Does this mean that Yaphett is getting out so the Right to Lifers can unify behind one candidate?

I'm curious to see who my ward- 24th - gets behind. Jeff Smith came and spoke and did a nice job until he said that he was an evaluator for the City Schools- i.e. He reported the "slacker" teachers to the school board- and the union members didnt seem too keen on it.

The other thing that I noticed was that his previous campaign was built on the fire of the presidential race and the student grassroots help. He told me that he had raised $75K and planned on getting to the $100K mark by New Year.

My question is who will give him the money- unions, progressives, teachers? and will it be enough? Also, not being the seasoned politician that some of the other candidates are, what does he bring to the table? Yeah he's an adjunct prof at Wash U and he's worked for the city, but more importantly can he work with the downstate politcians to get bills passed and build a coalition?

I really want him to prove me wrong because I would like to see a surge of younger politicians in office or at the very least becoming more involved at the real base level

josh

Where in City Hall did Jeff Smith work?

I think Boykins, Smith, and El-Amin are roughly the same age. Gambaro is under 50.

Jeff Smith, according to his bio, worked for the St. Louis Public Schools -- not St. Louis City Hall.

In Missouri, it's urban v. outstate, not downstate.

Figured it was city vs country. My point/question was, will someone without much backing other than in the urban area fare well or can they snub their country counterparts? I know Jeff is a go getter but.....

Many rural legislators are skeptical of any urban legislator, so anyone holding this urban seat will face the same situation. Jeff would probably be more effective than his opponents, because he has an excellent ability to reach out to dissimilar people and find common ground. He seems to be able to be genuinely friendly with people with whom he disagrees.

You ask, "who will give him the money?" He had almost 200 people at his event, so it doesn't look like that's a problem. And he must have had a ton of people give him money last time, and that was against a Carnahan.

It's hard to say whois giving it to him. I talked to both liberals and conservatives at the event, there seemed to be all types. It really seemed like more of a personal thing than an ideoligical thing, like everybody knew him in one way or another. you ask, "what does he bring to the table?" have you looked at his resume or bio on his site? for a 30 year old guy i'd say he brings an awful lot.

As far as whether or not he can build coalitions w/ non-city legislators, I think it's fair to ask, but Jeff seems to be at least as capable as his opponents. I haven't heard anyone talk about any important legislative accomplishments of his opponents. I can't say that he'll definitely win, especially if Gambero is in, but I'm pretty confident that he'd be the brightest and most creative and energetic legislator.

No Statement of Organization is on file yet for Gambaro with the Missouri Ethics Commission. One is due within 20 days after "becoming a committee," which basically means after money is collected or spent for the candidacy (with a $250 single contributor or $500 aggregate threshold).

Just so you know I'm playing devils advocate here hence all the questions-

200 people at a fundraiser is great- as long as they are giving him $100 checks and more on top of that. Last time that he ran we were in an very different state as far as the politics. There was a huge amount of grassroots support, angry college kids, and folks in the middle that were looking for a change. Jeff told me that the majority of donations that he raised last time were of the $25-75 range which is great and shows that you are "down" with the common man. BUT will they all be there to support him both financially and volunteer wise come primaries? I dont think so

His resume is very impressive for any 30 year old- hell it makes me look like a slacker by comparrison. Again, that's all great but that still doesnt get him elected- its going to be money money and more money that will get him elected. You think Russ C had as good a resume as Jeff? close especially since he's older but he had money and lots of it plus good direct mail and tv spots (thanks in part to the dc campaign consultants). You can knock on as many doors as you like but TV reigns supreme as far as hitting the total number of people

Jeff is a personable guy whose done alot of good in his years. He's an energetic guy who can literally talk to anyone and find some common ground. I wish him well and if my ward gets behind him then I'll get behind him.

BUT- here's my gripe. Why aim so high? why not run for state rep or alderman or even committeeman? Build your base/contacts and slowly work your way up the chain. I'm not saying that you cant aim high as far as politics is concerened, but shouldnt the party pick the strongest candidate possible and get behind them solely?

