LET THE GAMES BEGIN
Filing for the office of Mayor has not yet closed but the games have already begun. The Convention and Visitors Bureau requested approval from the City Council for two advertising contracts with two television stations to advertise Christmas Traditions on South Main Street. The contracts with Channel 30 and with Channel 2, two of the least watched stations in the area, were for over $25,000 each. What is interesting about the contracts is that both called for live interviews with the Mayor. Do you think the Convention and Visitors Bureau thought an interview with the Mayor on television would increase the number of visitors to Christmas Traditions? Or do you think the CVB was playing up to the Mayor by giving her television coverage, paid for by the taxpayers, so she would have an advantage over the other two candidates in the February primary mayoral election in which she is an announced candidate? The Mayor has shown in the past that she is not above using taxpayer funds to promote herself or to attempt to crush her adversaries. Charles Hill mentions in his article that the local restaurants will have to do $5 million in business to recover the $50,000 that was approved. The businesses on South Main Street probably should order in additional merchandise so it is available for the large influx of visitors they will have because the Mayor is being interviewed on television.
LIONEL I WOULD BE CAREFUL
I hope Lionel, the mayor’s husband, reads the story about the judgment of $1 million against former St. Peters Mayor Tom Brown and $375,000 against the City. The Hodaks claimed the Mayor was attempting to put them out of business because of letters they were writing to the newspaper. This verdict and judgment sure gives us some ideas.
What brings this home is Midwest Waste has told us Lionel has called and visited their offices in an attempt to have them stop advertising in the First Capitol News. We also know of other businesses that have been contacted in attempts to stop their advertising in our publication. A Main Street merchant told us he was told by the publicist for Hot Summer Nights that the Mayor would not patronize his establishment because he was advertising in this paper and if he wanted her business he would have to write her a letter of apology. He told us his advertising in our newspaper brought him more business than the mayor ever could and he thought it was disgusting that the person who was supposed to be the community leader was using such tactics.
BOB SAYS HE IS YOUR CHAMPION BUT THINKS YOU ARE HIS CHUMPS
Councilman Bob Hoepfner wants you to believe that he is the champion of rights for the taxpayers and the fiscal watchdog for the city. He even had us believing that for a while, until we learned otherwise. Bob wants you to believe he is your champion while all along he believes you are his chumps. He is interested in what is good for Bob not what is best for the taxpayers. He spouts his rhetoric but while out of the public eye his actions speak otherwise.
Bob was against allowing Michael Sellenschuetter to hook his development (outside the city limits) onto city water and sewers. Then suddenly he changed his vote. I am sure it was not because he got the plumbing on several homes in the development. He was against allowing TR Hughes to hook up his development (outside the city limits) onto city water and sewers but then changed his vote. I am sure the fact that TR Hughes workers performed several thousand dollars work at his home had nothing to do with that. Those are just a couple of examples. Others can be found in our archives at firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
During the past election campaign, thousands of recorded telephone calls went out to city voters from Bob encouraging them to vote against the Community Center proposal. Caller ID indicated the calls were from Survey St. Louis. That is the company owned by Thomas Smith, Legislative Director for State Representative Tom Dempsey (R) 18th District.
Smith is the subject of an investigative report by the First Capitol News where it was found that he was the treasurer of more than 10 Republican Legislative District Committees.
As treasurer of these committees, Smith collected and disbursed several million dollars to various candidates as well as to businesses owned by him. See our archives, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com and in the search area type in MONEY LAUNDERING.
Smith was also a member of the St. Charles Park Board and when his term expired and the Council would not approve his reappointment by the Mayor, he refused to step down. Hoepfner was against the reappointment of Smith, I wonder if he will vote for his reappointment now. Smith was also heavily involved in the attempts to recall Councilman Mark Brown and Councilman Dottie Greer. Both attempts were plagued with fraud, forgeries and misrepresentation.
