Candidates in March 5, 2019 Primary

The March 5th partisan primary is coming up in less than a month, so I wanted you to begin thinking about voting. Typically when we go to the polls the worker will ask which ballot you want (non-partisan, Green, Republican, Democratic, etc). Next month only those in the 6th Ward will be asked. Why?  One Green candidate is running for President of the Board of Aldermen, one Republican is running for 6th Ward Alderman (MICHAEL J. HEBRON, SR.).  Because the Green Party received less than 2% of the vote in the last gubernatorial election Jerome Bauer will automatically appear on the April 2nd general election ballot.

There are no ballot questions and only even-numbered wards are electing aldermen, so those of us in odd-numbered wards will only have to vote for the President of the Board of Aldermen.

The following in all caps is taken from the sample ballot.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATES

FOR PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN: curious to see who wins this rave. Prediction: will NOT be Jimmie Matthews

• JAMILAH NASHEED
• MEGAN ELLYIA GREEN
• LEWIS REED
• JIMMIE MATTHEWS

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 2

• LISA MIDDLEBROOK
• THOMAS BRADLEY

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 4

• SAMUEL L. MOORE
• ROBERT DILLARD
• LEROY CARTER
• EDWARD MCFOWLAND

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 6: Incumbents generally don’t get 3 primary challengers, the only ward that will face a challenger in April

• CHRISTINE INGRASSIA
• CEDRIC REDMON
• DEBRA CARNAHAN
• HENRY GRAY

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 8

• ANNIE LEE RICE
• EMMETT L. COLEMAN

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 10

• JOSEPH [JOE] VOLLMER
• PAT HICKEY

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 12

• LARRY ARNOWITZ
• DERRICK NEUNER
• CASSANDRA [CASSIE] DECLUE

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 14

• CAROL J. HOWARD
• TONY PECINOVSKY

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 16: unchallenged incumbent

• THOMAS ROBERT OLDENBURG

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 18: Longtime 18th Ward Ald. Terry Kennedy isn’t running for reelection, so you’ve got a 5-way race to fill the seat. Kennedy was first sworn into office on April 18, 1989.

• JESSE TODD
• JEFFERY HILL, JR.
• DARRYL GRAY
• JUDITH ARNOLD
• ELMER OTEY

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 20

• CARA SPENCER
• SATIA [SUNNI] HUTTON

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 22

• TONYA FINLEY-MCCAW
• JEFFREY L. BOYD

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 24: two-term Ald. Scott Ogilvie isn’t running for a 3rd term, so five candidates are running. Ogilvie easily defeated Tom Bauer in the 2011 general election.

• LORIE CAVIN
• BRET NARAYAN
• TERI POWERS
• DANNY SAMPLE
• TOM BAUER

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 26: Longtime Ald. Frank Williamson resigned to take a job in the Treasurer’s office, he has been in office since April 15, 2003. Candidate Jake Banton is a licensed architect!

• LEATA C. PRICE-LAND
• SHAMEEM CLARK HUBBARD
• JAKE BANTON

FOR ALDERMAN WARD 28

• HEATHER B. NAVARRO: unchallenged incumbent

Please be sure to vote!

— Steve Patterson

Last Meeting of St. Louis Board of Aldermen Before Spring Elections

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their 31st meeting of the 2018-2019 session. This is their last meeting before the March 5th primary and April 2nd general.

Since no new bills could get through the process before the end of the 2018-2019 session, there are no new bills being introduced. Today’s agenda includes a long list of bills that will likely get passed and sent to the mayor for her signature.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2018-2019 session.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 30 of 2018-2019 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their 30th meeting of the 2018-2019 session. This is the first full board meeting of 2019.

Today’s agenda includes four (4) new bills covering a wide variety of issues:

• B.B.#233 – Arnowitz – An Ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of the Department of Human Services, to accept funding in an amount not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) from the OASIS Institute and to enter into and execute agreements with the OASIS Institute in substantially the same form as Exhibit A and Exhibit B, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, for the purpose of providing two fall prevention programs for older adults; appropriating said funds and authorizing the Director of the Department of Human Services, upon approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, to expend such funds as permitted by the agreements; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#234 – Arnowitz – An Ordinance authorizing and directing the Director of the Department of Human Services, to enter into and execute an agreement in substantially the same form as Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, with the Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging (MA4) for the purpose of providing certain home and community based services in an amount not to exceed seventeen thousand dollars ($17,000); appropriating said funds and authorizing the Director of the Department of Human Services, upon approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, to expend such funds as permitted by the agreement; and containing an emergency clause.
• B.B.#235 – Kennedy – An ordinance amending Section One of Ordinance 67588, to exclude those blocks of N. Kingshighway Blvd. between Delmar Blvd. and Wells Avenue from the Eighteenth Ward Liquor Control District.
• B.B.#236 – Roddy – An ordinance recommended by the Board of Public Service to conditionally vacate above surface, surface and sub- surface rights for vehicle, equestrian and pedestrian travel in a section of Spring beginning approximately 445 feet south of Forest Park and continuing southwardly 30 feet to its terminus at Market/Interstate 64 in the City.