I come from a different line of politics, the metro east. The democratic party is stronger and much more powerful - i.e. hands on and has unlimited access to money- than here in Missouri. They would have told jeff to sit down and wait until it was his time or to do what I suggested earlier and build your base. Obviously I'm not in Illinois anymore but it just seems like common sense to me.

Just my 2 cents- p.s. this is really cool by the by, I dont find too many people interested in local politics

josh

Josh-

Go to the Missouri Ethics website and look up the fundraising reports for 4th district candidates. Hell, just check the ACC archives- Jeff is far outraising his opposition. Where's the money coming from? Political and business leaders in the city as well as his old steadfast supporters. He will be the money leader in this race and he will also probably be the only candidate who knocks on your door.

More than anything though, I find your comment that Jeff should run for committee quite laughable. This guy raised half a million dollars and came within 1% of Carnahan and he should run for committeeman? Come on!

What would have happened if people like Barack Obama, Paul Wellstone, Bill Clinton, and John F. Kennedy had listened when people like you told them to "sit down and wait their turns"?

JM-

Does he have all the major labor support in the city? does he have the MO Democratic machine backing? Trial Lawyers? I mean outright- "We support jeff" That's great that he'll come to my door but I think that he'd be better spent with direct mailing and getting his mug all over the place now that Derio is in.

So he can raise half a million dollars and lose? That was my point. Missouri politics must be an aim high situation from what your saying then. Have no regard for the other politicians in your party, climb to the top.

Barack Obama, Paul Wellstone, Clinton, and Kennedy all paid there dues- i.e. "sit down and wait your turn". They waited for the right time and then went for it (especially Obama and Clinton). They didnt just come out of the gate and go for the highest spot that they could.

Again, my past exeprience and where I come from are wholly different than st.louis/MO politics so this is great to see. It's also great to see that so many of the posters are for jeff and feel so strongly for him. That's always a good sign.

josh

Adjunct instructor at Washington University, who used to work for the City of St. Louis? I think you're thinking of... me! ;-)

Seriously, though, I think Jeff did some consulting/evaluation work for SLPS a few years back. He was also involved with setting up the Confluence Academies charter schools - a fact that might not set well with AFT Local 420.

I wish Jeff the best of luck, but he certainly doesn't have this race sewn up yet. I'm not sure he can pull many African-American or pro-life Democrat votes. Are there enough self-proclaimed progressives in the 4th Senate district for him to win? Time will tell.

Also, he will get hammered by his opponents because of his lack of legislative experience. MO Senate is traditionally a move-up from MO Rep; and the competition has intensified some due to term limits. But, I suspect he can handle that; he certainly did in the Congressional race.

Actually, Paul Wellstone isn't a bad model. At the time of his election to the US Senate, Wellstone (a political science prof) had run in only one campaign, an unsuccessful bid to become Minnesota's auditor.

Actually, Josh picked out an adjunct in there too--Barack was considered kind of uppity when he first ran for State Lege and then dared to challenge Bobby Rush. Bobby insists that he has no hard feelings. At least he does since March of 2004 after he endorsed a rich white guy who had never been elected to anything for Senator and the black guy with a funny name won.

Usually when candidates say grass roots, I roll my eyes because I assume they mean they don't want to fundraise. Jeff has a particular knack for fundraising and is an incredible organizer. It's hard to say how all this will shake out, but Jeff is in a good position right now.

Asking a bunch of questions isn't being a devil's advocate, it's asking a bunch of questions.

Whos kidding who? Gambaro is the only possibe candidate that could do any good obtaining anything for the City. A 4th Dem has nothing to offer and is irrelevant even if he/she represents their districts views 100%. Its about who's caucus they are in. And Majority Leader Shields controls what gets raised or tossed on the Senate floor. Everyone else with a partial exception of Gambaro is toast and as I mentioned earlier--irrelevant to the City.

Do we think it's possible that the North Side politics will get behind one strong candidate and push to really "take back the 4th"?

We really only are talking about a small percentage of voters to pull from and it looks like whoever can pull, push , and drag the most voters out has it sewn up.

I just find it bewildering to see four candidates running for the same position. It doesnt seem to make any sense to me and shows that the democratic party of st.lou and possibly MO in general is a bunch of overly ambitious politicians.

