Saturday, February 03, 2007

RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer

To the supporters and readers of the First Capitol News:

For the last seven years we have been reporting the news and pointing out problems in the City of St. Charles. This Tuesday you have an opportunity to do something about it. If you have been a loyal reader and supporter of our paper we are now asking you to go to the poles and make a difference. Remember, normal primaries have less than a fifteen percent turn out of voters. If all the readers and supporters of the First Capitol News would just go to the polls, what a difference we could make.

You would think I would have learned by now not to be surprised by anything that happens in politics, but I continue to be taken aback.

A lot of the movers and shakers who have been staunch supporters of Mayor York have dropped her and have moved over to Nichols. I don’t know if they think Patti carries too much baggage or if they believe they have a better chance of having their special interests taken care of by Nichols should she be elected. Probably a little of both.

FOP’s, (friends of Patti) have taken to having secret fireside chats with Grace. it appears the members of the Secret Society want Nichols as Mayor. You remember the Secret Society, we wrote about them during the last City Council elections. They brought the candidates in to dictate to them what they would have to do for their support and if the candidate did not wish to be bought and paid for, they told them to leave by the back door.

Some of the people on Historic Main Street have also turned their backs on Patti. Even after all the special favors she gave them in deference to the resident taxpayers. These people had a fireside chat with Nichols the other night. The Mydlers, Haddocks, Archie Scott, Venetia McEntire, Steve Powell and others gathered to plan what they want to be Grace’s triumph over Patti. I was told that Archie Scott and Paul Mydler spoke about how devastating it would be if Nichols were not voted into office. I guess this ruins Steve Powell’s chance to be re-hired as the Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau by Patti if she would win. Perhaps Grace has made him an offer. They say bring back Grace; maybe Grace will bring back Steve.

Former City Councilwoman Mary West is also sponsoring fireside chats with Grace. She was an ardent supporter of Patti, I wonder what made her desert? Too bad she did not jump on the John Gieseke bandwagon.

Tuesday, February 6th is a very important day for the voters of St. Charles. Please vote. Each and every vote counts.

You have to decide if you want a professional, efficient, progressive government that John Gieseke will give you or do you want to go backwards. John is completing his second term as City Councilman for Ward 8. He has shown by his actions that he is concerned about the residents and has demonstrated he works for them.

Or do you want more of Patti? You can read a lot about Patti and her record as Mayor on our web log; firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com. In the search area you can type in York or Mayor or Recall plus many others to read about her adventures as the leader of this City. You can read about how she called a special meeting to sell the old police headquarters for less than the appraised value with an offer of over $100,000 more on the table. How she maneuvered City funds into the recalls against Councilman Mark Brown and Dottie Greer. Recall efforts that were fraught with fraud, forgeries and arrests. You can read how she signed a contract illegally, without City Council authorization, which brought a $200,000 demand and then a lawsuit against the City. You can read how she wrote a letter of recommendation for a fired police sergeant who put the City Administrator on the ground at gunpoint. You can read how that same sergeant, at the time she wrote the letter, had a multi million law suit against the City and how she wrote in the letter she believed his lawsuit would be successful. I could go on, however, I suggest you just go to our web log and see for yourself.

Or, you could bring back Grace Nichols. I do have a correction to make about Grace Nichols. She did not serve as a state representative. She ran for the office of state representative twice and lost both times.

Grace served two terms as Mayor and was defeated when she tried for a third term and 78 percent of the voters refused her. She would like you to forget about her dismal record while she was in office. She evidently believes it was so long ago you will not remember. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just go to the library and pull up the archives of the Post Dispatch and type in Grace Nichols and you can see for yourself. Or talk to a member of the City Council who was in office during her term in office and you will learn that when she tried for a third term not one sitting Council member would support her. You really don’t want to go backwards with Grace do you?

Vote for John Gieseke for a professional, efficient, progressive St. Charles.