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(by Kara Krekeler - July 06, 2010)
When voters go to the polls Aug. 3, they’ll be confronted with a slew of candidates vying for seats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and for statewide offices including state auditor.
But there are also several races taking place much closer to home, including a few that — because of St. Louis’ strong democratic base — will be decided in the primary. Here is a roundup of some of those local races.
State Senate, District 14
The race for the Missouri Senate’s 14th District is a tight one, with a former mayor and three state representatives — two of whom have reached their term limits — squaring off to replace Sen. Rita Heard Days.
Rep. Theodore “Ted” Hoskins of the 80th District, Rep. Don Calloway of the 71st District and Maria Chappelle-Nadal of the 73rd District are all vying for the Senate seat, along with former University City Mayor Joe Adams. There are no Republican or third-party candidates on the ballot, meaning that the race will be decided Aug. 3.
After 20 years on the University City council and 14 years as University City mayor, Joe Adams left the tumultuous city politics behind earlier this year to focus on his run for senator of the 14th District. But despite all his years in local politics, Adams said that he had never thought about running for an office in the state legislature until his colleagues in the county and state municipal leagues suggested that he run.
“I’m all about service,” Adams said. “I want to work for the citizens of the district, citizens of the St. Louis area and the citizens of Missouri.”
Adams cited job creation, health care and the economy as major concerns of the voters he’s spoken with. The solution for each of those problems, he said, comes from investing in people, through creating new incentives for businesses and young innovators to stay in the St. Louis area.
“We have to help people who are coming out of the universities. There’s nothing out there to help them start businesses and stay in Missouri,” Adams said. “Washington University, UMSL, St. Louis University: they all have people who are coming up with great innovative concepts, but they’re all leaving.”
Chappelle-Nadal has reached her term limit as representative of the 72nd House District, but said that she thinks the experience she got in the House will be an asset in dealing with the piles of bills that cross a senator’s desk each year. Democrats Richard Dockett, Sandi Colquitt and Rory Ellinger are all vying for her former seat.
“All the work I’ve done as a staffer or as a state representative requires a lot of energy and the ability to synthesize information quickly. That will come into play in the Senate because senators have to analyze thousands of bills every year,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “We need energy, we need people to voice their opinions and challenge the opposition in every way possible.”
Like Adams, Chappelle-Nadal said that most voters she’s talked with are concerned about bringing more quality jobs to Missouri. One thing that she said she thinks will help attract jobs is increasing Missouri’s profile in worldwide trade, particularly through the regional plan to create a Chinese air-cargo hub at Lambert International Airport. She also supports the planned North Park business development near the airport, which she said would help create more permanent jobs in the 14th District.
“With North Park and the China Hub, the 14th District will be at the forefront of economic development and job development,” Chappelle-Nadal said.
Chappelle-Nadal also said that, if elected, she plans on advocating for in-home care for senior citizens and fighting to make sure that any tax increases would be clearly defined as to what they would fund.
Unlike his opponents, Calloway has just two years of political experience under his belt. But he said he hopes that “fresh leadership” will appeal to voters. He also said that after being in the House for just two years, he feels like the Senate would allow him to get more done for his constituents.
“The Senate is where the majority of consensus-building, the real dialogue, the real idea-building goes on,” Calloway said. “I’m frustrated with the lack of open dialogue in the House. I’m frustrated with the stifling of debate that goes on in the House.”
If he succeeds in his bid for the Senate seat, Calloway said that he hopes to help build the economy in the district from the ground up, by helping public schools better prepare students for entrance into the workforce. To that end, he helped create an apprenticeship program that trains a group of Normandy High School juniors and seniors through the St. Louis Carpenters’ Union.
“You can talk about economic development and trying to attract businesses, but the schools have to prepare students to take advantage of those opportunities,” Calloway said, adding that, if elected, he does hope to create incentives for corporations to set up shop in the 14th District.
Hoskins did not return calls seeking comment for this article.
State Rep., District 73
Two districts are facing a somewhat unusual primary, thanks to a last-minute election last fall.
In November, former committeeman for the city’s 28th Ward Joe Keaveny was elected to the Senate’s Fourth District to fill out the term of Sen. Jeff Smith, who resigned in August 2009 after a campaign finance scandal (Smith’s now serving time in prison for that offense). In the House’s 73rd District, Stacey Newman was elected to finish Rep. Steve Brown’s term, after he resigned at the same time for his role in the same scandal.
