April 2004

April 30, 2004

Everyone must read Joe Frank's blog

We wish that the great Joe Frank would update his blog more regularly. He always has something interesting to say!

Most recently, he chronicles the dueling press releases from the Mayor's Office and the Comptroller's Office.

Before that he points out that East-West Gateway has changed location and logo.

April 29, 2004

Latest Issue of the ACC

Latest issue is in the mail, should arrive today or tomorrow.

Here's what's inside:

Front page - Analysis by Will Winter on the various tax increases that passed and failed and what that means for future initiatives.

- Liz Connolly explains a recent resolution passed by the Board of Aldermen concerning the Patriot Act.

- A look at the fundraising and likely voter turn-out for 3rd Congressional District Race's August primary.

- An interview with Chris Thomas, Stakeholder Assembly member, about charter reform.

As well as regular features My Thoughts Exactly, Elsewhere, Who Knew, Odds and Ends, See You There and much much much more!

If you're waiting for the pdf to show up on the web-site, I'll hopefully get it up this week, but in the meantime, do everyone a favor and SUBSCRIBE!

April 28, 2004

Jeff Smith claims endorsement win

Press Release from the Jeff Smith for Congress campaign claims big endorsement win:

**************FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE******************
April 28th, 2004--- Despite opposition from the group’s three leading officers, the Jefferson Township Democratic Club endorsed educator and St. Louis native Jeff Smith for Congress from Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District. The township club, the biggest in the state of Missouri, canvasses Jefferson Township for its endorsed candidates and provides Smith’s grassroots campaign with even more boots on the ground.
“Yesterday the Jefferson Township Democratic club proved that grassroots support can overcome party machines and the status quo. My supporters are excited about my candidacy, not about my ‘name recognition,’ and they are willing to stand up for the best candidate in the race,” Smith said. “This is the kind of grass roots energy that is going to prevail at the polls on August 3rd.”

Smith’s supporters shared his enthusiasm. “Jeff Smith is the most exciting candidate I’ve seen in the 3rd District. He is the clear choice for progressive Democrats,” Anne Wilding of Webster Groves said after the meeting. “Jeff has the vision, intelligence, experience and principles to make a difference in Washington. His enthusiastic supporters made themselves heard at the Jefferson Township Democratic Club meeting last night,” Wilding added.

Smith noted that his supporters at the meeting responded to his innovative ideas and vision for the future, showing that a non-traditional candidate can win elections against establishment candidates.

“Tonight my supporters proved that a positive vision for the future, and a belief in democracy will trump the status quo mentality of machine politics every time. My supporters were not intimidated by the Club’s leadership and its tired arguments. My supporters are interested in electing the best representative for the 3rd District.”

Gephardt for veep?

AP reports he's being vetted.

Stranger things have happened.

Warning: Hours of wasted time ahead

The Health Department has put restaurant ratings on-line.

You can search by zip-code, neighborhood, type of restaurant (take-out, fast food, etc), or by ratings.

Ah, the peace of mind in knowing that Big Drink Bar #1 is A rated...

And no, I am not part owner of Double D's Den.

Losing a hub is good news?

Maybe.

Fannie Mae Foundation in May

The Fannie Mae Foundation will be making a presentation about their Newest Initiative on May 4th at the Tap Room. The event starts at 4 p.m. with the presentation at 5 p.m. and a chance to mingle before and after.

Art opening

Aman Aulakh kicks off her very own art opening entitled "Concrete" featuring photo emulsion pieces of stencil art from the streets of San Francisco.

Saturday
May 1st
7-9 p.m
Meshuggas
6269 Delmar (across from the Tivoli Theater)

Drinks and snacks provided.
Art will be hung through the month of May.

April 27, 2004

McLeod resigns.

Bill McLeod, director of the St. Louis City's Personnel Department, has resigned, sources tell the Arch City Chronicle.

McLeod joined city government just last week from Los Angeles where he was Human Resources Director. His departure is the latest in a string of resignations at City Hall. Ron Hearst resigned as head of the Public Service Board in April. Dr. Hugh Stallworth resigned as director of the City Health Department in February.

