(St. Louis Public Radio) – Better Together is withdrawing its effort to merge St. Louis and St. Louis County through a statewide initiative petition, instead focusing its efforts on trying to get only city and county residents to approve its plan.
“We’re going to study what changes in the law are needed to enable the voters of the city and county to make the reforms they need and support,” said Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton, who has been spearheading the effort, in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
Merger proponents said they needed to pursue a statewide vote in order to merge police departments and municipal courts. The announcement Tuesday is a major shift for a proposal that’s effectively united Democrats and Republicans in opposition, primarily because of the prospect of a statewide vote.
The Better Together plan would have a “metro government” oversee what is now St. Louis and St. Louis County. That government would be in charge of public safety, economic development and infrastructure needs for the 1.3 million people that encompass the city and county.
The proposal faced fierce criticism even before it was officially unveiled in late January. Detractors from across the political spectrum objected to taking the proposal to the statewide ballot, especially since that meant the merger could still be implemented even if city and county voters rejected it.
It also faced substantial opposition from African American political leaders. Many contended creating a majority white voting jurisdiction would make it difficult for a black candidate to be elected mayor, assessor or prosecutor.
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson tweeted that she asked Better Together to pause the petition effort, writing: “With the turmoil in the county, now is not the time. I believe fragmentation limits progress for our residents & I continue to support a city/county merger. We can revisit this in the future.”
Newly appointed County Executive Sam Page also issued a statement regarding the decision. His full statement reads as follows:
Better Together’s proposal sparked a conversation about how our region’s governments could be reformed. That’s an important conversation, and one that we should continue.
I appreciated Better Together’s contribution to the dialogue but I had several serious reservations about the group’s proposal. Among my concerns was the statewide vote. I believe any change to government in the City and the County should be up to City and County voters.
I am encouraged that Better Together pulled its proposal today. It shows they’re listening. I hope that future efforts at reform will be built from the ground up, engaging community leaders, the African-American community, the Municipal League and other stakeholders.”
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/better-together-pull-city-county-merger-plan-aim-local-vote-instead-statewide
