urbanSTL

That seems like an out-of-character response for you, NN. All I mean by that is, usually you're preaching getting involved instead of sitting on the sidelines.

That's exactly what being an alderman would be doing, even if you have to jump through hoops to ultimately accomplish the things you want.

Scott Ogilvie gave a FANTASTIC presentation at a Pecha Kucha last year that targeted the young audience and encouraged them to get involved, and not just in generalities. He wants people to want to be alderman. That's how things get changed.

He convinced me. I've had a couple of exchanges with him as my motivation and time has come and gone trying to get an idea of what it would take. I don't know if it will ultimately be in the cards for me. I need to settle in an area of the city, and that area may or may not already have a very good alderman. But it's something I'm extremely interested in.

I know it'd come with a lot of headaches, and I couldn't just snap my fingers and get things done. But it sure seems like the most direct route currently available to make an impact.

For your viewing pleasure, the above referenced PK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oKcYMzXy6Y

Scott Ogilvie

- Regarding the 13th ward special election - any challenger to Murphy would have to run as either an independent or republican. In special elections the party committees chose the party nominee, (which will be Murphy in this case). In other news, the 13th Ward Democratic Committeewoman position will also probably be opening up - another position someone could run for.

Too bad there isn't some sort of system for tracking the performance of aldermen in terms of the maintenance or improving of the quality of life in their wards.

Not a direct correlation, but certainly census data, land/property values, crime statistics, business licenses, investment, public improvements, et al give provide a strong picture of a neighborhood or Ward's growth and improvement. Using an alderman's term (or terms) as a guidepost, you can probably see which way he or she has affected the district, generally speaking.

The other part, then, is communication from the constituents themselves. And if you can get a decent sample size from the voting bloc, then my guess is the alderman's doing alright, since an active, interested constituency is a by-product of an active, interested alderman.

Personally, I've given more thought to an aldermanic position than I should probably admit. Working in the Chamber of Commerce world, a LOT of what I do is similar to what an alderman works on in the day-to-day (though, admittedly, in a much smaller footprint/capacity). I'm very eager to see the chaos ensue when the aldermanic reduction takes affect and what leaders and ward maps shake out as a result!

(though, I must admit, I have my misgivings about the ward reduction bill...)

I wonder how young politicians would change things in St. Louis? The NPR story already shows the same old division, with places like St. Charles and Jeff Co. being fertile ground for producing a fresh crop of young GOP electeds.

So what about STL City? Lots of young guns in the city. As a one-party town, how does the political landscape change with younger politicians setting the agenda?

Do priorities change? Do budget priorities change? As actual city residents, what would we see in terms of change?

I'd suggest that priorities do change. That's really what it's about in the city. Priorities not policy.

I'm not against Mayor Slay, but do you think he cares about biking and public transit? He'll tell you he understands the importance, but at the end of the day, it's not really important TO HIM. To a new generation of politicians, it may be.

That's just one example, but surely there are others as well.

Totally disagree. Slay is not in favor of bikes and public transit? Where in the world do you get that impression? Slay is a health nut.

My sense is this: politicians are great at working on big things, but have a hard time with the small stuff.

As a resident of the city, we don't feel much of either.

The small stuff never changes (i.e. snow removal gripes), and the big stuff, we don't feel (i.e. the redevelopment of Paul McKee's Northside).

Snow will always be a hassle. And when McKee develops Northside, 90% of the city won't feel it.

So in terms of a legislative agenda, where's the change? A different tone perhaps? Probably, but in terms of on the ground reforms, what would they be? Seriously!

Northside Neighbor wrote:With those endorsements, she's a shoe-in.

Not sure why anyone would want to be an alderman, though, in STL City. It must be for the status, the parties, and the pension.

The job itself is a pain. And the 13th Ward is no picnic.

Not so much.

What? I live in this ward. It actually is a picnic. Do you even know what you're talking about?

Do you even know what you're talking about?

What about the NE part of the ward, east of where the RR tracks cross Bates, Eichelberger and Delor?

There have been some improvements there, but the area could use a lot more.

Northside Neighbor wrote:Totally disagree. Slay is not in favor of bikes and public transit? Where in the world do you get that impression? Slay is a health nut.

