regular night of Thursday February 24th. However, the committee sent out notices postmarked 2/7/2005 announcing the vote will instead take place on Wednesday 2/16/2005. The bylaws require 10 days notice so they hit it on the head.

“Because of the short time until the Primary Election of March 8, the meeting has been scheduled a little earlier this month. This will be our endorsement meeting to select the candidates we will support in the Primary. All candidates are being invited and each will be given five minutes to speak followed by questions from the membership.”

New members are not permitted to vote at this endorsement meeting. The location will be the regular meeting location, Resurrection School, 3880 Meramec at 7:30pm.

For additional thoughts on ward endorsements check out my previous post from January 27th – click here.

– Steve

Lunchtime Meet & Greet Downtown Friday 2/11/2005

Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin of the Gallery Urbis Orbis are hosting a brown bag meet & greet for me this coming Friday (2/11/2005) at noon. They write:

Steve Patterson is running for alderman in the 25th ward (think Ted Drewes on S. Grand). And whether you live in Steve’s hood or elsewhere in the city, you will want to hear what he has to say about how we can all move the City ahead, together.

If you think it’s time for a city-wide perspective on progress, please join us for this a casual conversation with Steve. Bring your lunch (we’ll provide soft beverages) and enjoy the company of fellow progressives. (Note: Cafe Breve, next door, makes a mean panini.)

Your hosts,

Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin

I am very pleased to have support from all over the city for my candidacy. While representing my neighbors in the 25th ward I intend to work toward creating a more vibrant and exciting city.

If you can make it be sure to stop at one of the many great places downtown to grab your lunch. Breve next door has great sandwiches and the deli at City Grocers is awesome as is 10th Street Italian. Margie & Alan will be providing sodas and water.

Gallery Urbis Orbis is located at 419 North 10th Street.

See you Friday!

– Steve

Lunchtime Meet & Greet Downtown Friday 2/11/2005

Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin of the Gallery Urbis Orbis are hosting a brown bag meet & greet for me this coming Friday (2/11/2005) at noon. They write:

Steve Patterson is running for alderman in the 25th ward (think Ted Drewes on S. Grand). And whether you live in Steve’s hood or elsewhere in the city, you will want to hear what he has to say about how we can all move the City ahead, together.

If you think it’s time for a city-wide perspective on progress, please join us for this a casual conversation with Steve. Bring your lunch (we’ll provide soft beverages) and enjoy the company of fellow progressives. (Note: Cafe Breve, next door, makes a mean panini.)

Your hosts,

Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin

I am very pleased to have support from all over the city for my candidacy. While representing my neighbors in the 25th ward I intend to work toward creating a more vibrant and exciting city.

If you can make it be sure to stop at one of the many great places downtown to grab your lunch. Breve next door has great sandwiches and the deli at City Grocers is awesome as is 10th Street Italian. Margie & Alan will be providing sodas and water.

Gallery Urbis Orbis is located at 419 North 10th Street.

See you Friday!

– Steve

Lunchtime Meet & Greet Downtown Friday 2/11/2005

Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin of the Gallery Urbis Orbis are hosting a brown bag meet & greet for me this coming Friday (2/11/2005) at noon. They write:

Steve Patterson is running for alderman in the 25th ward (think Ted Drewes on S. Grand). And whether you live in Steve’s hood or elsewhere in the city, you will want to hear what he has to say about how we can all move the City ahead, together.

If you think it’s time for a city-wide perspective on progress, please join us for this a casual conversation with Steve. Bring your lunch (we’ll provide soft beverages) and enjoy the company of fellow progressives. (Note: Cafe Breve, next door, makes a mean panini.)

Your hosts,

Margie Newman and Alan Brunettin

I am very pleased to have support from all over the city for my candidacy. While representing my neighbors in the 25th ward I intend to work toward creating a more vibrant and exciting city.

If you can make it be sure to stop at one of the many great places downtown to grab your lunch. Breve next door has great sandwiches and the deli at City Grocers is awesome as is 10th Street Italian. Margie & Alan will be providing sodas and water.

Gallery Urbis Orbis is located at 419 North 10th Street.

See you Friday!

– Steve

“Old Ward System Has Lost Clout in City Politics”

The above was the headline in the Post-Dispatch on a story about the decline in importance of the old ward system. The author, Jo Mannies, quoted 11th Ward Alderman Matt Villa:

“If you are naive enough to count on ward endorsements to carry the day, you’re completely out of touch with reality.”

I could not agree more. The 25th Ward organization only has 26 voting members – possibly less at this point because we barely made quorum at the January meeting. The ward system is an old relic.

19th Ward Alderman Mike McMillan is quoted regarding the rise of the internet and how it makes the ward organizations less important:

“The average citizen has much more immediate access to information about government,” McMillan said. “They no longer need to rely on precinct captains or committeemen.”

The story continues:

The result is a growing number of Internet blogs that focus solely on city and regional politics, such as the Arch City Chronicle and St. Louis Oracle. Such blogs are popular among city political activists.

