The successful recall of Tom Bauer sends an ominous message to other members of the Board of the Aldermen. Instead of running for reelection after a four-year term, aldermen must now worry about being recalled before their term expires. Bauer’s recall is the third in St. Louis in two years. Melinda Long was recalled in 2003, and Peggy Ryan was recalled in June of this year.
Bauer’s recall is rife with irony, given that he was a leading opponent of a series of charter amendments on the November 2004 ballot that would have, among other things, reduced the size of the board from 28 to 16. This change would have increased the population of each ward from the current number of 10,000 to about 15,000, which would have made it more difficult to recall an alderman. However, it is not clear that anything would have saved Bauer, who had managed to aggravate almost every neighborhood group in his ward. In his case, good riddance.
With two more recall efforts being initiated, one in the 3rd Ward against Freeman Bosley Sr. and another in the 22nd Ward aimed at ousting Jeffrey Boyd, recall is becoming the weapon of choice for disgruntled voters – or (more likely) disgruntled, deafeated candidates hungry for a bite out of an elected alderman’s apple.
As much as the EYE enjoys writing about recalls, they are not in the best interest of good government. Recalls as they are currently being used are anathema to the regular election process, because it is possible that a majority of the people who sign a petition to recall did not even bother to vote in the regularly scheduled aldermanic election. Recalls promote nihilism by providing a self-serving tool for people who disagree with an alderman or who just want to eat the alderman’s lunch.
