By Tony Brockmeyer
Have you ever wanted to be Mayor of St. Charles? If that is something you have been wanting to do Certificate of Nomination forms are available to any person desiring to be nominated for the office of Mayor at the City Clerk’s office in City Hall at 200 North Second Street. Not less than 100 signatures of qualified registered voters of the City of St Charles are required on the nomination petitions in ordo to have your name placed on the ballot. Once you have obtained the signatures filing for the office will be open from 8:00 a.m., Tuesday November 14, 2006 until 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 21, 2006.
To qualify to run for Mayor you must be a registered voter of the City of St. Charles; A resident of the City for the two years immediately preceding the election; and at least 30 years of age at the time the mayor assumes office.
SPECULATION ABOUNDS ON CANDIDATES FOR THE OFFICE
When the winner of the Mayoral election in April of 2007 takes office a new day will dawn in St. Charles. A charter amendment passed by the voters last year does away with the City Administrator and gives all the power to the Mayor. Up to that point the Mayor is more or less a figure head. No one knows for sure who the candidates will be until they file,. A primary election will be held on February 6, 2007. The two candidates with the highest number of votes will face off against each other in the April 3, 2007 municipal elections. All ten council seats are also up in the April election.
SENATOR CHUCK GROSS
Senator Gross’s name has been mentioned as a candidate. Gross could make the race and if he lost would still have two years left on his term in the senate. Some say, that although he has not filed for the position, he is already acting like he is the Mayor. He recently passed a bill in the senate restricting the authority of the St. Charles City Council’s use of gaming funds. St. Charles is the only City in Missouri to face such restrictions. Other senators with casinos in their districts refused to allow their cities to be handicapped by such a law.
Those in the know seem to think that once Steve Ehlmann is elected County Executive, Gross will move into Ehlmann's old office, that of County Administrator.
ST. CHARLES COUNTY
COUNCILMAN DAN FOUST
Dan Foust is a perennial candidate. In the last mayoral election he was able to beat Councilman Bob Hoepfner and Councilman Rory Riddler in the primary to face Patti York in the municipal elections. Some say he lost the election to York because he would not debate her. Dan says he was told by his advisors not to debate her because he was too tall. There is also the possibility Dan can move into the position of Chairman of the County Council. Dan says if the salary is high enough he will probably be a candidate but is not yet ready to commit.
COUNCILMAN JOHN GIESEKE
There appears to be a movement afoot to draft St. Charles Ward 8 Councilman John Gieseke to run for the office of mayor. John says he is considering all his options but has not made a decision. John is completing his second term as a councilman. If he decides to run for Mayor he will be giving up his chance to run for a third term as councilman. John’s ward has grown tremendously during his tenure. The New town at St. Charles is in his ward and is projected to have 5,700 new homes. A large number of new retail businesses and industrial companies have opened in John’s ward. At a recent ground breaking for a retail center in Ward 8, Tim Sansone of the Sansone Company remarked,”We would not be building in st. Charles if not for the efforts and hard work of Councilman John Gieseke.” those behind the draft Gieseke movement believe he has shown great vision and leadership and that he is the type of leader St. Charles has been lacking.
PATTI YORK
Mayor York has already announced her intentions to try for a third term. Prior to being elected Mayor she served as a councilwoman. Although she is carrying a lot of baggage she evidently believes she can mount a stiff challenge. Some of her baggage includes; The sale of the old police headquarters at less than value; the apparent illegal signing of a contract with Express Scripts who are now making demands for $200,000 to the city; Her letters of recommendation for her “Top Cop” while he had a $101 million dollar law suit pending against the City, City Administrator and Council; Her high profile involvement in the recall efforts to remove Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown from office and her alleged use of taxpayer dollars to fund the recall attempts which were plagued with fraud and forgeries; Her appointment of people to city boards and commissions who are not even residents of the city, just to mention a few.
OTHER CANDIDATES?
Other possible candidates include Kevin Kast and Rory Riddler. Kast headed SSM St. Joseph Health Center until his sudden resignation. It was reported he wanted to retire. He then got involved in the recall attempts to oust Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown. Both recall attempts were filled with fraud, forgeries and misinformation. The recall attempts were funded by Kast and TR Hughes. After the recalls failed Kast went to work for a hospital in Decatur, Illinois and he and Hughes are building a senior development in O’Fallon.
Don’t count out Councilman Rory Riddler. Riddler is also a perennial candidate. Although he says he is not running for the office of mayor he is a very smart politician. You never know what he is going to do.
Who would you like to see as mayor? let us know at firstcapitolnews@aol.com or write us 336 A S. Main St. 63301.
