BJC/Forest Park Lease is Simply Par for Course

St. Louis has a serious lack of leadership at the top. Following the lack of a second yesterday on a motion to accept the BJC/Forest Park Lease Mayor Slay indicated he was “disappointed.” Well, Francis, welcome to my world. I am disappointed daily by you and pretty much every other elected official out of city hall.

I am disappointed in fellow members of the Board of Estimate & Apportionment, Jim Shrewsbury and Darlene Green. I’m not disappointed because they wouldn’t go along with the current deal, but because they, like the Mayor, are reactionary. Board President Candidate Lewis Reed and all his followers on the Boad of Aldermen are no better. BJC is not really the bad guy here, nor is Shrewsbury or Green. The culprit is how we do business in this town.

The notion of having to maintain Forest Park cannot possibly have been a new concept in 2006 when BJC floated this idea past the mayor’s office. Forest Park Forever, the non-profit group that raised so much money for the restoration of the park, was started in 1986 — two decades ago! Did nobody stop to think, “hey we are going to need to find a way to maintain all these improvements” along the way?

The lack of leadership from City Hall has brought us to this point today. BJC is now issuing threats to the citizens that they will look elsewhere if they don’t get their way. Maybe BJC is the bad guy too. Don’t threaten me, I don’t care how big you are. Take your ugly buildings, your closed off streets and those aweful parking garages you’ve littered the landscape with and hit the road. Yeah, that’s right. Get lost you big f*cking bully. I’m calling your bluff — something the spinless folks at city hall would never do. Proof? The St. Louis Cardinals got a new stadium downtown.
Sometime in the last 20 years we should have had a discussion about paying for Forest Park, and all our parks frankly. Does anyone recall Mayor Slay making this a priority during his 2005 re-election campaign? What about Ald. Roddy? Nope.

Good leadership would have said, “OK folks, we’ve invested millions in the renovation of Forest Park but now we need to find a good way to keep it up for the long haul.” A panel could have been formed to investigate options, a town hall could have been held. Something, anything. Instead they waited until re-elected and then turned BJC land-grab into a immediate crisis, designed to scare voters into submission. You know, something President Bush might do.

I’ve never come out fully against the idea of BJC getting that land for future expansion — it was the process I disliked, not the basic land concept. Again, good leadership from city hall would have told BJC, “We can’t take this to the people until we figure out how & where to replace the open space lost and ammenities.” You can’t take away over 9 acres of park used by nearby residents without figuring out how to accomodate their needs. Yet, when this came up last year the issue of replacement park land was one of those “oh we’ll figure that out later items.” Uh, no! We’ll figure it all out or we won’t do it at all. The Kiel Opera house was one of those “later” projects that still hasn’t happened.

Our city operates in a vacuum, looking soley at a project at a time. Whether it is paying for park maintenance or a master plan for a blighted section of South Grand we simply don’t plan ahead. We sit back or wait for a sweet-looking deal to arrive and push for it. Ald. Florida was all in favor of a McDonald’s drive-thru without once doing a master plan for a mile-long stretch of Grand blighted some 10 years earlier. What is the true cost to maintain our parks and if we did the BJC lease would that solve everything? Doubtful. We need to have discussions about commercial cooridors and park funding before we have an impending proposal on the table.  Only then can we possiblly hope to have a rational discussion about the future of our city.

Given the way our leaders continue to operate, I don’t give this city much of a future.  The potential is here, but we continually squander what we have and push those with creative thinking to other cities.  This region is not growing, at least not by much.  Sure, we are building stuff on the edge of the region but that is not the same — I’m talking population and jobs, not sprawl.  The city has to fight with the Census annually to show we’ve stabilized our population rather than continue the decades-old downward spiral.  Other regions in the U.S. have their act together while this region sticks its collective head in the sand.  We are so far behind and all the folks we elect can do is point fingers at each other.  Well, I’ve got a finger for them…

Working on ‘Comment’ Problem [Now Fixed]

I’ve encountered an issue with the comments not working. I’m looking for solutions so please be patient. Thanks, Steve

UPDATE 2/8/07 @ 9am — all fixed. You are now free to comment as you like.

