THE CITY DESK
By Rory Riddler
St. Charles City Council President

Recall Effort In Seventh Ward
Is Appalling Abuse Of System

It will take Mary Poppins and more than a few teaspoons of sugar to sweeten the taste of sour grapes in the city’s Seventh Ward. There a committee is circulating petitions to try to recall Councilwoman Dottie Greer, who is the lone female member of our ten member Council.

Greer has been in office less than nine months and, from where I sit (immediately to her right on Tuesday nights), she has done nothing to warrant a recall. She appears to be a very honest and hard working individual. She is also a very religious individual and very proud of her family. Like me, she is blessed with the support of a loving and understanding spouse. Greer’s husband can often be seen sitting in the back of the Council chambers waiting for us to adjourn in the wee hours.

Like any freshman member of a governmental body, Dottie Greer is learning the ropes. You can’t be in public life and not make some people angry. It goes with the territory. No matter how you vote on any issue there will be some detractors who will remember you didn’t vote their way or that you couldn’t solve their particular problem.

There are also numerous opportunities as a local official to step on other people’s toes. No two people are going to handle the same situation the same way. For freshmen members of any elected body, not use to the subtleties of the “institutional culture”, it can be a real minefield.

Last Tuesday, two of the members of the five person “citizens” committee who constitute the formal body seeking Councilwoman Greer’s recall, appeared before the City Council. One used her time before the Council to make a personal attack against Dottie Greer.

I listened as the list of complaints was rattled off. When the woman was finished, I gave Councilwoman Greer an opportunity to respond. She kept her cool and answered each one of the complaints in turn. I’m not sure many of us could have remained as calm as she did, especially as the speaker tried on several occasion to interrupt Ms Greer’s comments and engage her in a political debate.

Coincidentally, if you believe in political coincidence, this same individual was active in organizing a meeting to consider recalling Council members just three months after the April election. Fortunately, the Charter prohibits recalls in the first six months of a member’s term. What we have here is simply an extension of the April election…a never ending campaign.

If anyone needs proof, consider that one of the five official organizers and spokespeople for the group seeking this recall is former Councilman Dan Gould. He lost his seat on the Council to Greer in April. I’ve lost my share of political races. It hurts, but you get over it. Mayor York and I may at times disagree on an issue, but we respect one another and have a great working relationship, much to the consternation of those who think we should be beating each other over the head with baseball bats on a daily basis. My advice to Dan Gould is to get over it. Campaigns have a beginning, a middle and an end.

One issue I would like to put to bed is the statement made in one of the Police Association’s full-page ads and repeated by the speaker Tuesday night, that Councilwoman Greer made derogatory comments about City employees. I have never heard her make any disparaging remarks about employees and have never seen any quotes in the press that would indicate such.

That same ad also claimed Councilman Joe Koester had made disparaging remarks. Joe Koester’s father was our former Sheriff Bob Koester. He has family in police work. I have never heard Joe Koester say anything disparaging or disrespectful of the police. It is not in his nature. There is a big difference between disagreeing over an issue and being disrespectful or demeaning. It makes me wonder if the “professional” St. Louis advertising firm Glennon, whom the Police Association is using, cares about the truth or not. I believe the Police Association owes at least these two members of the Council an apology.

I also listened as the speaker Tuesday night claimed Dottie Greer wasn’t answering phone calls. Yet Greer has logged in dozens and dozens of citizen complaints. How have all of these people communicated with her? When asked by another Councilman if the speaker from the recall group had ever called her, Dottie Greer answered no. Perhaps the speaker could produce some phone records to show that she has at least dialed Councilwoman Greer’s number.

For those who feel we can all do a better job of running the City, I say there is always room for improvement. But the time to judge the performance of an official is at election time, after he or she has at least had the opportunity to learn the ropes or try to accomplish what they promised the voters. Half of this Council has been on the job for 36 weeks. We just hired a new City Administrator in late December as the first step on a list of 24 very positive goals we want to accomplish in 1995.

I hope the voters of the 7th Ward will be very careful in signing any petitions. Demand proof, not innuendo at your door. Ask who is funding their effort, who the members of the committee are and whether or not they have any obvious or potential conflicts of interest. It is certainly your right to sign a recall petition, but with rights come responsibility. Ask yourself whether or not the disagreements these individuals have with Councilwoman Greer rise anywhere near the threshold for a recall.

I believe we have a bright year ahead of us in 2005, one the citizens of St. Charles will appreciate. Let’s give the peacemakers among us a chance to heal old wounds. Time, and the voters, will ultimately judge the value of our work.