The 8th Ward’s two committeemen are vying to get their names on the Democratic ballot in St. Louis city’s Feb. 13 special election to replace former alderman Steve Conway. Conway, who held the position for 27 years, vacated his seat recently after the mayor appointed him as city assessor.
At a Tuesday, Dec. 19 meeting, the city’s Democratic Central Committee will decide between Committeemen Annie Rice and Paul Fehler for the Democratic nomination.
Both candidates are considerably more progressive than Conway, and both were elected as committeemen in the August 2016 primary. Both said they are passionate about addressing the city’s racial segregation and disparate distribution of city resources between North and South St. Louis.
It seems the big difference between the two is not philosophy but style.
Rice is a civil rights and immigration lawyer who has been active in the Black Lives Matter movement and can be often seen at Board of Aldermen meetings participating in the legislative process. She is also regularly present at the neighborhood association meetings. She serves on the board of The MICA (Migrant and Immigrant Community Action) Project, the largest regional nonprofit that provides legal services to immigrants.
Fehler is a data analyzer who has been working the For the Sake of All public health project to research inclusionary zoning, a hot topic among progressive voters who criticize the city’s tax incentive practices. He produced the documentary “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth,” and is passionate about St. Louis history. Fehler doesn’t make it to City Hall much, but he was previously the vice president of Shaw Neighborhood Improvement Association, and currently serves as chairman of its public safety committee.
Conway said as a civil servant, he is not allowed to endorse either candidate. However, Conway has attacked Rice on social media for her activism in the Black Lives Matter movement, and he said he’s worked with Fehler at the neighborhood association for a long time.
When asked how she differs from Conway, Rice said the 8th Ward has shown that it is “more outward thinking than the necessarily has been represented by the previous alderman.”
“We are voting in a way that shows me that we know that the growth of this city needs the growth of all of us,” Rice said. “Things that affect the 8th Ward affect the 4th Ward and the 5th Ward.”
Fehler said one thing that he and Conway “agreed soundly” about is the importance of constituent services and quality of life – though they were from two different “political generations.”
“Fixing the dumpster, filling the pothole, this is what they have come to expect, and constituent services is a big part on how we would help our neighbors,” Fehler said.
Rice said she would approach constituent services differently. She would try to make more use of the Citizen Service Bureau for minor issues facing the residents, which would help free up time she could spend on drafting legislation.
“If we don’t use the Citizen Service Bureau, then they aren’t actively tracking the needs and can’t allocate resources to strengthen it,” Rice said. “There is something to be said for citizen empowerment. I don’t want to have to be a gatekeeper. I don’t want to be the one solely deciding whether someone’s dumpster gets picked up.”
However, she said she would always answer residents’ concerns about services.
Fehler seemed less confident about introducing legislation than Rice, but said he “would have the advisement of a great many people who are topical experts.”
The two committeemen recently differed on passing the Prop P sales tax increase. Rice voted against the 8th Ward organization endorsing it, and Fehler voted in favor. The 8th Ward organization ultimately supported Prop P.
“I support the raising money to help us have firefighters and police have a competitive raise,” Fehler said. “I had issue with it being a regressive tax.”
Rice said police and firefighters deserve more pay, but she didn’t support the sales tax as a means to achieve this goal because it would hurt the city’s most vulnerable residents the most.
When asked how he differs from his opponent, Fehler said that he’s built “strong working relationships” throughout all areas of the city and, “I would have an easier time passing progressive legislation because of this.”
Secondly, he said has better prepared himself for providing constituent services. “When you elect an alder, you pick a legislator, of course,” Fehler said, “but in this city you are also selecting the one person who will have the single greatest impact on you and your family’s overall quality of life. For a ward to truly prosper, the person you elect must bring their ‘A-game’ in both legislation and in constituent services. When one or the other aspect of this important job is ‘phoned-in,’ then we have always seen immediate and negative consequences.”
Rice said her experience as a lawyer with the “constantly changing laws and regulations” sets her apart from Fehler, and her understanding about the city’s immigrant population is a perspective that is currently missing at the Board of Aldermen. She was also elected to represent the 5th Senate District as Committeewoman to the state Democratic Party, and she sits on its Platform Committee.
“I’ve developed close relationships with our state representatives and senators, and those relationships can help make sure that the Board of Aldermen and our Democratic colleagues in Jefferson City are on the same page with strategies to protect St. Louisans and help them advance policies that work well together,” Rice said.
Since Conway’s appointment, Rice’s volunteers have been out canvassing the neighborhood to gather signatures in her support. She plans on providing these signatures to the Central Committee on Tuesday.
In regards to their differences, Rice said simply, “This is a debate between constituent services and policy making for alderman. And there needs to be a good hybrid of both.”
The Democratic Central Committee meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at the Atomic Cowboy, 4140 Manchester Ave., in the upstairs room.
