Board of Aldermen

MarkGroth2020 · PostJun 07, 2022#9512022-06-07T22:33+00:00

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/lewis-reed-resigns-as-st-louis-aldermanic-president/article_72b38542-d3dd-56e4-a9af-872d0fe1a5a4.html

We have to do better:

"Alderman Joe Vollmer, who represents the 10th Ward encompassing the Hill neighborhood and nearby areas, said shortly after Reed’s announcement that he had spoken to Reed and would assume the role of acting board president.

Vollmer, the board's vice president, said he expected a smooth transition of power.
Vollmer will serve in that role until the Nov. 8 general election, when voters will pick someone to hold the post until Reed's current four-year term expires next April. Another election would be held then for the next four-year term."

Ebsy · PostJun 07, 2022#9522022-06-07T22:40+00:00

Can't help but hope that this is extremely fortuitous, and now we will be able to move on to a new smaller Board with new leadership. Let's hope that this can serve as a clean break for some of St. Louis' less savory political traditions.

quincunx · PostJun 07, 2022#9532022-06-07T22:58+00:00

PostJun 11, 2022#9542022-06-11T18:28+00:00

StlToday - At least four are eyeing campaigns for St. Louis aldermanic president

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/gov ... 82137.html

PostJun 11, 2022#9552022-06-11T19:58+00:00

Stl Public Radio - Why a slew of indictments could transform the St. Louis Board of Aldermen

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/podcast ... f-aldermen

dbInSouthCity · PostJun 14, 2022#9562022-06-14T13:21+00:00

Green is the first one officially in.

Coatar and Oldenburg need to flip a coin for which is going to run in November and which will be plan B next spring if plan A doesn't work
neither can win if both are in but if one is in for November he would be the favorite to win it

PostJun 15, 2022#9572022-06-15T15:47+00:00

Current campaign accounts
Coatar- $107,000
Oldenburg-$50,000
Green-$14,000
Spencer-$9,000

I suspect Mayor Jones will endorse Green soon

PostJun 16, 2022#9582022-06-16T01:46+00:00

Oldenburg is out
Coatar is in

symphonicpoet · PostJun 16, 2022#9592022-06-16T02:46+00:00

^That was quick.

Ebsy · PostJun 22, 2022#9602022-06-22T22:05+00:00

Will be very interesting if a black candidate does not run. With both Greene and Coatar being white a black candidate would have a very, very good chance of winning the primary.

Baltimore Jack · PostJun 23, 2022#9612022-06-23T15:08+00:00

Cara Spencer's thoughts on the special election for BOA Pres.

I’ve been asked many times over the last two weeks if I’m running for President of the Board. Our laws on filling such a vacancy are a mess. As of today, no one seems to know when or how an election can or should even take place. But one thing is certain - the outcome of a set of fall elections would be to elect someone to serve at the dias for just a couple of months before a required second set of elections this spring.

A special primary would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, be held on a random Tuesday - presumably in September, and have a filing period shorter than any in recent history (around 3 weeks), despite the fact that it would the first time a BOA presidential candidate would need to gather over a thousand signatures due to prop D – a challenge even for seasoned mayoral candidates last round.
I personally see no reason to hold a special election. Our current Charter says that a vacancy in the president of the board is filled by seniority - a process that has put Joe Vollmer in charge. He has done an excellent job to steady the ship, serving as our President in a refreshingly fair, unbiased and communicative manner.
This is no doubt a cluster - the result of a series ad hoc charter amendments and one off ordinances over decades and really underscores the need for thoughtful process of reviewing and adopting a new charter. In the coming weeks we will be hosting a public discussion on comprehensive citizen-lead reform through a Charter Commission bill sponsored by Annie Rice. I’ll be focused on re-envisioning how our city government should be organized to serve all of us. Would love to hear your thoughts on how we should move forward.

SB in BH · PostJun 23, 2022#9622022-06-23T16:07+00:00

Ebsy wrote: ↑
Jun 22, 2022
Will be very interesting if a black candidate does not run. With both Greene and Coatar being white a black candidate would have a very, very good chance of winning the primary.

Does this analysis still hold with the cumulative votes method, i.e. two people "win" the primary regardless? Seems like the new system should minimize the race factor but perhaps I'm missing something.

Is it fair to say that Greene v. Coatar is a good distillation of the two competing factions of the board? "Progressive v. Establishment," or maybe "Residents v. developers/business?" Is there a potential Black candidate who might split the difference ideologically? Does that framing even make sense?