I didn't say he's not in favor of them, I said they're not really important to him. Perhaps I'm incorrect about the biking if he's a health nut as you say.

But I do not get the impression public transit is a major priority of his. He thinks we should have it. He does little things to support it. But it's not a key issue to him. At least he hasn't demonstrated this.

In any case, my point wasn't really about the specific believes of a single politician, but rather that there are differences in priorities amongst generations. And that's why it does matter that a new wave is coming in, whether it's the same party or not.

jstriebel wrote:

Northside Neighbor wrote:Totally disagree. Slay is not in favor of bikes and public transit? Where in the world do you get that impression? Slay is a health nut.

I didn't say he's not in favor of them, I said they're not really important to him. Perhaps I'm incorrect about the biking if he's a health nut as you say.

But I do not get the impression public transit is a major priority of his. He thinks we should have it. He does little things to support it. But it's not a key issue to him. At least he hasn't demonstrated this.

In any case, my point wasn't really about the specific believes of a single politician, but rather that there are differences in priorities amongst generations. And that's why it does matter that a new wave is coming in, whether it's the same party or not.

Have you ever considered that your perception may not be reality?

You're aware that studies are in work for Metro expansion to better service the region, right? What about funding for housing near Metro stops that the Mayor among other advocates are supporting?

Years ago I worked with the Mayor's office and persuaded them to integrate Metro's schedule with Google Transit. Mayor Slay contacted the head of Metro at the time to discuss this issue. Maybe 6 months later, it was implemented.

Are you aware of the Mayor and other advocates are advancing a bike sharing initiative? Alderman Ogilvie is working hard with others on building a cycling velodrome. I presume he's working within the system to get this done.

There's a Vanguard cabinet supported by the Mayor's office comprised of a diverse set of urbanists where many interests are discussed and plans developed -- including cycling, transit, etc... I don't know how active it is at the moment, but I know it's there.

Is the establishment out of touch? Say what you will, but whereas you say that cycling and Metro aren't priorities, I've shared various policies or actions advancing them. Are you basing your opinion on informed research or just your perception bias against the establishment? Shrugs...

Over time I've noticed a tendency among some young urbanists that see the establishment as out of touch. Maybe some are and some aren't. Instead of just complaining about issues you're passionate about, why not become active and work within the system/groups to advance them? Instead, many just complain and end up burning out over time. On the other hand, there are pragmatic urbanists that see problems/opportunities and actually WORK toward solutions instead of just grousing. Many become alderman and some become activists in various domains (preservation, transit, etc).

In the end, it's a personal choice. Rant for the day complete.

Absolutely. I think we're all posting about our perceptions to get to the reality. That's the idea of discussion.

Again, my intent wasn't to hammer down on Mayor Slay, who I like. It was to illustrate the differences between generations. They certainly do exist.

I'm more than aware that Mayor Slay has supported certain initiatives. As I noted, I know he's in favor of biking and public transit. At issue (and really, not at issue, but what I said) was that I didn't believe it was a major priority of his. I'd still stand by that, although as you say, I could be wrong. But if I am, I still wish he were more public in his advocacy.

As far as the Vanguard and getting involved and what not. I've met with Patrick Brown, Slay's younger leader of the Vanguard cabinet. I've expressed interest. But it is NOT active right now. I was told it'd be re-organized and re-launched soon. That hasn't happened. Even Brown, who's obviously a big advocate of Slay, noted that one of the reasons a Vanguard is needed and could be beneficial is that Mayor Slay DOES have different priorities than many of the younger citizens. He recognizes it and wants to serve those people, but that doesn't mean he shares the priorities. Specifically noted was walkable neighborhoods.

So I don't think I'm wrong to come away with the perception that Mayor Slay has different priorities than a lot of younger citizens. He's made an effort to support the priorities of his constituents, but I don't believe that's the same as making them his own priorities.

It was never a complaint anyways. It was a response to whether there would be any difference between a new generation of politicians within the same party.

I'm always on the lookout for ways to be involved. And I certainly hope Mayor Slay does restart the Vanguard cabinet soon. If your perception is that I only complain and don't act, that also may not be reality.

jstriebel wrote:I'm always on the lookout for ways to be involved. And I certainly hope Mayor Slay does restart the Vanguard cabinet soon. If your perception is that I only complain and don't act, that also may not be reality.