Cherokee Street: Big Controversy Over Tiny Place

You’ve all heard the story by now, Ald. Craig Schmid has a moritorium on liquor licenses for the 20th Ward. You want to sell beer, then you need to have 50% of your revenues from food. In other words, restaurants are OK, bars are not. Enter Steve Smith, owner of The Royale on Kingshighway near Arsenal. Smith wants to open a bar along Cherokee street and and serve no food in the space located at 3227 Cherokee known as “Radio Cherokee.”

The controversy has escalated to the point that Schmid, a 12-year veteran at city hall, is being challenged by resident and business owner Galen Gondolfi in the election for alderman to be held on the 6th of March. This issue has some fun little twists and turns that I have not seen in the media.

First, opponents cite a number of concerns. One is parking, another is food sales. Of course, I fail to see how Smith getting 50% of receipts from food sales lessons the parking issue any — it might in fact make it worse? Parking too seems like a red herring, the city has literally thousands of corner storefront places but we cannot expect them to each have a dedicated parking lot without destroying the character of our neighborhoods.

Above is the location in question, located on the NE corner of Virginia (street on left) and Cherokee. The very tiny storefront can only hold so many people and quite a bit of on-street parking is available along the side of the building above (on Virginia). Similarly, more cars could easily be parked on the west side of Virginia.

“The neighborhood is not ready,” was one comment I heard. Well, what defines ready? What is the plan to get the area ready?  Granted, this property is much closer to Gravois and is therefore not part of the main commercial area we think of as Cherokee.  This is outside the Cherokee community improvement district.  Still, every block between here and the main section of Cherokee contains at least a single storefront, in many cases several.

On the same block as “Radio Cherokee” is the former Cherokee Auto Parts with a greenhouse/nursery business on the end of the block.  In the background of the picture you can see a corner storefront on the next block.  Back to the site in question.

The small place is actually part of a 4-unit building, with one residential unit above and two attached but set back from the street.  The building lot is only 24ft 8 inches wide.  So as you can imagine, both the residential units and the bar space are narrow.

Peaking inside through the front door glass we can see a place basically ready to go.  No major build out or extensive rehab required.  Currently the space is simply sitting empty, not being productive for the neighborhood or city.  Now, I’ve never been in the food services business (well, except those 4 days at Arby’s when I was 16) but logic tells me you need a certain volume of business to operate a restuarant.  With such a small place and lacking a kitchen space it seems unrealistic to expect this space to be anything but a bar.

Sure, I suppose it could be gutted and turned into a retail space of sorts but that seems even more likely to fail.  Retail operations would do better in the main commercial district.

Currently, to my knowledge, Cherokee street has no master plan — no vision has been established.  In looking at the blocks on this end with a mix of storefronts of varying sizes, flats and single family homes I see a small bar fitting in nicely, nothing too big.  A block or two east is the old Black Forest restaurant which has been closed for sometime.  That is a very large space with a large kitchen (I’ve shown the building to prospective buyers so I’ve been through the whole thing).  It is even complete with a parking lot.  But the pro-forma to buy and renovate that place relative to this is night and day.  In reality, both spaces need to be open and active.  We just can’t fault Steve Smith for not having the cash/credit of a say Joe Edwards.   The old Black Forest space will make an excellent restaurant once again.  As a bar only, it would be way too big.

So my solution to this issue is this — for Cherokee Street only:  Set up a sliding scale, the very tiny Radio Cherokee space that Steve Smith is interested in should have a zero percent food requirement.  On the other end, spaces like the large Black Forest should be required to have 50% food.  Other storefronts, such as the old Auto Parts place, might fall somewhere in the middle.  What this does is set up a guideline along Cherokee only where small bars can be introduced and have a chance to succeed while the larger spaces cannot be bars only.  This should be implimented along the length of Cherokee from at least Jefferson to Gravois while the area works on a master plan for Cherokee.
In the interest of disclosure, I have not spoken with either candidate about this concept but I did happen to run into Steve Smith yesterday and he seemed to think it might be a good compromise.  In researching this post I discovered that Galen Gondolfi owns the property in question along with another person.  He also owns the old auto parts place on the same block.  He owns larger buildings in the next block east where he lives, has a gallery space and leases out a storefront to a cafe.  He clearly has a vested interest in seeing this section of Cherokee street succeed and prosper.