Not rhetorical questions, I'm seriously not sure how best to think about it.

PostJun 23, 2022#9632022-06-23T16:16+00:00

^Good stuff from Ms. Spencer. Hoping this actually happens as its much overdue, although historically these kinds of broad reform measures (almost) always fail.

dbInSouthCity · PostJun 23, 2022#9642022-06-23T16:22+00:00

There wont be a serious Black candidate, you may get someone like Tyus but that will have no impact on Coatar vs Green as the 2 in November and Nov is the federal election so I expect it to be favorable to Coatar but if this was April 2023, i think Green would win.

Ebsy · PostJun 23, 2022#9652022-06-23T17:26+00:00

I guess my thought is that a black candidate would stand a very good chance of getting one of the runoff slots just by default, given the composition of the primary electorate. And if you end up with a white candidate and a black candidate in the runoff, you probably end up with predictable voting patterns.

dbInSouthCity · PostJun 23, 2022#9662022-06-23T17:46+00:00

Ebsy wrote: ↑
Jun 23, 2022
I guess my thought is that a black candidate would stand a very good chance of getting one of the runoff slots just by default, given the composition of the primary electorate. And if you end up with a white candidate and a black candidate in the runoff, you probably end up with predictable voting patterns.

I don't think so, Black 18+ population is significantly lower then white 18+ in the City and than you take it to registered to vote level and the gap is even higher and than in a low turnout it I expect the September electorate to be 67%-33 white.

PostJun 23, 2022#9672022-06-23T17:50+00:00

^ just looked it up, voting age City break down is

White: 48%
Black: 40%
Asian: 4.4%
others: 7.6%

City as a whole

White: 44% white
Black: 43%
Asian: 4%
others: 9%

I could also come close to figuring out what % of adults in each ward are registered to vote but its like an hour of time i dont want to waste.

chriss752 · PostJun 30, 2022#9682022-06-30T03:50+00:00

What is going on here? Cats are coming out of the bag for a bunch of aldermen, but this one involving Megan Green covering up a rape is by-far the worst.

Green's response doesn't do many favors and reads as a typical politician response to an "oh sh*t" situation.

SB in BH · PostJun 30, 2022#9692022-06-30T17:11+00:00

^Barf. Read the whole thread, found myself thinking only Vervus Jones has a sensible response--this is a matter for the courts, not a social media circular firing squad.

As a political matter, looks like the identarian left eating itself, as it so often does. If your politics is based on your personal identity and moral integrity, then you're setting yourself up for a character assassination, deserved or not.

STLEnginerd · PostJun 30, 2022#9702022-06-30T21:17+00:00

Just to be clear neither Green or Hill are accused of the crime. They are accused of being lazy rude and unhelpful. I'm not even clear whether that fair since by and large Green pretty much said yes give her the file and then was a little miffed when she drug her name into the ugliness. Not surprising a politician doesn't want to be sucked into this sort of thin.

Overall not a good look but its not criminally implicated by feds in a bribery and racketeering scheme bad. Its weird to me how much she wants to drag Green into this.

Also her (the victims) lawyer is pretty terrible. Literally could have met Hill at his office with a flash-drive in hand to get the recording.

dbInSouthCity · PostJun 30, 2022#9712022-06-30T22:07+00:00

(He isn't her lawyer, he is her husband)

STLEnginerd · PostJul 01, 2022#9722022-07-01T14:56+00:00

i was refering to victims lawyer (fixed)

Ebsy · PostJul 02, 2022#9732022-07-02T02:40+00:00

What exactly is Megan Green supposed to do about this? Seems like a matter for the police.

dbInSouthCity · PostJul 02, 2022#9742022-07-02T13:17+00:00

This isn't a criminal issue when it comes to Green, it's a moral and character issue. When the guy she was dating had access to evidence she took his side and called the victim a liar. If green was a normal resident, who cares but she isn't, she's an elected official and someone seeking higher office. Being complicit in a rape cover up is a major moral and character flaw

imran · PostJul 02, 2022#9752022-07-02T13:46+00:00

Doubt that anyone of us knows what really went down. We tend to speculate and create narratives about character and morals. It comes down to whether you trust someone to do the right things for the City or not.
A more objective way to assess the candidates, since both are current aldermen, is to build a profile of their voting record on past bills at the BOA.
That would tell us exactly who they are ( or have been)

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