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2017-2018 session — the new bills listed above may not be online right away.

— Steve Patterson

Opinion: We Must Invest Beyond The Central Corridor

From the early days to St. Louis’ founding in 1764, being up from the Mississippi River was a good thing. Namely, those who spread along the banks north & south of the original spot were subject to flooding. Those uphill from the center weren’t subject to floods.

Following the cholera epidemic and fire in 1849, wealthy citizens became convinced that it was no longer desirable to live in downtown St. Louis. James Lucas and his sister Anne Lucas Hunt soon offered a solution. They developed the idea of the “Place,” a neighborhood with deed restrictions that ensured it remained apart from the city and general population. The main thoroughfare was aptly called Lucas Place. Originally Lucas Place (now Locust Street) extended between 13th and 16th streets when the city limits were just one block to the west between 17th and 18th streets. When established, Lucas Place was west of the developed portion of the city, making it St. Louis’ first “suburban” neighborhood.

Lucas priced the lots so that only the wealthy could afford the live there. He also built restrictions into the deeds so that the properties could not be used for commercial purposes. (Campbell House Museum)

As the city’s population ballooned Lucas Place was no longer the desirable location it once was, so the wealthy moved further west.

Originally, the streets around the intersection of Lindell and Grand featured row after row of stately houses, mansions, and even a private street. By the late 19th century, the area had become the wealthiest neighborhood in the city, home to some the most important members of St. Louis society.

Sitting west of the central city and along major streetcar routes, Midtown proved highly desirable to those fleeing the coal-fueled pollution further east. Sitting on a hill, upwind from the central city, the neighborhood began to receive the accouterments befitting its tony status in St. Louis. Vandeventer Place, a private street on the northern edge of the neighborhood, served as the crown jewel of the rapidly expanding area.

Platted by the famous German-American surveyor Julius Pitzman, Vandeventer Place exacted strict obedience from the affluent homeowners who purchased plots along its regal tree-lined boulevard. The new mansions that filled the private street conformed to rigid design and expense requirements that only the wealthiest industrialists in St. Louis could afford. Interestingly, the governance of the street required unanimous votes to change the street’s charter. (St. Louis Magazine)

The Central West End was next, and this continues today. Reinvestment has been seen throughout this “Central Corridor” for a few decades now. As North St. Louis continues to hallow out, we’re seeing North St. Louis County experience devastating disinvestment. With typical suburban development patterns, North St. Louis County is a very large area. It still has nice neighborhoods, but the signs of change are all around. Take Spanish Lake, for example:

When three nearby Shop ‘n Save stores closed in November, it left shoppers fewer options and created what the USDA classifies as a food desert.

Spanish Lake is in the northeast corner of unincorporated St. Louis County. The cities of Florissant and Ferguson are on its west side; the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers are on the east.

The population is just under 20,000 and has been shrinking for decades, while the poverty rate has increased.

Until recently, Spanish Lake residents had several options for grocery shopping. Three Shop ‘n Save stores located along the western edge of the community provided easy access to fresh, affordable produce. (St. Louis Public Radio)

Those who’ve been on the fence about moving elsewhere are going to reconsider. I can’t say that North St. Louis County has reached a tipping point, but it feels like it’s close.

The recent non-scientific Sunday Poll was about reinvesting in areas north & south of the Central Corridor.

Q: Agree or disagree: St. Louis’ “Central Corridor” (West from Arch) has always been a high priority, areas North & South should just accept this.

• Strongly agree: 2 [6.06%]
• Agree: 6 [18.18%]
• Somewhat agree: 3 [9.09%]
• Neither agree or disagree: 2 [6.06%]
• Somewhat disagree: 3 [9.09%]
• Disagree: 9 [27.27%]
• Strongly disagree: 8 [24.24%]
• Unsure/No Answer: 0 [0%]

No, we should not accept this. We can’t afford, as a region, to write off huge areas. Unfortunately, I think the regional pattern was set long before any of us were born. That’s not to say we can’t rethink our approach. I just don’t see the leadership or willpower to take on the change that would be necessary.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis Board of Aldermen: New Board Bills Week 29 of 2018-2019 Session

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will meet at 10am today, their 29th meeting of the 2018-2019 session.

Two bills were introduced last week that weren’t on version 1 or 2 of that agenda.  See BB 220 (Redevelopment Plan for 5467-5559 Delmar) and BB 221 (Redevelopment Plan for 5539-5551 Pershing)

Today’s agenda includes ten (10) new bills covering a wide variety of issues:

The meeting begins at 10am, past meetings and a live broadcast can be watched online here. See list of all board bills for the 2017-2018 session — the new bills listed above may not be online right away.

— Steve Patterson