Cacchione on Public Service, Gates for Compton Heights and Cigarette Taxes

Last night I attended the 6th Ward debate sponsored by the Downtown Residents Association and the League of Women Voters. Turnout was good despite the weather and all three candidates were in top form. Patrick Cacchione reiterated his many years of experience in public policy — working as a paid lobbyist. So rather than rehash some of the same stuff that was said last night, I thought I’d look into some of Cacchione’s statements from the past.

LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE St. Louis Post-Dispatch February 20, 1997

New Entitlement: Elected Office

If you asked people what they considered the fastest growing entitlement program they might answer Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. However, it appears the fastest growing entitlement in this country is elected office.

Today, elected offices are being transferred from one generation to another like season tickets to the St. Louis Blues games.

Least we think this is a St. Louis phenomenon (Jo Mannies’ Feb. 9 column, “In St. Louis Politics, Family Counts, As The Names Around City Hall Show”), consider the Republican and Democratic conventions we witnessed in August. The keynote for the Republican party was Congresswoman Susan Molinari, daughter of former Congressman Guy Molinari. The keynote for the Democratic party was Evan Bayh, son of former Sen. Birch Bayh.

These speakers were accompanied by a host of other political offspring including Vice President Al Gore, son of Senator Albert Gore Sr., Gov. George Bush, son of former President George Bush (son of Sen. Prescott Bush), Congressman Jesse Jackson, son of presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, Sr., Congressmen Patrick and Joseph Kennedy, son and nephew of Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, daughter of Gov. Alf Landon. The list is endless, Dodd, Cuomo, Daley, etc.

Why is this of concern? It merits our attention for a variety of reasons. It renders “public service” obsolete because the public (except for the wealthy) are excluded, and service has become an entitlement (unearned and expected). The result is a political class that speaks its own language and has its own common experiences, neither of which prepares them to address the needs of the people.

Further, the fact that money or name recognition are increasingly the elements that attain elected office, the average citizen is closed out of the political process. These factors only continue to alienate an already disengaged and apathetic electorate. Which brings us full circle to answer the proverbial “chicken and egg” question: generational politics because of a disengaged electorate or visa-versa?

Patrick J. Cacchione
St. Louis

In St. Louis we have many of the examples Mr. Cacchione cites. Ald. Villa, Ald, Roddy, Ald. Conway, Ald. Kennedy just to name a few. But the issue of entitlement goes beyond simply being related, it goes to being next in line. Mr. Cacchione has said he deserves to be the next alderman for the 6th ward because he has earned it — by dutifully being a part of the 6th Ward Democrats. This entitlement could simplify things so much — why bother with elections. We’ll just have someone take attendance at ward functions and the person with the most gold stars will be the next alderman. He who has been in line the longest gets the job. Such a process takes away all that hard work of sorting through positions on issues. Sadly much of the city’s politicos believe this to be a logical system. Take a look around this city and ask yourself how well that has served us for the last 50 years.

Mr. Cacchione speaks of the wealthy above, speaking a different language. Interestingly, he lives in one of the wealthiest areas of the city: Compton Heights. A few years ago, residents of Compton Heights sought city funding to install a gate to close off access to public streets. Mr. Cacchione was among the supporters. From the Post-Dispatch story GREAT GATE DEBATE IN CITY PITS ISSUES OF SAFETY VS. ISOLATION dated 4/24/2003:

In St. Louis’ Compton Heights, discord is brewing between residents who want a gate at the main entrance to their neighborhood and those who don’t. The neighborhood is bordered by Interstate 44 on the north, Nebraska Avenue on the east, Shenandoah Avenue on the south and Grand Boulevard on the west.

Proponents point to traffic concerns and security, while opponents say not only is a gate unwarranted, but no traffic studies have been done to demonstrate the need, and no vote has been taken on the issue.

They add that a gate would isolate the neighborhood and require the use of city money to close a public street.

But Dr. Shahrdad Khodamoradi, president of the Compton Heights Neighborhood Betterment Association’s 12-member board, says that adding a gate at Grand Boulevard will not create a gated community. The board unanimously supports a gate.

“We’re not closing the neighborhood; we’re closing just one entrance. We’re not creating a gated neighborhood; we’re putting gates that can be opened and closed at Grand,” he said.

Compton Heights is split between two aldermen who disagree on the issue – Alderman Lewis Reed, 6th Ward, and Alderman Phyllis Young, 7th Ward.