Because Smith and Brown resigned late in August, there was no time to hold a primary, and Newman and Keaveny went directly to the general election after being chosen by local Democratic leaders. Less than a year later, both will take part in their first primaries for those seats.
Keaveny is facing a challenge from James H. Long in a race that will end with the primary; there are no Republican or third-party candidates.
Newman, however, is being challenged by Democrats Stephen Findley and Paul Kieselhorst, as well as Republican Daniel O’Sullivan, who she defeated in November’s general election.
Newman said while last year’s election was all about getting her name out there and getting people to the polls, this year’s campaign has given her more of a chance to talk about what she’s accomplished since joining the House last year.
“People are freer to ask me about specific bills and concerns, and I’m able to give more concrete answers,” she said.
Among the things she’s worked on in office are sponsoring or co-sponsoring bills that would require pharmacists to fill any legal prescription; would make illegal discrimination based on sexual orientation; and would enforce gender-based equal pay rules.
Newman said that, if re-elected, she hopes to work on ways to increase state revenue in the face of a tight budget.
“It’s not popular to talk about taxes, but we have to start talking about ways to really increase our revenue,” she said, citing increasing the cigarette sales tax and instituting an internet-based sales tax as ways to raise additional revenue. “Nobody really wants to start talking about what we’re going to cut next.”
Newman’s challenger Findley said that he’s ready for that challenge, however.
A member of the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School Board, Findley said that during his time on the board he’s come to realize how much decisions in Jefferson City affect the classrooms. He said that if elected, he’d like to re-evaluate the programs that are currently in place to stimulate the economy across the state.
“There’s no magic formula to fix unemployment, but in the state of Missouri we spend hundreds of millions of dollars on programs” that may or may not be working, Findley said. “I’d like to evaluate those programs and make sure they’re working. If they’re not, they can be repurposed, or retooled, or just cut so we can have that revenue for other purposes, like Parents as Teachers.”
Findley said he’d also like to work on restoring the funding to education at all levels that was cut from the budget earlier this year, noting that if the state has a better trained workforce, it will attract more employers.
The third Democrat on the ticket is Paul Kieselhorst, a machinist for Boeing who defines himself as the underdog in the race. Before working at Boeing, Kieselhorst spent a year unemployed after he lost his job in the auto industry, due to plant closures.
“I’m not a career politician, I haven’t held office before,” Kieselhorst said. “I’m just a working man who’s trying to make a difference in the community.”
Kieselhorst said he decided to run for office because he’s concerned about some of the legislation being passed in Jefferson City, particularly regarding unemployment benefits and supporting Missouri businesses. If elected, Kieselhorst said he would push “buy local, spend local” initiatives, as well as programs to promote green energy. Mostly, however, he said he’d just be an advocate for the 73rd District.
“What the community wants me to support, I’ll promote,” Kieselhorst said.
State Rep., District 64
This year brings an unexpected vacancy in the 64th House District, as Rep. Rachel Storch declined to seek re-election.
Storch has recently gone through some changes both professionally and personally: Last summer, after she was passed over for a nomination to replace Sen. Jeff Smith, Storch took on a job with the Democratic National Committee, giving her “super delegate” status during the 2012 election. And just before filing opened in March, Storch became engaged to a New York businessman, leading many to speculate that she pushed aside her political career to start a family.
Seven candidates are vying for her seat in the 64th District. On the Republican side, Patricia Verde is squaring off against Damien Johnson. Mark Robert Opheim is running alone in the Constitution Party primary.
But in a historically Democratic district, the main fight is between former St. Louis Public Schools board member Amy Hilgemann; Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood leader Daniel Schesch; attorney Susan Carlson; and former high school teacher and attorney David Leipholtz.
“When you have four people, it makes for a close race,” Hilgemann said. “Nobody’s going to run away with it.”
Hilgemann arguably has the best name-recognition of the 64th District candidates, having spent four years on the tumultuous St. Louis Public Schools board of education from 2001 to 2005.
She said she’s running for the 64th District now because she’s disappointed in how the school district is faring under a state-run board — she called it “worse than when I was on the board” — and she’s seen that voters share that concern.
“Going door to door, all the people are concerned about the St. Louis Public Schools,” she said. “I want to funnel that concern into action.”
