As a longtime resident of the city, I am appalled by the racial divide and the lack of support for our progressive mayor. Not only did James Shrewsbury vote against the BJC proposal, which would fund parks throughout the city, but at the same time he was instrumental in securing park land for the new dog pound. Isn’t there sufficient derelict property in the city which could have been used for this purpose without taking park land?
I fail to see how any city resident could vote for this man to continue to serve on the Board of Alderman, much less as its president. I hope that others join me in supporting Lewis Reed. It is definitely time for a change and for St. Louis to look to the future, not the past.
Regarding the fiasco of the school board, the current board was elected due to voter apathy. A 12 to 15 percent voter turnout does not represent the citizens of this city. It represents vested interests who are entrenched in maintaining the status quo. During my 33 years in education, we recognized the concerns of parents as we embraced desegregation, diminishing enrollments and many of the concerns that face the city schools. Had the minority of voters who held sway in the last city election not have interfered with the progress that was being made by “the mayor’s board,” we might well be in a position of not having a state Department of Education takeover.
Don Flanagan, Ed. D.
Central West End