Given the importance of charter reform in the city, I think that there is a moral imperitive to this publication making an endorsement regarding the changes. Politicians come and go, but these charter changes, if ever approved, would likely be around longer than any of our lifetimes.

Under new system special interests
have ony to pay off the Mayor who has
direct line authority over a lot of pols..
who formerly had to be paid off, individually.
So for special interests it it less expensive.
An auditor audits..a Comptroller has some
power to check an balance.

Besides, can anything Schoemehl is involved
with..be good?

Schoemehl, Sortino, Danforth, Hoal... Why so much hate, Ed?

People want you to endorse if you're on their side, and not to endorse if you favor the other guys.

You should endorse only if you're well informed about what and whom you are endorsing, as well as their opponent(s). The Post-Dispatch tries to endorse somebody in virtually every contest, whether they know anything about it or not, and based at least partly on who they think is going to win. Every election they endorse some candidate whom they admit is doing a bad job but they endorse anyway because they don't think the opponent has a chance, potentially a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is why their endorsements carry so little weight.

Please don't write off third-party and independent candidates (as inferred by the demeaning "Green Weenies" headline that you attached to the article about the contested Green Party primary). Those alternative voices are especially relevant in single-party-dominant areas like the Democratic city or Republican west county.

Dave-

In the latest ACC, there's a mention about the Stakeholder Assembly voting to continue its efforts into perpetuity to consider such issues as returning control of the police department to the city, or having the city re-enter St. Louis County.

At that point, the writer for ACC made a comment how that would be an easy decision, since it would keep some sort of freebie income status flowing. Were you referring to the consultants? Cause the stakeholders that voted to keep working are all volunteers. Unless you consider crackers and cheese some sort of remuneration...

As far as endorsements, yes, by all means, endorse...absolutely.

RB