G'light

Local freelance writer - and occasional ACC contributor - Thomas Crone is compiling an oral history book on Gaslight Square, to be published this fall by the William & Joseph Press. He's looking for both stories and photographs of the Square, not only during the hey-day of the 1960s, but in the long period of decline since, as well as the current transformation into a residential block. If you, or someone you know, has stories or a box of pictures, you can e-mail him at thomas@thomascrone.com, or check that site for further details.

April 26, 2004

Unintended Consequences

Board President Jim Shrewsbury wrote this to be distributed to the Stakeholder Assembly as they considered proposing changes to the Board of Aldermen and the way the Board President was chosen. I believe it was not ever distributed to them.

Aldermanic President
Citizen-Elected vs. Chosen by Aldermen
Unintended Consequences:

The architects of City government envisioned a system consisting of three “top” elected officials; the mayor, comptroller and aldermanic president. The rationale was that these three City officials would comprise the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. Since the Board of E & A is where monies would be allocated for neighborhoods and programs throughout the entire city, all three officials, therefore, needed to be elected at large and serve as representatives of no one particular constituency but rather speak for all the citizens of St. Louis with city-wide interests at heart.

Debate among the Stakeholders is questioning the effectiveness of having an Estimate Board and thinking has now shifted closer to a system where the Board of Aldermen and an elected auditor would serve as watchdogs on City spending. As a result, some Stakeholders no longer see the need for a citizen-elected aldermanic president and prefer the Board of Aldermen to select its own president.

Loss of City-Wide Vision
With or without a Board of E & A, the aldermanic president still serves on a number of boards and commissions addressing regional issues (the TIF Commission and the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council being two of them.) An aldermanic president who is accountable to his/her constituents from one particular ward of the city is likely to lose that “broad view” on the issues. What’s important to residents of North St. Louis, for example, may not weigh heavily on the president’s mind if he/she is concerned about running for re-election in a particular South St. Louis ward.

Minority Representation
At the start of this current session, African-Americans held 12 aldermanic seats and whites held 16. African-Americans have never held a majority of seats at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. The last round of redistricting resulted in moving a strong African-American ward from North City to South City and many fear future redistricting will continue this trend. The selection of an aldermanic president by his/her peers (whether it’s 28 of them or 13 of them) basically becomes a “popularity contest.” The cliquish nature of politics combined with a majority of “white wards” seems to ensure that African-American aldermen will face an uphill battle before ever getting selected to serve as president.

Aldermanic Rules
Current law dictates the qualifications, length of term and duties of the aldermanic president. When the voters elect an aldermanic president they know that he/she will serve a four-year term, will meet certain criteria and will perform certain duties. The Board of Aldermen, however, operates from its own set of rules. The Rules of the Board of Aldermen are not dictated by any laws and voters do not have to approve changes to the Rules. Once the position of aldermanic president is taken out of the hands of the voters and put into the hands of the aldermen, the Rules will dictate who gets selected and who does not. Those rules can be changed at any time as long as any group of aldermen can muster enough support to make changes. This sets up a system where the Rules can be easily manipulated to favor one particular alderman over another. (The Board could change the Rules, for example, to say that only aldermen who drive a Chevrolet can serve as president.) It is not hard to imagine more realistic examples where the Rules are changed to ensure that only certain aldermen meet the qualifications to serve as president.

Line of Succession
Should the mayor need to vacate office, the aldermanic president is the City official designated to succeed. An aldermen-selected president creates a scenario where the new mayor of St. Louis would be someone who is in office based solely on the votes of one particular ward. St. Louis County is an example of where this has happened. Following the death of their county executive, the County’s 1st District councilman became county executive even though the majority of County residents never voted for him and may not even be aware of his positions on County-wide issues.