Such is the reason for this website – to communicate as much information to as many people as possible. This contrasts sharply with the old fashioned method of getting fed bits and pieces of information at sparsely attended neighborhood meetings.

– Steve

Progressive Democrats of Saint Louis

Today I was a guest speaker at the meeting of the Progressive Democrats of Saint Louis which is a part of the Progressive Caucus of Missouri. Both are part of the Progressive Democrats of America.

Topics discussed during the meeting where upcoming events sponsored by the Missourians for Single Payer (Healthcare). They are having a “We Won’t Be Fooled Again” weekend April 1-3. April 1st will include Street Theatre Actions, April 2nd is Citizen/Congressional Hearings on “Solutions to the National Health Care Crisis” and on April 3rd Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich will speak at the Ethical Society at 11am. For more information contact the Missourians for Single Payer.

The very scary thought of privatizing our Social Security was also discussed. A representative from the Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition (Pro-Vote) updated us on some action items. For more information check out the Pro-Vote website.

The group was very receptive to my candidacy with individuals offering both financial and volunteer support. All were glad to hear of a progressive person seeking office in the City of St. Louis.

For me it was great to be among Democrats of all ages that are more interested in genuine progressive change than maintaining the status quo. Very refreshing indeed.

– Steve

Campaign Flyer Available Online

In the interest of getting my message out to as many people as possible I have made my flyer available as a downloadable PDF document. The flyer includes information about me, my position on the issues and how to reach me.

Click here for flyer

Feel free to send out the flyer via email. If you like, print it out for friends and neighbors.

– Steve

An example of new thinking

From the Rehabber’s Club list I discovered an exciting housing development corporation in Indianapolis. The group known as Southeast Neighborhood Development, Inc. or SEND So what do I find exciting?

The SEND group actually seems to do something – investing $26 million in their service area since 1991. That is some serious cash. Their website is well organized and includes some great before and after renovation pictures. They include a listing of business locations for sale and for lease. Homes for sale are also included.

But the best part is they partner with other organizations in their community, including local churches, to achieve their stated goals. It appears they are not dependent upon a single source for the bulk of their budget – local city funding is only a part of their budget.

The big lesson here is sometimes it is wise to step back and take a look at our current programs, organizations, and conventional thinking. By doing so we can determine if our current methods are the best way of solving the problem at hand. Perhaps they were 10, 15 or 20 years ago but that doesn’t mean it is still how it should be done.

Looking at organizations in other cities is a great way of gaining a new perspective outside our South St. Louis business as usual thinking. I’m a firm believer in determining the root of problems, brainstorming possible solutions, selecting the best solution and then implementing that solution.

I’m not a fan of doing something simply because that is the way it has always been done, because a group doesn’t want to offend an elected official by asking for change or just skating along with the status quo. We have the potential to be a great urban neighborhood if we put our heads together and work toward a common goal. Fresh thinking, not more of the same, will get us where we are going.

– Steve

Talk of a ward debate

Neighborhood leaders are talking with the League of Women Voters about organizing a 25th Ward debate between myself and my opponent Dorothy Kirner. I hope they can make it happen so voters can see the differences between us.

For the record, I’ll show up for any organized debate regardless of format. I have a clear message and welcome any opportunity to communicate that message.

– Steve

St. Louis is Not Chicago

So many people say we are not Chicago. True, we are not. We don’t have the population density, the vibrant streets, the thousands of bike racks or Aldermen using the internet to communicate the relevant (albeit mundane) information to ward constituents.

Below are just three examples of ward websites from chicago’s 50 aldermen:
• Chicago’s Gene Schulter
• Chicago’s Helen Shiller
• Chicago’s Burton Natarus

I don’t want to transform St. Louis into Chicago but I think we can learn a few lessons but looking outside the boundaries of our wards and our city limits. Chicago’s aldermen are taking that extra step to use the internet to keep their constituents informed of issues and meetings.

St. Louis’ current system of keeping constituents informed is for aldermen to attend the various neighborhood meetings and give a city hall update to the few people present. Little information is actually communicated – no visuals, no maps, no links to other resources. If you didn’t make it to the meeting you are out of luck. You might get some of the information in a neighborhood newsletter a month or two later – if you are on their mailing list.

The Board of Alderman has 15 standing committees. Do you know what committees your alderman serves on? Do you know when those committees meet? Do you know issues are before those committees? If you read the City Journal each week you might have a clue. But, the City Journal is an official public notice document and therefore not exactly written in english.

A Board Bill indicating the parcel number and city block number to be changed from zoning classification B to F doesn’t mean much to most people. However, a photo of the proposed property along with a street address actually means something to most people. One provides the requirement for a legal notice while the other would actually communicate meaningful information to the people that deserve to know.

My campaign is about bringing fresh thinking to the 25th ward and entire City of St. Louis. Moving the level of communications between city hall and constituents into the 21st century is just one example.

– Steve