Hilgemann said she’d like to see more social workers in schools to help deal with the at-home problems that prevent kids from learning, as well as a district ombudsman to work with parents who have concerns about their children. Those things, as well as teacher performance, could be tied to the state funding process, she said.
Hilgemann also said that, if elected, she plans on working to ensure that future budget cuts don’t put too much stress on local governments. She said she’d also fight for historic tax credits, which she said help stimulate development.
“We can’t be making cuts that will depress the economy more,” Hilgemann said. “I know we’ve only begun to do the budget cutting, but it has to be done in a careful, thoughtful way. We need to minimize the damage that’s coming our way.”
While Hilgemann has the name recognition, Carlson has the endorsement of Storch. A longtime Democratic committeewoman, Carlson said she entered the race at Storch’s suggestion. “When Rachel decided she wasn’t going to run and I wasn’t too excited about the other candidates, Rachel said I should think about it,” Carlson said.
Carlson said that many of the concerns she’s heard from voters stem from the recent cuts to the state budget. While she admitted that the state budget will likely face further cuts, Carlson said that, if elected, she would work to bring a bigger piece of the state’s transportation funds into the St. Louis area, particularly for public transit.
Carlson said she’d also fight to keep historic tax credits and other similar programs on the books; the program was in danger of being cut back severely during the spring legislative session but avoided that fate.
“I want to focus on keeping those tax credits that allow people to keep their property up and make capital investments,” she said. “Any tax incentives that are good for [small] businesses keep jobs in the core of the city, which keeps the tax base strong.”
A longtime Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood leader and co-founder of Bridges Across Racial Polarization, Schesch said that he’s running for the 64th District because he thinks he’d be able to help cross the barriers — both between political parties and urban and rural representatives — that exist in the Missouri legislature, and in doing so, increase the profile of St. Louis area representatives.
“I believe I can go to Jefferson City and get to know representatives from all over the state,” Schesch said. “I’d like to go visit other districts and identify common ground. I want to be able to find things we can work on together.”
Schesch said he’d also like to make the legislative process more transparent, and get constituents more involved in vetting the legislation that affects them. To do that, Schesch said he plans on creating a website at his own expense that would have both extensive information on bills and ways for constituents to comment on the bills.
“This district has a lot of diversity and a lot of people with expertise in different fields,” Schesch said. “They could help me look at legislation as I inform them. It would help me be a more effective legislator.”
Schesch also said that, if elected, he would focus on creating state standards for charter schools and improving public schools, as well as working on ways to expand the skilled work force in the district.
Leipholtz said that he was inspired to run for office by his experience working in the Lindbergh School District. Lindbergh participates in the voluntary desegregation program, which Leipholtz said opened his eyes to the disparity between the city schools and districts in the county.
Solidifying the St. Louis Public Schools would be a big step toward improving the prospects of St. Louis as a whole, Leipholtz said, since while many young people move into the city to start their careers, several move back out to the county five or six years later when they have kids.
“The schools affect neighborhood businesses, property values and just how solid a neighborhood is,” Leipholtz said.
If elected, Leipholtz said he plans on being easily accessible to the citizens of the 64th District, something he said is necessary at this level of government. “People want access,” he said. “They don’t want someone to just handle the legislation. They want someone to be an advocate for the 64th District.”
Other local races
At the county level, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley is up for re-election, and is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Affton resident Ronald E. Levy, who has long fought for reducing property taxes. Meanwhile, Bill Corrigan and Nick Farrace are squaring off in the Republican primary, and Theo “Ted” Brown Sr. is running as a Libertarian.
On the county council, in District 5, councilwoman Barbara Fraser is leaving to seek the 24th Senate District seat left open by Joan Bray, who has been term-limited out. Fraser is running against Sam Page and Helen Steele Burton in the Democratic primary; whoever wins will face off against Republican John Lamping in November. He’s running unopposed in the Republican primary.
Meanwhile, Democrats Pat Dolan and Terri Williams are duking it out for the open District 5 County Council seat. Whoever wins will face Republican Randy Jotte in the November election.
Incumbent County Councilwoman Hazel Erby is running uncontested in District 1.
Robert McCulloch is running uncontested for prosecuting attorney for the county.
In the city of St. Louis, Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly, License Collector Michael McMillan and Recorder of Deeds Sharon Quigley Carpenter are all running unopposed. Circuit Clerk Mariano Favazza, meanwhile, faces a challenge to his position by Jane Schweitzer. All of those running in St. Louis city are Democrats.
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