E & A vs. No E & A

The Board of Estimate and Apportionment was created as a check on the fiscal power of the mayor. Some Stakeholders prefer elimination of E & A in favor of increased oversight at the Board of Aldermen and an elected auditor. With a smaller Board of Aldermen, the mayor will need approval from a relatively small number of officials. For example, if a handful of aldermen happen to be political allies of the mayor, the Board of Aldermen becomes less of a “check on power” and more of a mere formality rubber stamping the mayor’s expenditures. The elected auditor becomes a “reactionary” position; investigating spending habits only after the fact whereas the Board of E & A serves a “proactive” role; researching and scrutinizing the spending before it happens. Throughout the Advance Saint Louis process, no examples have been cited where E & A blocked any major initiatives. Examples can be given, however, where the presence of an Estimate Board forced developers back to the table to negotiate a better and fairer deal for the City.

April 25, 2004

New Wine Bar coming to South Grand

In the Old Futon Express place, on Grand just south of Arsenal, Erato Wine Bar and Grand Market is coming soon, according to a newly placed banner!

Dandamudi gets Sierra Club endorsement

In the 64th District race Sreenu Dandamudi has received the endorsement of the Sierra Club of Eastern Missouri.

April 24, 2004

Moore no more?

Post-Dispatch's City Hall reporter Doug Moore will apparently be moving on to a new assignment.

View the ad for his replacement at Journalism Jobs:

Friedman joins CMT Board

Eric Friedman of Friedman Group, Ltd. has been elected to the Board of Directors of Citizens for Modern Transit.

April 22, 2004

Crow's numbers

Running in the 64th District, Terry Crow posts some very strong numbers:
$29,500 raised; $11,388 spent; $56,876 on-hand ($5,000 debt).

So to recap this slugfest:
Terry Crow - $29k raised this quarter, $56k on-hand.
Rachel Storch - $20k raised this quarter, $53k on-hand.
Tim Schoemehl – $18k raised this quarter, $20k on-hand.
Sreenu Dandamudi - $11k raised this quarter, $35k on-hand.

There's a question three people in this race will have to answer someday: How in the heck did you raise all that money and not win?

April 21, 2004

Odenwald's numbers

Solid, below McNary but in the ballpark.

$84,273 raised; $7,139 spent; $80,134 on-hand ($3,000 debt).

4/14/04 issue

A pdf version of last week's issue has been posted on the left side.

If you enjoy it, you should subscribe. Please!

By the way, this offer still stands.

The next five subscriptions or gift subscriptions that come in over the internet will receive a complementary copy of "bettertogether, a report of the saguaro seminar: civic engagement in america."

This offer is made possible by a generous donation from occasional ACC contributor Thomas Crone.

Joan Barry Press Release touts number of contributors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Joan Barry Leads Crowded Field of Candidates in Contributors in 3rd District Democratic Primary

St. Louis, Mo.— In the first financial reporting period of 2004, 3rd Congressional District Democratic candidate Joan Barry received a record-setting 1,668 individual contributions. The candidate nearest in number of individual contributions has 342. The campaign has raised $204,897 to date and has $131,127 cash on hand.

“I am extremely grateful for the grassroots support I have received. These contributors are also voters and volunteers,” said Barry. “People are hearing my message and showing their confidence in my ability to represent them. Contributions, large or small, mean a commitment, and that will make the difference. This huge volunteer base gives us the resources we need to win this race.”

“While a Congressional campaign can cost up to one million dollars, after the first financial quarter filings, it appears no candidate will reach that amount. Field organization and mobilizing volunteers becomes more crucial,” says David Chilenski of the Chilenski Strategy Group in St. Louis. The Barry campaign field operations began on March 27, 2004 with over 150 volunteers hitting the streets in south St. Louis County. The mass of volunteers was comprised of family, friends, nurses, and union supporters. Seven labor unions were represented that day.

Barry’s candidacy has also received more institutional endorsements than other candidates, including thirteen labor locals. St. Louis City, South County, and North County Labor Clubs are also actively supporting her candidacy.

15th ward Democrats Trivia night

15th ward Democrats Trivia night

Friday, April 23, 7pm, St. Elizabeth's Academy, 3401 Arsenal.

$20/person includes all beverages.

Call 771-8626 to register.

April 20, 2004

Teach the children

St. Louis Fed economist Ruben Hernandez-Murillo and research assistant Deborah Roisman make the case for No Child Left Behind in the most recent issue of The Regional Economist.