Reed has said he is prepared to ask the Board of Aldermen for up to $15,000 in city money to help pay for a gate. A final cost for a gate has not been computed.

“This is an attempt to liberate the neighborhood,” Reed says of the traffic concern – an issue he says has simmered for more than 33 years.

He says the city and residents have looked at other alternatives, including cobblestone strips, at a cost of $180,000, to be placed on the streets as an attempt to slow traffic.

Young said she would be reluctant to support a gate but hasn’t decided how she would vote.

“It seems quite divisive … from what I’ve seen,” she said of the brewing discord.

Opponents suggest that a gate would foster a sense of elitism for the neighborhood.

And yard signs that say “Residents Against Gates” jar the serene impression of the century-old mansions on the neighborhood’s quiet streets with literary names such as Longfellow, Hawthorne and Milton.

Phyllis Calhoun, who has lived on Longfellow for several decades, calls the move to put up a gate “an arrogant breach of authority.”

She says that although at peak traffic times, occasional speeders zoom through the neighborhood, the streets are quieter than most.

Patrick Cacchione, a neighborhood association board member, says the push for a solution to the traffic problem is not new.

“Talking to the fire and the street departments, we’ve concluded that if we want to solve the problem, you put up gates at Grand,” he said.

Reed said he plans to introduce the gate proposal within the next two weeks.

Thankfully Compton Heights didn’t get their costly gates to privatize the public streets, something both Reed & Cacchione supported.
On April 2, 2002 Mr. Cacchione had an editorial in the Post-Dispatch commenting on the state of the city’s health department:

First, there’s a leadership crisis. The department has had five directors in five years and needs a permanent director. Other key staff members are needed as well — particularly a communicable disease physician and a finance director. But budget shortfalls keep those positions unfilled.

The city needs to see the big picture here: It is unconscionable for a major American city to operate one of its most important departments without critical staff needed to do its work.

Second, the Health Department needs to attract top-level talent. Public health is a knowledge-based enterprise. But with its host of problems — and its antiquated city residency requirement — that talent is going elsewhere. Even though the department does not provide medical services, it needs physicians. Right now, only one is on the staff full- time. Our city boasts an excellent school of public health at St. Louis University — but its top students go elsewhere.

Perhaps the note takers could enlighten us on Mr. Cacchione’s view on the “antiquated city residency requirement” as it relates to teachers, police and such. If I am not mistaken, he has recently spoken in favor of the residency requirement? Is it no longer “antiquated.”
For many years Mr. Cacchione lobbyied on behalf of Daughters of Charity National Health System and Carondelet Health System. His letters to the editor on health care issues were thoughful, passionate and very democratic. He spoke elequently of the need for health care for the poor.
So when the issue of an increased cigarette tax came up last year to assist health care providers with funding to help the poor you would have thought Mr. Cacchione would have been right in there working to increase the tax. Well, if you thought that you’d be wrong. From the Post-Dispatch on October 12, 2006:

Missouri voters will decide next month whether to raise the tax on cigarettes by 80 cents a pack and triple the tax on other tobacco products.

Opponents already have blanketed the airwaves with television ads opposing the tax. Many convenience stores and gas stations display “No on Amendment 3” placards.

“We’ve been running a full campaign, with the full anticipation this would be on the ballot,” said Patrick Cacchione, a consultant for an opposing group called Missourians Against Tax Abuse. The group includes cigarette-maker R.J. Reynolds Co., as well as tobacco farmers and retailers.

Mr. Cacchione’s group, Missourians Against Tax Abuse, gave $500 to 17 different wards in the city, including the 6th ward where he was and is the committeeman. The city’s central committee received $5,000. What keeps coming up is how Cacchione spoke before the 6th against the tax increase, convincing ward members to endorse voting no on amendment 3. The one thing he forgot to mention, however, was he was a paid lobbyist working on behalf of the interests of those seeking to kill the amendment. And before you start to think it was a small group of convenience store owners think again, their latest report shows they raised nearly $6 million to defeat the proposal with much of it coming from R.J. Reynolds.

