St. Louis County Executive Sam Page hit the road early Tuesday to speak with voters in line early after casting his own ballot at First Church of Christ Scientist. During a stop at Parkway West High School, he spoke about how the country needs to get back to productive political dialogue.
“The cultivation of animosity and confrontation at the national level really just spilled over and it’s taken away from a lot of the debate about a lot of the issues that are important to us,” he said. “… It’s hard to have those complicated conversations if it just boils down to an exchange of insults. We don’t need that in our country, we need to get back to a time where we all sat down and had honest conversations about moving this country forward.”
Page also said early voting is trending across the country, but noted Missouri is behind that movement and needs to catch up in order to engage as many voters as possible.
“It’s easier for folks to vote and whenever more people vote it’s always better for our community. More people participating in the conversation is better for the community and that’s what voting is. It’s a chance to participate in the conversation. It’s my hope that folks will understand how easy early voting is, how smooth it is and there will be more political pressure to make it easier in Missouri.”
Page was appointed interim St. Louis County executive by his colleagues on the County Council in April 2019, shortly before Steve Stenger pleaded guilty to corruption charges in May 2019. He was approved by county voters in the August Democratic primary with 38.1% of the vote.
The county executive has worked to implement COVID-19 safety procedures despite pushback. He vetoed two bills last week passed by the County Council 4-3 that would have put time limits on his authority during an emergency and on public health restrictions during this coronavirus pandemic.
The council upheld his veto after a 3-3 vote to override the executive’s actions.
“As people of faith, it was our prayer that the St. Louis County Council would have done the right thing by placing the safety of our citizens above politics and vote down bills 222 and 223,” Bishop Elijah Hankerson, president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, told the St. Louis American last week.
Page is not hosting an election night party, but does plan to deliver a speech via Facebook Live.