Data in the article:
In Wellston, where the median income is $14,158 and .7% of households have a BA degree or higher, the school district spends $7,981/pupil. In Ladue, where the median income is $84,324 and 62.3% of households have a BA degree or higher, the school district spends $11,536/pupil.

Wellston's test scores are lower.

April 19, 2004

Draft Charter

This find comes to us via a post by "Emma" over at Greg Freeman's Front Porch at stltoday.

Draft Recommendations, dated 4/16/04.

Lucky March isn't a 30-day month

By my count Carnahan's campaign filing shows that about half - $66,000 of his $125,000 total - of his contributions were received on March 31.

Whew. Also, unless I missed it, he didn't receive any contributions in January. Quarter started mighty slowly and ended right on time!

April 18, 2004

DeRigne joins Mo Kids

LeaAnne Derigne who wrote about welfare reform for the ACC last issue has joined Citizens for Missouri's Children.

April 17, 2004

Monday - Candidate Forum

Meet the Democratic candidates for the August primary.

Monday, April 19, 7pm.

Grand Oak Hill Community Center, 4168 Juniata (Juniata & Bent).

Call 314-771-8626 for more information.

Hosted by the 15th Ward Democrats.

April 16, 2004

64th District

In the 64th District, here's what happened:
Rachel Storch - $20k raised this quarter, $53k on-hand.
Tim Schoemehl – $18k raised this quarter, $20k on-hand.
Sreenu Dandamudi - $11k raised this quarter, $35k on-hand.
Terry Crow’s filing hasn’t shown up yet.

This shows Storch in the lead. And while Dandamudi is second with cash on-hand, presumably the easy money for him has already been recorded and he will have to work hard to keep up with the field. Meanwhile it will be interesting to see how much Schoemehl raises next quarter as well as to see Crow’s filings when they show up.

Students of politics think that these candidates should consider starting to use their money to contact voters. With the hordes of money they are collecting for this relatively small race, there is only so much cash they can spend effectively during any given period of time. Therefore spending some money to introduce yourself to the voters now may be a good strategy.

3rd District - What the numbers tell us

First, a look again at the numbers. How much did they raise this quarter? I don’t count loans. I want to know how much support they received.

This quarter:
Steve Stoll - $135k
Russ Carnahan - $125k
Jeff Smith - $109k
Joan Barry - $74k
Mark Smith - $33k

Now, great to raise money, but how much money do they have on-hand?
Russ Carnahan - $202k
Jeff Smith - $181k
Steve Stoll - $161k
Joan Barry - $131k
Mark Smith - $102k

But some of them have loaned their campaigns money. Is it window-dressing or will they really spend it? Let's subtract the debt and see how things shake-out:
Steve Stoll - $161k
Jeff Smith - $159k
Russ Carnahan - $152k
Mark Smith - $102k
Joan Barry - $81k

Obviously there are three viable candidates - Stoll, Carnahan and J. Smith. With both Barry and M. Smith on the bubble, what are the scenarios where they win this race? For Barry, in a field of mostly men, her gender may help her in the voting booth. Add to this her pro-life stance and her biography - nursing, state representative - and their campaign could run a disciplined and targeted campaign, hit their demographic and win enough in a crowded field to emerge the victor. It's a long shot, but greater miracles have occured. For M. Smith, the scenario is harder to imagine. While I find his messge - working class needs opportunities - appealing, it gets lost in the fray, and with less money, I'm not sure it has a chance to resonate with the voters.

Carnahan has his best quarter so far, but it doesn't distinguish him from either Stoll or J. Smith. Stoll is looking good with continued strong fundraising. And of course J. Smith is the major surprise of this race, coming from nowhere to be competitive.

But, questions are circulating about J Smith's filings. They look like what have been termed "rookie mistakes," technical rather than ethical errs. What happened to the loan he made to himself? Last quarter $22,000 showed up as a loan. This quarter no loan is recorded on the summary page. (I assumed it is still outstanding in the numbers above.) Where are expenditures for his office? He shows in-kind donations for the office furniture, but no accounting of rent or utilities.

