Poll: Should Vacant Seats On The Board of Aldermen Be Viewed As “White” Or “Black” Seats?

Kacie Starr Triplett has resigned her 6th ward seat on the Board of Aldermen, so talk of those who’ll run to finish her term, which expires in April 2015, is picking up. Race, it seems, is a factor. It was noticed when Triplett, who is African-American, backed white candidates in the August primary:

To be not so nice, one could say Triplett committed political suicide in the August 2012 primary by aggressively opposing African-American candidates in key historically black districts, only to see both of her chosen candidates lose and lose badly. She supported her constituent and former employer Russ Carnahan over incumbent 1st District Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay. Carnahan, who ran a nasty campaign against a former family ally, was crushed by Clay. Triplett also aggressively supported Jeanette Mott Oxford over two black opponents (incumbent state Sen. Robin Wright-Jones and Jamilah Nasheed, who won the race) in the 5th District state Senate race; Mott Oxford came in dead last. (St. Louis American)

Political suicide? Triplett defeated challenger Bradford Kessler 83-17 in the March 2011 Democratic primary to win a second tem. She was unopposed in the April 2011 general election. Triplett defeated two white males in the March 2007 primary.

From the same article in the St. Louis American:

According to the board, African Americans now enjoy a 60.44 percent majority among the 6th Ward’s 11,958 residents, and a 54.73 percent majority among ward residents age 18 or older. This was seen in the August primary, when Clay got 60 percent of the votes in the 6th Ward, beating Triplett’s candidate Carnahan 1,183 votes to 806.

Does a majority of a race within a ward make that seat an assumed for that race? Before Triplett’s resignation the 28-member Board of Aldermen had twelve African-Americans. Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, a mayoral candidate,  is also African-American.

It’s thought 6th ward Committeeman Damon Jones will get the Democratic nomination for the special election, a determination by the Central Committee, and that Martin Casas, former state house candidate, will run as an independent.  Casas is half Caucasian and half Latino.

UPDATE 11/18 @ 10am — I’ve been told that based on the timing of Triplett’s resignation the vacancy will be filled during the spring 2013 primary & general in March & April, respectively. That the Democratic Central Committee will not get to select the Democrat that’ll run.    

The poll question this week is should aldermanic seats be a lock for a specific race based on prior alderman or demographics? The poll is in the right sidebar.

— Steve Patterson

Clemens Mansion Was To Kickoff McKee’s NorthSide Regeneration Project

It was three years ago today that many gathered on the lawn in front of one of the most historic properties in St. Louis: The Clemens Mansion, located at 1849 Cass Ave.

From The Beacon:

Mayor Francis Slay put his ceremonial seal of approval Tuesday on the first step of the $8.1 billion plan to redevelop a large portion of north St. Louis, but he remained noncommittal on what developer Paul McKee considers a key part of the project.

The signing ceremony for two bills passed by the Board of Aldermen — the bills were actually signed into law by the mayor on Friday — took place under a tent on the front lawn of the Clemens House, one of the most visible properties in the McKee project area. (St. Louis Beacon)

Initial work had begun on the renovation but work stopped when part of the financing fell through, I believe a low-income housing tax credit. Soon much of McKee’s project will have a final airing in court.

The state Supreme Court has set Nov. 28 as the date for oral arguments in the lawsuit that has blocked McKee’s massive NorthSide Regeneration project for more than two years. There’s no telling how long after that a ruling might come down, but that ruling will help the project advance, McKee said. (stltoday.com)

Disclosure: I was a very minor consultant on the Clemen’s Mansion project, assisting with accessibility and starting to look at traffic calming and walkability along a larger stretch of Cass Ave. Hopefully the project can be completed in the future.

— Steve Patterson

Don’t Park, Parking

Signs are all around us, sometimes in confusing proximity to each other.

If you’re familiar with the Delmar Loop area you’ll likely know the blue sign is for the large parking lot behind the buildings. With so many signs is there a tipping point where they just get ignored? Placing these on separate polls/posts a few feet apart wouldn’t necessarily be an improvement.

Sign placement and effectiveness needs to be evaluated by someone, especially in busy commercial districts.

— Steve Patterson

Crappy Little Commercial Boxes Rarely Go Away

Buildings are largely permanent structures, although a demolition crew can change that quickly. Much of what we build stays with us for decades. Lowest common denominator auto centric structures, such as gas stations, seem to live on forever.

Early gas stations of the 1920s were small, much closer to the sidewalk and had details similar to housing of the day. Today these are often viewed as charming.

Get off the bus or just walk down the sidewalk this spot is an urban void. What are the hours of this business? A menu? Heck, how do I even get to the front door?

Check out the aerial on Google Maps here to see how this is a radical departure from the long-established commercial district. This never should’ve been built 21 years ago. Too late for Bevo but we must prevent further such atrocities to happen to our urban commercial districts.

Hopefully I’ll see the day a new 2-3 story commercial building is built, up to the sidewalk, on this site.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: Lawrence Biondi & Robert Archibald Should Both Resign Their Positions

Saint Louis University President Lawrence Biondi and Missouri History Museum President Robert Archibald, each involved in unrelated controversies, should resign their positions according to nearly 60% of the readers who voted in the poll last week:

Q: Should Biondi or Archibald Resign their positions?

1. Both should resign: 219 [59.51%]
2. Biondi yes, Archibald no: 93 [25.27%]
3. Archibald yes, Biondi no: 30 [8.15%]
4. Nether should resign: 19 [5.16%]
5. Unsure/no opinion: 7 [1.9%]

For the backstory see the post introducing the poll here.

Biondi is clearly disliked more than Archibald with a quarter saying he should resign but Archibald shouldn’t. I agree with the majority, both need to step down immediately. Unfortunately their egos won’t allow them to do what is best for each institution.

With 368 responses, this was the most popular weekly poll this year.

— Steve Patterson