That's not to say that I dont think they should stick their neck out there and go for it but it's just a little strange. This is my first real forray into st.louis politics other than my wards recall efforts for Bauer. It's an amazing, slightly scary, trainwreck that I cant turn my eyes away from.

Hope this doesnt happen when/if I decide to run for office. Yikes!
j

Sorry to post back to back but what happens to Jeff Smith if he plays spoiler to a strong Derio campaign? or for that matter vice versa?
j

Mainstream,
You are a hundred percent right, with Republicans in control, the only way our legislators will get their bills heard is if they too are Republican. So let’s elect a red guy with a blue coat of paint on him. Sarcasm aside, are you honestly recommending that the voters of the fourth elect someone who doesn’t represent them because their true values are not shared by Republican leadership?

Josh,
You are mistaken when you call the fourth district race a train wreck. You are judging the race the same way that one would judge a race in a Dem/Rep swing district. Yes, if Dems only had 45-55% of the vote for a Senate seat, it would be ridiculous for 4 candidates to run in the primary, but this race is different. In a district that voted 80% Dem in the last Presidential election, the Primary is effectually the general election.
Four candidates running for an open senate seat is normal, the difference here is that there is no serious Republican primary to separate the pack. So, it is not too odd that four have chosen to run here, especially with the effects of term limits forcing candidates in the race if they want a political future.
Glad I previewed my comment before posting, just caught your most recent question. My understanding of a spoiler would be someone who was convinced to run who could take a chunk out of the base of a main candidate. In my opinion, these four candidates currently have 4 different bases (I don’t think there is either a unified north or south base) and all share an opportunity to win the seat (although some my have much better opportunities.) Who will win is the person who shows that they can show they will best represent the ENTIRE district, and not just some narrow swath of the voters.

I'm looking forward to this race. It shuld be a hard fought contest between some candidates who have truly different positions on some very important issues. There is nothing wrong with a good primary battle especially in a solid Dem distrct. It is the only way to ensure that the Dems we elect are tough enough to take on the Repubs.

I'll be helping Jeff in the race and feel confident that when the voters of the 4th district get a chance to meet him (and they will at their front door) the choice will become obvious.

Jeff Smith for State Senate!

Caped-

Your not going to get the same amount of voters that turned out for the presidential race for this race- no way no how. I see this very much as a swing race because of the two completely different sides of the city- North and South.

I agree that the best candidate that can reperesent the entire district would be ideal, however, if like you say, they have four distinct bases to draw from then it will be determined by whoever can turn their base out and steal a coupla of voters from the other. It will be a narrow swath of voters that decide it, IMO.

As a voter I need them to distinguish themselves from one another before I get behind someone.

Trainwreck? Oh yes it will!!. I think that's why jeff smith has raised as much $$ as he has 'cause he knows that he's just gonna have to blitz people come May to distinguish himself from the other three. He should start getting his commercials ready to go along with the direct mail/some print ads and launch the first wave of intro pieces. If he's the kingshit of fundraising like everyone has said, then he'll have some toppers who will fund him near the end of the race to get him through the homestretch.

Wasn't the last "open seat" state senate election in the City (current 3rd, 4th, 5th Districts) back in 1976 and John Scott was the only candidate?

Howard,

Shhhhhhh!

I received Jeff Smith's back-stabbing collection
of lies in my mailbox today. My first thought was that Jeff Smith is afraid Derio is going to WIN.
He sights social security, to scare the older voters away from Derio. Why not tell us what JEFF SMITH has, or can do for the city of St. Louis, which he loves so much, he's only lived here for a year, and knows so much about our city. Why not go back where you came from, and see if your own people want to elect you, instead of trying to drive someone else's good name down the drain, based on a sheet of lies. If the crap you say is true...there isn't even one mention of PROOF to back up what you say! Look in Derio's neighborhood...Even though we had a big storm here, there's still a lot of Derio signs up, because his own neighborhood likes him. Do we believe your pamphlet, HECK NO JEFF SMITH...try to run
on your own smarts, YOUR TRACK RECORD, instead of running a smear campaign against Deriio. Even if I wasn't going to vote for Derio, I wouldn't vote for you based on you tactics. SHAME ON YOU JEFF SMITH. What goes around--comes around.
Diane

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