Finally, the wildcard - Jo Ann Karll. No filing from her due to her late entry into the race. Will she make a credible run? If so, she draws votes away from Stoll's base of Jefferson County, and maybe from Barry's women votes.

more still

64th District
Rachel Storch - $20,855 raised; $2,273 spent; $53,811 on-hand.

Circuit Attorney
Jen Joyce - $13,336 raised; $14,275 spent; $63,715 on-hand.

County Executive

County Executive race
Charles Dooley - $2,312 raised; $15,374 spent; $13,067 on-hand.
Gene McNary - $163,380 raised; $717 spent; $162,662 on-hand.

Carnahan & Hanaway

Secretary of State:
Robin Carnahan - $302,186 raised; $74,319 spent; $510,352 on-hand.
Catherine Hanaway - $245,313 raised; $40,006 spent; $621,396 on-hand.

April 15, 2004

Holden, McCaskill, Blunt

Gov:
Bob Holden - $715,799 raised; $346,045 spent; $3,524,334 on-hand.
Claire McCaskill - $604,329 raised; $184,912 spent; $2,011,593 on-hand.
Matt Blunt - $1,029,162 raised; $379,936 spent; $2,103,043 on-hand

Carnahan and Stoll numbers

3rd CD:
Russ Carnahan - $125,348 raised; $68,371 spent; $202,147 on-hand ($50,000 debt).
Steve Stoll - $135,118 raised; $92,582 spent; $161,522 on-hand.

continued filing updates

Lt. Gov:
Peter Kinder - $108,545 raised; $51,583 spent; $333,559 on-hand.

Treasurer:
Tom Klein - $11,000 raised; $13,095 spent; $151,592 on-hand ($157,727 debt).
Anita Yeckel - $33,155 raised; $19,419 spent; $63,383 on hand.

Still waiting on more reports. So expect more updates as they become available. Look for analysis tomorrow morning, about what all these numbers mean.

And of course, feel free to help me out by chiming in through the comments what you think the numbers mean.

and more filings

3rd CD:
Mariano Favazza - $7,319 raised; $3,459 spent; $18,955 on-hand.

64th District:
Sreenu Dandamudi - $11,652 raised; $2,596 spent; $35,647 on-hand.

73rd District: (This race hasn't really heated up yet)
Margaret Donnelly - $1,265 raised; $105 spent; $27,093 on-hand.
Jared Novelly - $100 raised (loan); $77 spent; $23 on-hand.

87th District:
T Scott Muschany - $18,605 raised; $8,067 spent; $41,837 on-hand (w/ 30,000 debt).
Terrence Frank filed a statement of committee termination.

Continuing Filings

3rd CD:
Jeff Smith - $109,037 raised; $29,145 spent; $181,428 on-hand.
Joan Barry - $124,383 raised (of which $50,000 was a loan); $52,056 spent; 131,126 on-hand (again, with $50,000 debt).

87th District:
Dave Stokes - $32,115 (w/ $15,000 loan) raised; $3,069 spent; $28,445 (w/ $15,000 debt).

More later

April 14, 2004

More Campaign Finance Filings

In the 59th District:
Jeanette Mott Oxford $7,170 raised; $3,273 spent; $8,936 on-hand.
Mark Rice $3,840 raised; $793 spent; $2,618 on-hand.

In the 64th District:
Tim Schoemehl $18,257 raised; $11,052 spent; $20,741 on-hand.

Campaign Finance Filings

Tomorrow is the deadline, so more information will be coming down the pipe. Look here for frequent updates over the next couple of days. We'll be following the 3rd Congressional District as well as several State Representative races.

3rd CD: Mark Smith - $33,006 raised; $8,781 spent; $102,726 on-hand

The new issue

The new issue should arrive in subscribers' mailbox no later than tomorrow.
Here's a run-down of what's in the issue:

Full coverage of the city's upcoming committeemen and women elections this summer - Dave Drebes and Will Winter.

Reducing the number of aldermen - Dave Drebes

Excerpts from answers aldermen gave to Advance St. Louis queries.

