Giving Away Parking at City Hall

Saturday April 2nd I noticed the main portion of the parking lot south of city hall was full while the part closer to 14th St was empty.  The Cardinals had an away game this day so I’m not sure why all the cars.  I thought it was good to see the parking lot bringing in revenue on a Saturday rather than just sit vacant.

But wait, the gates are wide open! Of course on a Saturday there probably isn’t enough turnover to staff the booth.  The Treasurer’s Office needs to enter the 21st century and get technology to automate the process to collect the parking fee. Of course the Treasurer also has downtown parking meters at no charge on weekends but some [refer lots and would pay.

– 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

Reed: Senator Chappelle-Nadal Must Go!

Yesterday the President of the Board of Aldermen, Lewis Reed, sent out the following email blast:

State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal said the other day that St. Louis elected officials who support local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are “house slaves.” In her interview with Bernie Hayes on WGNU (920-AM), the senator said “What these plantation owners like Rex Sinquefield are doing is using some of their house slaves that are elected in St. Louis” and also said “It’s nothing different than what slave politics was.”

These comments are deplorable and drag us back an era that this country has worked hard to move past. People have laid down their lives to fight to be treated as equal human beings. Any public official who makes these types of comments is quite frankly not fit to lead.

This is not just an insult to me, but this is an insult to me as a father or four, as an African American male and to all African Americans across this nation. Statements by the Senator reflect the bigoted mindset that all African Americans, including the NAACP, 100 Black Men, Urban League, Clergy Coalition as well as many others, must have been ‘bought’ by, in the Senator words a “plantation owner,” when advocating a position. This type of racism cannot be tolerated in the St. Louis community or anywhere in our country.

I am formally asking the Senator to step down and will actively be seeking out individuals in her Senatorial District to help out this effort. Racism cannot be tolerated and the people of University City deserve better. Don Imus didn’t get a pass and neither should Maria Chappelle-Nadal.

I ask you to join the effort in calling out Senator Chappelle-Nadal by joining the facebook group http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maria-Must-Go/215733518441994 and contacting her office in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4106.

Lewis E. Reed

State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal has been a primary opponent of Missouri returning control of the St. Louis Police to the City of St. Louis.

– Steve Patterson

One Year Since St. Louis County Voters Approved Proposition A

A year ago St. Louis County voters approved a small sales tax increase to fund transit, Proposition A. Wednesday I attended a panel discussion on why this measure  passed where previous attempts had failed.  Professors Todd Swanstrom & David Kimball introduced their new study:  From Checkbook Campaigns to Civic Coalitions: Lessons from the Passage of Prop A (PDF).  From the introduction:

On April 6, 2010 the voters of St. Louis County approved a tax increase for transit with a surprising 63 percent majority. The 1⁄2 cent sales tax now raises about $75 million a year to maintain the bus system and expand light rail. Seventeen months earlier a similar initiative had lost with 48 percent of the vote. With the economy in a recession in 2010, unemployment high, and the anti- tax Tea Party movement rising around the nation, the huge majority for Prop A was startling. In this paper we try to explain the success of Prop A and tease out the lessons for future tax initiative campaigns and civic coalitions.

Compared to the defeat of Prop M in 2008 two characteristics of the 2010 Prop A election make the victory especially surprising and help to frame our analysis: 1) Prop A succeeded in an off-year election when the composition of the electorate is less inclined to support tax increases and public transit; 2) Prop A, at least initially, did not enjoy unified business support – usually the kiss of death for transit tax initiatives.

The report details how the campaign differed from prior campaigns.  One difference was the campaign targeted some voters, as outlined by the dark line below.

Basically efforts were concentrated on West & North County and ignoring far SW and South parts of the County.  Voters who had voted in the prior 12 elections were targeted rather than all registered voters.  Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) funded an educational component that never mentioned Prop A.  The pro-transit slogan was: Some of us ride it. All of us need it. Here is the TV spot that ran in the months leading up to the vote:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aR9rzybjuU

Notice Metro isn’t mentioned at all, the focus is on transit.

At the panel an audience member asked about a more regional approach and including St. Charles County. All agreed that more of the region should be served by transit but it was noted those areas need to step up with a funding source. In Illinois both Madison & St. Clair Counties fund transit.    While the 2010 passage of Prop A was important, we still have more work to do.

– Steve Patterson

Thoughts On Tuesday’s Elections

I couldn’t be happier that independent Scott Ogilvie defeated Democrat Tom Bauer in the 24th ward with 61.46% of the vote, impressive!  Hard to say how he would have done if Waterhouse had won the Democratic primary in March. Still I’m very optimistic about the future of St. Louis based on this one race.

For those in odd numbered wards start planning to run now.  Remember redistricting may change which ward you are in.  The last time I went from being in the 13th to the 25th.  Some of you in even numbered wards may end up in an odd ward, so you could run in 2013.  I really want more independent candidates in 2013.

32 year Republican alderman Fred Heitert lost to Democrat Larry Arnowitz in the 12th ward.  Nothing personal against Heitert but he was first sworn into office in 1979.  Carter was President, disco music was popular.  He stayed in office way too long.

Thomas Villa was elected to fill the vacant seat in the 11th Ward following the resignation of Matt Villa.  Did you expect someone other than a Villa?

Voters approved five more years of the city’s earnings tax with 87.55% saying yes. Kansas City voters also approved a proposition to continue their earnings tax. Both cities have five years to evaluate their sources of revenue and their expenses to see if alternates would be any better.

Looking at the election results in St. Louis County reminds me why consolidation needs to happen — 37 pages long! The number of municipalities, school districts and fire districts is maddening. Just like in St. Louis, many of these races only have a single candidate.

State Rep Jake Zimmerman was elected accessor for St. Louis County — the first time the position has been an elected office in over 50 years.

– Steve Patterson