Mr. Cacchione does have far more “experience” than probably his two opponents combined. The problem is that his experience is to say what it takes to win. Last night his answers were great — he said literally everything I wanted to hear while some of Saller’s and Triplett’s answers gave me pause. But that is exactly the problem, he is saying everything we want to hear. If he were to spend his four years as alderman working passionately on behalf of the 6th ward residents and the city as a whole I probably would support the guy, but the words come too easy for him. He seems like the poster child for slick politician. Sixth ward voters need to look to Kacie Starr Triplett or Christian Saller for the less polished but more direct candidate.

Note: St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives are not something I can link to. These can be accessed through their archives system if you desire the full articles.

Ville Phillips Estates Latest Victim of Decades Old Feud in City’s 4th Ward

For decades the history-rich Ville neighborhood has struggled to retain residents, fight off crime and rebuild decaying properties. The same can be said for most St. Louis neighborhoods and the city as a whole. What seems to be different, are the very deep political factions at worth within the 4th ward.

Current Alderman and former State Rep, O.L. Shelton recently appeared on camera as the focus of an Elliot Davis “You Paid For It Segment.” Now I know many of you out there are probably rolling your eyes but I don’t know that anyone who saw this segment had any sympathy for Ald. Shelton. At issue is an unfinished housing development known as Ville Phillips Estates. Click here to watch the segment. The video was brought to my attention by two sources, one was the blog known as Brick City and earlier the same day via email from a frustrated resident of Ville Phillips Estates.

So basically O.L. Shelton is washing his hands of a project started by his predecesso and political rival, Peggy Ryan. Ryan, you may recollect, was recalled by 4th ward voters in 2005. But the real story goes back much further, roughly 1973 when Daisy McFowland was appointed alderman by the committeepersons after then alderman Joe Clark became the city’s director of public safety. I’ll attempt to explain the three decade trail of aldermen in the 4th ward later in this piece, but first let’s get back to the Ville Phillips Estates.

At the ground breaking on June 26, 2003 everything was all smiles. Below is from the city’s press announcement:

The caption reads:

June 26, 2003 — Mayor Slay participates in the ground breaking ceremony by Mary “One”/Taylor-Morley for Ville Phillips Estates, a new housing community in the Ville neighborhood. Ville Phillips Estates is Taylor-Morley’s first City housing project. (Photo by Charles Morris Jr.)

The project team included suburban home building Taylor-Morley and well-known REALTOR® and developer Mary “One” Johnson. I’m not sure why Elliot Davis didn’t question either the Taylor-Morley firm, Ms. Johnson, the city’s Community Development Agency or the mayor’s office as to why the project has not been finished. All received good press early on and apparently none of the bad press now that things have gone wrong.

The St. Louis Business Journal joined in the praise on June 26, 2003:

City officials and developers kicked off construction of a new housing development in The Ville neighborhood Thursday that will provide 50 homes in the city’s Fourth Ward.

Ville Phillips Estates is a joint housing development of Mary “One” Johnson and Taylor-Morley Urban Development LLC. It is Taylor-Morley’s first development in the city.

The next month, on July 24, 2003 the Business Journal ran a puff piece on Mary One Johnson, referencing the project which is now listed as 100 homes rather than 50 homes the month before:

In 1999, Johnson was recognized as the first minority woman to own her own development company in the St. Louis area, according to the St. Louis Minority Business Council. That company, Mary 1 Enterprises Real Estate Development, is building more than 200 homes in St. Louis city, including St. Louis Place Estates, the Gate District, and the Ville Phillips Estate, a 100-home development.

The Business Journal ran another story on Mary “One” Johnson as part of a series the ‘Most Influential Business Women in 2005.’

Some of the largest projects pending in St. Louis include the construction of 100 homes in St. Louis Place Estates at 2716 N. 21st St., 200 homes in Ville Phillips Estates at 1926 Whittier, and 60 homes in the Gate District, which is bound by Jefferson, Chouteau and Grand avenues and Interstate 44. Johnson said the support from city officials has been tremendous. “It takes a village to rebuild the city.”

Several of the developments Johnson took on were at odds with people’s belief that they could be done, one example being the Ville Phillips Estates. Initially, real estate in the area was appraised at $5,000, but is now $160,000, she said.

Now the year that Peggy Ryan is recalled the project, in the Business Journal at least, has grown from 50 homes to 100 homes and now to 200 homes. Keep in mind that only the first 10 were ever completed at a reported cost of $2.4 million to tax payers.