Editorial cartoon - Cbabi Bayoc

Letter to the editor - Joe Squillace

Elsewhere, goings-on outside of St. Louis - Will Winter

Commentary on bikers rights - R. Willis

Commentary on Welfare Reform coming out of DC - LeaAnne DeRigne

The St. Louis-Haiti connection - Will Winter

And then, of course, lots and lots and lots of tid-bits.

Busy day yesterday

When we started this blog, I decided that I would try to post something everyday. Yesterday was the first day I missed. Besides getting the paper out, my wife and I were busy hosting NPR!

Here is a link to the small segment that ran this morning.

In addition to learning who I voted for in the last presidential election, if you listen closely, you can hear what kind of pizza I ordered.

Also heard on this clip is Dave Stokes and Brian Marston.

There should be a longer one this afternoon (they said it would run about seven minutes) during the All Things Considered show. I'll post that link when I get it also.

April 12, 2004

Advance St. Louis Emerging Draft

The Stakeholders are trying to wrap up their deliberations within the next month to meet the timeline set for a November ballot proposal.

Here is the draft of emerging consensus recommendations.

Here and here are some supplemental materials.

April 11, 2004

ACC in St. Louis American editorial

Check out this week's editorial in the St. Louis American that quotes from the 3/24/04 ACC article about the St. Louis Public School's budget problems by Larry Handlin, aka the Archpundit.

April 10, 2004

Subscribe!

Next week hundreds and hundreds of politicians, pundits, power-brokers, players and posers will receive their ACC delivered to their door. You can get it too. Read what they're reading. Subscribe today!

The next six subscriptions or gift subscriptions that come in over the internet will receive a complementary copy of "bettertogether, a report of the saguaro seminar: civic engagement in america."

This offer is made possible by a generous donation from occasional ACC contributor Thomas Crone.

April 09, 2004

New Printer!

We are switching printers. While the printer we used during the last two issues gave us great customer service, their equipment was... old-fashioned.

Thanks to Ed Finkelstein who recommended our new printer, Breese Publishing. We think you'll be able to notice the difference in quality right away. Breese, by the way, is a union shop.

Whereas we had to paste-up copies with the old printer, with Breese we will just hand them a disc or zap it over the internet.

As an aside, we try to support neighborhood businesses. We did ask City of St. Louis printers for bids, but they either didn't reply, couldn't do the job, or gave us much, much higher bids.

Faster Delivery!

When we switched to the larger format last month, we started mailing the ACC by bulk mail to help out our fragile budget. Well, while some folks got it in a timely manner, many people didn't. So with the next issue - next week - we are returning to first-class mail. That means look for your ACC next Wednesday in your mail-box.

And, if you don't already, it's time now to subscribe. Either drop a check in the mail to the address listed on the left or click on the Paypal icon and pay by credit card.

You have my many thanks.

April 08, 2004

Moving On Up

We have two eyewitnesses claiming to have seen a "For Sale" sign in front of Board President Jim Shrewsbury's house. (No word on the asking price.)

Sources say that the Shrewsburys are staying in the 16th ward.

Jeff Smith, 3rd CD candidate, has strong quarter

Continuing his string of positive surprises, Jeff Smith, candidate for 3rd Congressional District, will report over $90,000 raised in the latest quarter (January 1 – March 31). This fundraising filing will cement Smith’s place in the top half of the crowded ten-candidate field. The Arch City Chronicle is forecasting only two other candidates to show this level of fund-raising – Russ Carnahan and Steve Stoll. Smith is well-positioned to hit the $250,000 threshold necessary to run television commercials and conduct critical voter contact and turn-out efforts over the large geographic area of the district. Again, the only other candidates besides Carnahan and Stoll who can possibly reach that level are Mark Smith and Joan Barry, both of whom will need to show strong quarters to fulfill that potential.

Mark Smith, 3rd CD candidate, takes Pledge

Mark Smith, candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, wrote and signed this pledge and asked the other candidate in the race to sign also. His press release says that one other has signed so far. Not sure who that is.

