Poll, Will Mayor Slay Get Charter Reform, Police Control, City into County During 3rd Term?
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, in his address after being sworn into office for a 3rd term, said, in part:
We can no longer afford to compete against each other. We must combine our resources and talents to figure out solutions to regional issues as complex as race relations, poverty, transportation, and creating jobs in new industries – and to regional tasks as simple as writing smoke-free laws, sharing public services, and building bike paths.
The world is changing at a dizzying pace, accelerated by a brutal economy. The City and our region will be very different four years from now. They can be better – but not by accident. We have to make it happen.
The City must reform its charter. The City, the inner suburbs, and outer suburbs must combine services. And, I strongly believe, that we must begin to lay the groundwork for the City of St. Louis to enter St. Louis County.
All of these changes — to help those struggling in this economy, to reorganize city and regional government, to find better educations for our children, to reinvest in our neighborhoods, to improve our quality of life, to create jobs in new industries, to engage young college graduates, to build contemporary infrastructure — will require that we talk to each other more often, more directly, and in different ways.
The past eight years have been an awakening—we have shown what we can accomplish if we dream great dreams and if we work together to make them reality. The next four years will see just how far we can really go.
So the poll for the coming weeks asks how much of Mayor Slay’s agenda will get accomplished by the end of his 3rd term which ends in April 2013. He seeks 1) Charter reform in the city, 2) local control of the police deptment (has been goverened by the state since the Civil War) and 3) get the City of St. Louis back into St. Louis County. So how many will he get done? All three? Two? One? Or nothing? Take the poll in the upper right corner of the main page and then share your thoughts below. For my post from the Mayors 3rd inaugural with the full text of his speech click here.
I agree with Smoke-Free St. Louis City that Mayor Slay and Alderman Krewson should not outsource City public health policy to County Executive Dooley and the County Council. It will be unseemly for City business owners to be at the next County smoking ban hearing asking Charlie Dooley and the County Councilmen not to put them out of business with a smoking ban.
But now that the AFL-CIO has officially come out against Alderman Krewson’s smoking ban, the chances of unionman Charlie Dooley imposing a smoking ban are minimal.
A big report is coming out next week blaming the Illinois smoking ban for a 20 percent decline in Illinois casino revenues across the state. If St. Louis is so broke it can’t pay Mayor Slay’s or President Lewis Reed’s full salary, will we be able to handle a 20 percent decline in casino revenues. Will Mayor Slay and Alderman Krewson exempt the casinos but include bars? That will make the Northside clubs we are working with go ballistic!
Since I’ve lived in STL my whole life, I have this to say: the merge won’t happen. Every 10 years or so they bring this up and it never gets anywhere.
In my opinion, there are two reasons why I don’t see this happening: 1) Why should the county take in the city with the city’s problems? 2) No alderman/alderwoman is willing to give up his/her position no matter how well this would benefit the region.
I wish it would happen as well, but from years of experience it probably won’t happen. The city has some stubborn aldermen/women. 🙁
Agree with ME about the merger. Too many people have too many fiefdoms to protect. Where else could they find their relative a job? Merge services on an incremental basis. Walk before you run. Date before you get married.
As for the police control, I put it at least at 50-50. The S & H Towing is going to blow up BIG TIME, prison sentences possible, and touch many people in the department. The state oversight structure will be called into question and Jeff City will ok letting it go. The above is speculation, but I don’t see a federal investigation going nowhere.
Charter reform, maybe, depends on what the ‘reform’ is. The election must be a high turnout election, fall ’08, that don’t let the fiefdoms dominate for reasons above.
Many things going on behind the Blue Curtain, city and county.
I thought I was dumb, but some of these responses make me think I’m not the only one. The mayor is not calling for a unification of the County’s municipalities with the city of St. Louis into one big city.
He’s calling for the city to reenter St. Louis County, while remaining a separate city. Call it the 100th municipality in St. Louis County. No city alderman would lose his/her job. Now the County office holders and their employees in St. Louis City? That’s a different story.
Once a part of St. Louis County, smaller mergers might be possible, just like the failed Clayton/Richmond Heights/Maplewood merger. Imagine a Maplewood/STL City merger. Or a STL City/Wellston Merger. Or best of all…imagine a Clayton/STL City merger !??
Okay, I guess I am pretty dumb 😉
I would like to see all three, but I’m not holding my breath . . .
merger hurdles: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MUNICIPAL_MERGERS_FLOL-?SITE=FLDAY&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT