The money primary is on in the county executive’s race in St. Louis County. On Tuesday the Steve Stenger campaign announced that Stenger (a councilman from South County) is the only $1 million man in the race. The campaign for incumbent County Executive Charlie A. Dooley countered immediately with an announcement that Dooley was the only candidate in the race to raise $1 million in this election cycle thus far.
Fortunately, St. Louis Public Radio crunched the numbers behind the dueling and conflicting press releases. It reported that Stenger slightly outraised Dooley during the last three months, with Stenger collecting $262,814 to Dooley’s $243,540. Stenger has a larger edge in bank accounts: $794,480 to Dooley’s $607,396. It also reported that Dooley’s account is padded by one controversial donor: Jeanne Sinquefield, wife of wealthy financier Rex Sinquefield, who gave Dooley $100,000 on March 27.
Most observers surmise that Sinquefield’s continuing support for Dooley is based on Dooley’s advocacy for the Better Together initiative, which keeps reporting good reasons why St. Louis city should be incorporated into St. Louis County. Sinquefield is a staunch advocate for small government.
St. Louis Public Radio refereed the conflicting “he said, he said” campaign claims in this way: “Stenger noted that he’s outraised Dooley during the last three reporting periods. Dooley said the numbers were misleading because Stenger has lent $200,000 to his campaign. (Half of the money was lent during an earlier campaign but shows up as a continued campaign debt.)”
Stenger’s message man, thus far in the campaign, is Ed Rhode, formerly Mayor Francis G. Slay’s “hide and seek” communications staffer. Dooley’s campaign spokesperson is Linda Goldstein, formerly mayor of Clayton.
The election is August 5.
Labor for Mavis
Stenger got the nod over Dooley when the delegates of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council, AFL-CIO voted on endorsements on Tuesday.
The labor council also endorsed three incumbents: License Collector Mavis T. Thompson, Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly and Recorder of Deeds Sharon Quigley Carpenter.
St. Louis County Labor’s defection from Dooley, a Democratic incumbent, is notable. Along with the Post-Dispatch’s relentlessly negative reporting on the Dooley administration, it’s what gives a relatively unknown challenger like Stenger some daylight against a well-known incumbent.
Thompson’s campaign is claiming a “clean sweep” of area labor endorsements for her as license collector, with recent votes to endorse her by the St. Louis Labor Club, Firefighters Local 73 and Laborers Local 42.
Sheriff Murphy endorses Boyd
Thompson, who was appointed license collector by Gov. Jay Nixon after Michael McMillan stepped down to take the president’s job at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, is being challenged by Alderman Jeffrey L. Boyd.
Boyd was last seen on a ballot in the crowded four-way race for treasurer, which Tishaura O. Jones won. Mayor Slay endorsed late in that race, endorsing Fred Wessels, who has since gone to work for Slay.
Slay endorsed very early in the license collector’s race, endorsing Boyd over the Democratic incumbent, Thompson. Many observers surmise Slay was directing Boyd’s attention away from one of the white incumbents loyal to him, most likely Carpenter, the longtime incumbent recorder of deeds. Certainly, many black elected officials told Boyd they would support him against Carpenter but oppose him against Thompson. Boyd went with Slay against the advice of his peers.
But that’s not all, as they say on the corny TV shows. Boyd also is now touting his endorsement by Sheriff James Murphy. It must be new for Murph to line up in support of a black man. In 2010 a St. Louis jury awarded a combined $850,000 to William “Patrick” Hill and Jacques Hughes, two black men who worked for Murphy, after they sued the sheriff for what the Post summarized as “a weak response” when a supervisor hung a noose in a courthouse in 2006. The jury agreed that Murphy was condoning “a racially hostile work environment” in his failure to comprehend why black men refused to tolerate a noose displayed in their workplace.
Murphy didn’t get it then, and he doesn’t get it now. But he has endorsed Jeffrey Boyd. Go figure.
Triplett to pay $22K in restitution
On Friday afternoon, Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce announced her office had reached an agreement with former St. Louis Alderwoman Kacie Star Triplett and would not press criminal charges. Triplett admitted to misusing between $8,000 and $18,900 in campaign contributions in a consent order filed February 26 with the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Joyce told The American that Triplett’s confession in the stipulation made her liable for prosecution of a misdemeanor offense. However, she said, Triplett has no prior record and there is no clear victim, since Triplett misused campaign funds, not public money. In lieu of prosecution, Joyce got Triplett to agree to pay “$22,000 in restitution for breaking the community’s trust.” The Circuit Attorney’s Office is collecting the restitution, and the money will go to the St. Louis Public Schools.
The agreement was signed on March 6, and Joyce said Triplett already started making payments. An initial payment of $3,000 was received March 6, Joyce said. Subsequent payments of $550 monthly was first received March 28. Payments are considered late if not received by the 5th of every month. “If she had not made these payments on time, today I would have been announcing that I was bringing charges against her,” Joyce said on Friday.
Triplett waved the statute of limitations clause, according to which many of her actions would no longer be punishable, so if she violates the agreement she could be prosecuted for a wider range of misdemeanors than if she had not agreed to restitution.
The EYE is told that KMOX has reported a take-out piece slamming Joyce for going easy on Triplett that is being held for Sweeps week.
Reed to host discussions of bond issue
Aldermanic President Lewis Reed is hosting three town hall discussions – in central, north and south city – regarding a proposed $150 to $200 million bond issuance for capital improvement projects in the city of St. Louis.
The first meeting was held Tuesday at the Missouri History Museum. The others will be held 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, April 17 at O’Fallon Park Rec Plex, 4343 W. Florissant Ave.; and 12:30-2 p.m. Saturday, April 19 at Carondelet Park Rec Plex, 930 Holly Hills Ave.
Information from the City of St. Louis’ Capital Committee and the budget director show some $325 million in current and near-term capital needs, including the replacement of obsolete technology, defunct equipment and broken down vehicles, as well as long-deferred maintenance across city-owned buildings – firehouses, police stations and City Hall.
Of the total estimated investment needed, $155 million was marked “critical to ensure the continued operations of a department, the integrity of City buildings, facilities or infrastructure or to eliminate a serious risk to public safety,” Reed said.
A proposal to issue bonds to cover some of these expenses will come before the Board of Aldermen in the coming weeks. The bonds would be repaid through a citywide increase in property taxes.
Reed said he plans to establish a citizen-led Bond Oversight Committee as part of the legislation.
“But before we introduce this goes through the legislative process and long before it reaches the ballot, we want to start engaging and educating residents,” Reed said.
In 1999 city voters gave approval to a similar bond issuance.