Mark of Integrity
Code of Campaign Ethics

Political campaigns should give a voice to the people and promote faith in the democratic process. I pledge to promote optimism, inclusion and voter participation by waging a vigorously contested, but fairly conducted campaign. Throughout this campaign I will promote respect for the voters, for truth and accountability, for my opponents, for campaign finance and election laws and for democracy.

I Pledge to:
1) Respect Voters.
· I will run an issue-oriented campaign to educate Missouri voters about me as a candidate and my stand on the issues.
· I will not appeal to bigotry or prejudice, especially appeals based on issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and national origin.
· I will respect the time and privacy of Missouri voters by not engaging in “robot calls” – recorded telephone calls. I guarantee that calls made on my behalf will be made by a human, not a machine.

2) Respect Truth and Accountability.
· I will denounce and discourage the use of soft money or independent expenditures by outside groups on my behalf. This campaign should be conducted by the candidates, not by special interest groups.
· I will do my best to always be truthful and fair about myself and my opponents.

3) Respect my Opponents.
· I will not use, or permit the use of, false or misleading statements about my opponents, their personal lives, or their families.
· I will not engage in unfair personal attacks on my opponents.

4) Respect Election Laws.
· I will not accept individual contributions that exceed the $2,000 maximum for the primary until August 4, 2004. I will return any contributions over that amount.
· Voters have a right to know who is financing every candidate’s campaign. I will not use loans to hide the identity of donors to my campaign. I will repay any loan my campaign has incurred.
· I oppose making fundraising calls on taxpayers’ time.

5) Respect Democracy.
· I will promote optimism and political participation by running a straightforward, issue-based campaign that highlights issues important to the lives and futures of Missouri voters.
· I will uphold and defend the right of every registered Third District voter to full and equal participation in the electoral process.
I agree to abide by this Code of Campaign Ethics and to run my campaign in such a way that respects voters.
Date: April 5, 2004

April 07, 2004

UCity Forward takes 3 of 4

Ucity Forward won three of four seats it was backing in yesterday's University City election. They won both school board seats and one City Council seat.

Corey Mohn links to the other candidates

In the 3rd Congressional District, Corey Mohn says that issues should matter most. So he links from his web-site to the other candidates' issue pages.

Of course some are more thorough than others.

Click here to take a look.

April 06, 2004

Education cuts

This is pretty interesting - about the cuts in funding for the No Child Left Behind act. Check out the Missouri excel spreadsheet for data about specific school districts in MO...

St. Louis City district faces a cut of $718,429. Ouch. But still as a percentage this is only -2.41%

Take a look at Washingon, MO however. $98,595 cut in funding, -31.76%

April 05, 2004

Political jokes

Frank Absher passed this along to me some time ago.

It reprints and replays late-night talk show political jokes among other things.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/

April 04, 2004

Happy announcement

We publish the Arch City Chronicle on the 2nd and 4th weeks of each month. The next issue will be delivered April 14.

This next issue will feature several improvements. I'll be announcing them as they're confirmed this week.

Here is the first: Cbabi Bayoc will be returning! Next issue will have a new political cartoon from him, and more to come in the future.

Click here to see some cartoons he has done for us previously.

Click here for his website.

April 03, 2004

Also next Tuesday

Jeanette Mott Oxford, candidate for 59th District State Representative, is having a benefit concert Tuesday, April 6.

Music will be made by The Downtown Trio and The Clumsy Lovers.

Doors open at 7pm, Music at 8pm. At Off-Broadway, a superb venue.

Tickets are $12.

April 02, 2004

UCity Forward

Next Tuesday, University City voters will vote for their city council and school board. A group call "UCity Forward" is supporting candidates in both races. Go here to view their platform.

April 01, 2004

Kerry's Visit

"When You Pray Move Your Feet." African Proverb or Old Quaker Saying depending on who you talk to.. and quote used to speak to the congregation of Hope and Resolve by Senator Kerry during his appearance at New Northside Baptist Church on 3/28/04.

Continue reading "Kerry's Visit"

Unreal Rumor

An appropriate post for April 1 perhaps:

Some people seem to think that this led to this.

A little far-fetched, don't you think?

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