Sounds productive. Mainly I wanted to point out the various policies and actions supporting mass transit and cycling that you stated weren't priorities. I wasn't making judgments about anyone specific being an incessant complainer -- just speaking in generalities.

I understand, and I'm definitely glad to learn more about what Mayor Slay has done. It's not always easy to get a grasp of what politicians support if they're not being vocal about it.

Being vocal is where I guess I'm really noting what seems to be a priority or not, but clearly he does support this things, regardless of where they'd rank on his list of priorities.

(Note: I know Slay will toss a tweet out every so often about the Bike Share or Metro but not necessarily specifics about his vision.)

My bad for turning this into a discussion of Slay's views, I suppose. Never really the intention.

If Slay doesn't have walkability as one of his priorities then what does he do for the 20 hours a day he works. He can't free up 1 hour a week to discuss making STL more walkable?

downtown2007 wrote:If Slay doesn't have walkability as one of his priorities then what does he do for the 20 hours a day he works. He can't free up 1 hour a week to discuss making STL more walkable?

See, this is where I didn't mean to take this.

Neither my point, nor Patrick Brown's* point, was NOT that Mayor Slay doesn't support walkable neighborhoods or that he's against developments that make them that way.

Only that HIS lifestyle isn't centered around it. It's not his #1 thing. It's not how he lives.

The last thing I meant to imply was that Slay is anti-biking, anti-public transit, or anti-walkability. I think it's quite the opposite. I just don't think these are his top 3 priorities. But I DO believe he spends parts of his day working on all these.

I'm not so behind Mayor Slay that I wouldn't consider another candidate when challengers arise, but I like Mayor Slay. I do believe he supports the things that matter to me.

* - I don't want to be putting word's in Patrick Brown's mouth. I recall this bit of our discussion, but this isn't a direct quote from him.

EIFOS

everyone is full of *hit

live by that credo and you'll never be surprised!

I wanted to like her but I jumped ship as soon as she came out in support of the NLEC. She also came across as very disingenuous at our neighborhood meetings. Could have been a bad read my me, but it was the way I felt.

Either way she obviously didn't always have the best intentions. These things don't happen by accident. Just like Bosley Sr didn't accidentally send a letter to his constituents asking them to pay for his daughters tuition. Just like Bosley Jr. didn't accidentally fleece the ZMD in a crooked land deal. When it comes to crooked politicians I'm never surprised but I'm always disturbed.

I worked with her a bit during Lucas Park improvements and recall her tacit support of NLEC. She always seemed very image conscious and was featured in Oprah's O Magazine and Ebony Magazine. Perhaps the pressure to keep up her image contributed to the now obvious sense of entitlement which led to the misappropriation of campaign funds.

What's unsettling is that she only has to pay $10,000 of the $100,000 fine within 45 days and she's off scot-free. That's much less than the nearly $20,000 she stole (misappropriated) from her contributors. If I understand it correctly, Missouri appears to reward political thieves?

I personally have a hard time trusting people that are so self-involved and when I read about the news, wasn't overly surprised. Whatever the case, this has the added appearance of hypocrisy as her platform has been so firmly rooted in Christian ethics. But hey, everyone makes mistakes and hopefully she can genuinely redeem herself.

http://inspiredoverflow.com/about-us/
Through her accomplished professional career, Kacie remains a woman of deep faith and conviction. She donates her time through a speaking ministry, Inspired Overflow, where she offers inspirational and motivational messages to youth groups, churches, non-profits, and corporate organizations. Her passion is to help others find their true purpose and live life to their utmost potential.

^ Remember, this is politics. In reality, she's likely only sorry she got caught.

So why did her statement appear to go above and beyond? Because she portrays herself as a devout Christian and had to firmly address her thievery, lest she appear in a worse light.

Sociopaths offer great apologies too, and many are politicians. Yeah, I'm cynical about politics.

When i read about Ms.Star i was shocked to be honest, But then i wasn't surprised by it. In a way i feel bad for her being caught up in the moments of greediness at the same time she just pretty much ruined her on reputation.. Im glad she admitted and came clean about it. We all mess up i truly hope she learned something valuable ..

Beth Murphy won the 13th Ward seat today.