The City Development website for the project, not updated since July 2005, still reads:

A major initiative is underway in the historic Ville neighborhood for a new housing development called Phillips Estates. Taylor Morely Simon is teaming with Mary One Johnson to construct at least 10 new for sale homes annually. The long term vision is that up to 200 homes will be built.

The city’s CDA (Community Development Agency) 2004 Consolidated Performance and Evaluation Report talks about the project getting started. One could possibly suggest the project was a failure and that it shouldn’t be finished, better to cut & run? However, the 2005 Consolidated Performance Report goes further, proclaiming the project a “resounding success”:

Investment in site assembly for large-scale residential redevelopment continues to be an important use of CDBG dollars. Acquisition and site preparation continue in the Near North Side, the Ville, the Garden District, the old Gaslight Square, and along Delmar on the north edge of the Central West End. The resounding success of CitiRama, Botanical Heights, Ville Phillips Estates, North Market Place and Mullanphy Square attest to the importance of this program, as does the commitment of the St. Louis Homebuilders to a second CitiRama.

However, the CDA’s ActionPlan2006 does recognize the project was unfinished, indicating an intent to “focus on the next phases”:

CDA will continue construction of several large subdivisions in minority communities. In particular, attention will focus on the next phases for Ville Phillips Estates. This new single-family development, aimed at low and moderate income households, is the first newly constructed for-sale housing in the Ville neighborhood in many decades. The Ville is the historic heart of the African-American community in St. Louis, containing many of its premiere institutions and landmarks.

Keep in mind the above “ActionPlan” was prepared after Ald. O.L. Shelton won the special election. In what looks like an example of cut & paste, the CDA’s current ActionPlan2007 sounds much like the year before:

CDA will continue construction of several large subdivisions in minority communities. In 2007 CDA will launch a new Major North Side Initiative designed to provide financial support to affordable and mixed-income homeownership projects of scale on the City’s North Side. CDA will also work with the neighborhood housing corporation and elected officials in the Ville neighborhood to continue the new construction of owner-occupied units there that began with the first phases of Ville Phillips Estates. This new single-family development, aimed at low and moderate income households, is the first newly constructed for-sale housing in the Ville neighborhood in many decades. The Ville is the historic heart of the African-American community in St. Louis, containing many of its premiere institutions and landmarks.

What a mess huh? It is a shame this project has gotten caught up in a political fight, but like I said earlier this is nothing new for the city’s 4th ward. Here is a little history lesson for you. Pay close attention because this one has lots of twists and turns and many repeat players.

So Daisy McFowland was appointed in 1973 to finish out the term of Joe Clark who left to take a city position. McFowland was re-elected in 1975 but defeated in 1979 by Clifford Wilson, Jr. In 1983 she ran again for Alderman and won (and again in 1987).

However, in October 1990 Ald. McFowland passed away. Following her death were eight candidates to take her place, including ally and committeewoman Bertha Mitchell as well as her son, Ed McFowland. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2/24/1991:

All the candidates promise to mend the ward politically. But it’s likely to take more than a needle and thread. Bad blood between Daisy McFowland and Shelton, which dates back to about 1980 when Shelton became committeeman, led to Shelton forming a splinter group. Since McFowland’s death, committeewoman Mitchell and committeeman Shelton have been unable to come together. When Mitchell, who was aligned with McFowland, told Shelton she would run for the seat, he did not react favorably. Shelton is supporting Pointer, a 25-year-old student at Harris-Stowe State College who also works in his father’s appliance store on North Grand Boulevard. Pointer has worked as Shelton’s administrative assistant. Pointer said that if he is elected, the ward’s alderman and its state representative would be working in tandem for the first time in a long while. He said the split had hurt residents. ”In dealing with getting things done in the ward, it came down to whether you were a McFowland person or a Shelton person,” Pointer said. ”Most times the ward in general lost out, because a lot of people didn’t want to get in the middle of it,”he said.

For the record, most people in the ward still don’t want to get in the middle and they are still losing out. Back to the article, former one-term alderman Clifford Wilson was among the eight candidates seeking the office:

Wilson, 60, unseated Daisy McFowland in 1979 and served as an alderman four years until 1983, when the tide turned and McFowland beat him. He said he wants to finish several development projects he started and was urged by leaders of several community-based groups to get in the race.

So in 1991 Wilson wants to finish projects he started somewhere between 1979 and 1983? That is a long time for project to go unfinished. As I mention above, McFowland’s son was also among the 1991 candidates. First time running for office, oh no:

Ed McFowland, 34, mounted an unsuccessful challenge to Shelton for his House seat in 1988. He recently quit his $21,000-a-year job as an assistant manager at the St. Louis Housing Authority to run for his mother’s seat.

Yes, the McFowland-Shelton feud is a family affair with Ed having tried before to unseat Shelton, and now seeking to become alderman. And while Wilson wants to finish projects from the early 80s, apparently projects started by McFowland herself were up in the air following her death:

Jack Saunders Sr., a consultant for the non-profit Greater Ville Historic Redevelopment Corp., said a redevelopment plan for the Ville hangs in the balance in the 4th Ward race. The plan includes construction of single-family homes, creation of a light-industrial corridor and a movie theater for the old Homer Phillips Hospital complex. Saunders said city officials already have vacillated on their commitment to the project since Daisy McFowland’s death. He said to get it back on line, the ward’s alderman would have to support efforts to get incentive money for homebuyers and money to rehab the buildings. Most of the candidates said they supported the plan or some variation of it.

Bertha Mitchell, the committeewoman at odds with committeeman O.L. Shelton, won the election in 1991, and re-election in 1995. In becoming Alderman she would have had to resign as committeewoman. In 1996 she passed away while serving as Alderman.

Upon her death O.L. Shelton brought back 1991 candidate Sam Pointer, who was now nominated as the democratic candidate in the special election. Bertha Mitchell’s son, Mike, ran as an independent to fill the vacancy due to his mom’s passing. Mitchell won.

I need to explain something here which I just learned. When a special election is called the winner doesn’t necessarily finish out the balance of the 4-year term. The special election is only until the next municipal primary. So, if a term has say 3 years remaining you’ll have a special election which will be good for a year as municipal elections come around every two years. However, when you are after a mid-term municipal election the winner will finish out the term. Make sense?

So in 1997, the next regular municipal election only a year later, Mike Mitchell won again but this time as a Democrat. In 1999, the normal year for even wards to hold elections, Mitchell was re-elected. All the while, O.L. Shelton was serving as the state representative and ward committeeman. But even that was about to change.

State level elected officials and even those holding “county” seats such as License Collector and Recorder of Deeds can be committeeman or committeewoman. However, those in city offices such as Alderman, President of the Board of Aldermen or Mayor, cannot. Despite this fact, 4th ward Alderman Mike Mitchell runs for committeeman against O.L. Shelton in August 2000. Sources tell me that then President of the Board of Aldermen Francis Slay and others warned Mitchell that if he won he would be forfeitting his aldermanic seat as a result. Well, he won the election to become 4th ward committeeman and the Board of Aldermen immediately notifed the Board of Elections the 4th Ward Aldermanic seat was now vacant and to call a special election. Interestingly, as the newly elected committeeman Mitchell gets himself nominated as the democratic nominee to replace himself, winning back the seat in November 2000.

Remember that Mitchell was elected in 1999 for a 4-year term. However, because a special election was held to fill the vacancy he created winning the race to be committeeman, another election was held during the next municipal primary in 2001. In March 2001 he lost to Peggy Ryan, just a few short months after winning back the seat in November 2000. Again, had he not ran and won as committeeman, he would have been in office at least through April 2003 (unless he was recalled).

Ryan was re-elected in the regular even-ward election in 2003 but in 2005 she was recalled. In the recall election O.L. Shelton, now presumably termed out of the Missouri house, ran for the office himself. Ryan also ran again but she came in third, behind Sam Moore with Shelton winning the seat. Despite the city’s ActionPlans, work on the Ville Phillips Estates seems to have stopped after Shelton finally took charge of the aldermanic seat he had tried for decades to control.

Now it is 2007 and time for the even numbered wards to select their alderman. This year we have incumbent O.L. “Get a Lawyer” Shelton and his runner up from the 2005 special election, Sam Moore.

While the Ville Phillips Estates remains unfinished, other housing developments are slated to begin soon. Additionally, separate local groups are working on an open-air produce market and business incubator for the Ville. As has been the case for a good thirty years, it seems future development projects may hang in the balance of the March 6th election. This is what happens, or doesn’t happen, when you allow aldermen to operate their own little fiefdom.