Sunday Poll: Should We Reconsider Reducing The Board of Aldermen?

In November 2012 more than 130,000 city residents voted on Proposition R — the measure to reducer the size of the Board of Aldermen.

Turnout for that election was 74%, but nearly 14,000 voters skipped Prop R. Turnout for the proposition was 66.9%. The following explains 2012’s Prop R:

The 14 wards called for by Proposition R would be drawn after the 2020 census. The first election in the new wards would take place in 2023. Odd-numbered wards would start with two-year terms, while the Board president and even-numbered wards would run for a full four-year term from the beginning. (St. Louis Public Radio)

This is the basis for the today’s poll:

The poll is open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should The Electoral College Be Retained Or Ditched?

In Tuesday’s election Donald J. Trump exceeded the magical number of 270 electoral college votes, a simple majority of the 538 total. Why 538?

Each state has as many electors as it has senators and members of the House of Representatives, for a total of 538. (The District of Columbia gets three electors even though it has no representation in Congress.) (Source)

Thus, as states were added to our union, the total number of electoral college votes increased. U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa, do not get a vote in the presidential election.

• 50 states, each with 2 senators = 100
• 435 members of the house = 435
• District of Columbia = 3

Although President-Elect Trump exceeded 270 electoral college votes, Hilary Clinton received more total votes. Clinton received 59,938,290 votes to Trump’s 59,704,886 votes. 

Before Tuesday, the person who won the popular vote but didn’t win the presidency had occurred just four times:

1. In 1824 Andrew Jackson won the popular vote but got less than 50 percent of the electoral votes. John Quincy Adams became the next president when he was picked by the House of Representatives.
2. In 1876 Samuel Tilden won the popular vote but lost the election when Rutherford B. Hayes got 185 electoral votes to Tilden’s 184.
3. In 1888 Grover Cleveland won the popular vote but lost the election when Benjamin Harrison got 233 electoral votes to Cleveland’s 168.
4. In 2000 Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to George Bush. In the most highly contested election in modern history, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount of ballots, giving Bush the state’s 25 electoral votes for a total of 271 to Gore’s 255. (history.com)

I ask that when you vote on today’s question you don’t just base your answer on your satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the recent results:

This poll will remain open until 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Would You Reconfigure The Top Deck Of The Eads Bridge, How?

Last month I attended the celebration marking the completion of work on the Eads Bridge to give it another 75 years of life.

After posting a photo to Twitter & Facebook, a discussion began on Twitter about the configuration of the top deck — it’s currently four vehicle lanes with a pedestrian part on the Arch side (South).

Today’s non-scientific poll is an attempt to see if readers have a preference about reconfiguring the bridge, or keeping it as is. This poll required visuals:

For the purpose of this poll bicyclists were not given a separate bike lane, they could take a vehicle lane or use the pedestrian area — including bike lanes would’ve have added too many options. The poll below has the above configurations listed in the same order. An unsure was added at the bottom.

The poll will be open for 12 hours, closing at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

12th Anniversary of UrbanReviewSTL.com, No More Comments Section

Twelve years ago today I registered the domain UrbanReviewSTL.com and began writing. I stopped only when I was sedated for a few weeks following my February 2008 stroke. I originally started the blog as a distraction to my father’s recovery from a heart attack a month earlier. It worked — turns out it was just what I needed at that point in my life.

This blog has always been a way to help me express myself. I really enjoyed the first decade, but the last two years not so much.

I’ve blogged for 12 of my 26+ years living in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been a long time coming, but I’ve become very disillusioned with St. Louis — the entire region. My optimism has been replaced with skepticism. More than a century of doing the wrong thing has permeated the culture to the point of no return. A few months ago I stopped trying to convince the region to become more urban, more pedestrian-friendly. Harland Bartholomew did irreparable damage to the city & region.

My husband and I would like to move to another region, Chicago is our top pick at this point. However, financial reality may not enable us to do so. While a new mayor in 2017 is a reason to be hopeful, it’s not enough to get us to give up relocating elsewhere. Again, the region has been so mislead for decades — whomever is in room 200 isn’t going to change the region’s culture.

At the same time, the number of people commenting on the blog has decreased. Those who do comment frequently express the very views that represent the reasons why St. Louis won’t recover. I’ve argued with them before, but I’ve realized I’m just wasting my time doing so. However, I hate seeing their narrow views go unchallenged. Those who used to challenge them have also given up.

For a while I considered ending this blog today, I am spending more time working on writing fiction. Ending the blog completely would allow me to devote all my time to the various novels I have outlined. However, as we’ll still be living here until we can afford to move, I’ve decided to keep posting but to turn off the comments. They’ve increasingly gotten under my skin, distracting me.

Only a tiny percentage of viewers actually comment. Granted, some may come here to read the comments, but that’s also a small percentage. Besides, I haven’t checked my traffic in years — yes, years. Like that day 12 years ago, I’m writing for myself. I’m doing what I think is best for me. If others want to read what I write, great. If some are upset they can’t comment, they’re free to start their own blog where they can share differing views.

For the next two months, at least, I’ll continue posting four times per week:

• Sunday 8am: new poll
• Monday 5:45am: new post
• Wednesday 5:45am: results, discussion of recent poll
• Friday 5:45am: new board bills, other topics if no bills

I do hope the young people here will continue to fight for change. but I’ll be 50 in February — I’m tired of fighting for what I consider fundamentals.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Which Location Would You Pick For A Soccer Stadium?

The NFL has left, but major league soccer (MLS) is interested in St. Louis.

There are at least two potential MLS ownership groups in St. Louis.

They include Foundry St. Louis, which has already identified property at the northwest corner of Chouteau Avenue and Grand Boulevard for stadium development, and MLS2STL, whose representatives are adamant the stadium site should be downtown. (Post-Dispatch)

The downtown site would technically be in Downtown West — just West of Union Station.

So today’s non-scientific poll seeks to figure out where the readership thinks a dedicated soccer stadium is best placed, if at all. There are many pros & cons to both possible locations.

The poll will close at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson