“Money is the most egalitarian force in society. It confers power on whoever holds it.”
Roger Starr
I had to laugh when I read in the St. Peters’ paper that Bob Hoepfner switched sides because he didn’t like me more than York.
Okay, I wasn’t the only person he disliked; however, it was a little surprising to have him mention me. I rarely had anything to do with Mr. Hoepfner from the very beginning. I thought about what must have made him dislike me so much. If anything, it was I who should have sour feelings towards him....but I don’t. Again, it takes too much effort to hold grudges. Think about it – it was for Battling Bob that we voted to make the changes in seating. It was also after he told us that the mayor was okay with the move! It turned out she wasn’t. What was presented as a change to reflect the county council seating with departments sitting together (administration with administration and legislative with legislative) was soon turned into a personal matter which I had no part in. This was a remnant of conflicts that preceded several of us on council.
Coming from a family of law enforcement, I was really distressed to find myself at odds with the Police Department. I found this out by being targeted by a full-page advertisement which attacked several council members. I am convinced that Councilman Hoepfner (who was on ‘our’ side at the time) making constant negative attacks on the police didn’t help, as far as I was concerned. After all, I supported the police by voting to keep our own SWAT team and by demanding that health insurance coverage include spouses because we had given our word that in our goal to save money for the City we wouldn’t cut coverage. It was, in fact, Mr. Hoepfner who fought hardest to take away such benefits claiming that they were unrealistic in today’s world. I always thought it was odd to hear a union member stand solidly against benefits that provide insurance for working families.
Certainly, Mr. Hoepfner was an advocate for reducing utility taxes for seniors. It was the will of the entire council to do so and it was my goal to focus limited tax rebate dollars to those who most needed the refund. My hope was that by setting an income level of a reasonable amount would help make certain that utility tax breaks weren’t gobbled up by those wishing to lower their utility bills on their 4,000 square foot home while seniors living in small houses or apartments reaped nothing because they applied too late and all the money allotted was already used up! This was a particular sore spot for me too when my opponent’s literature deliberately contorted my attempts at passing fair legislation making it appear in his literature that my efforts were working against seniors when I was really working for the most vulnerable seniors in our community. By the way, it is easy to fight for rebates if you aren’t the one who has to figure out what other services the City will cut to pay for them. That leads me back to my buddy, Bob...
I know that Bob was angry with me because I opposed changing the zoning along West Clay which would have allowed a car dealership to encroach upon Olde Towne Estates. Bob was pushing hard for the business and I was pushing hard for the residents. Our opposition was not anti anyone, it was about protecting property values. Today, the location has seen a beautiful development begin that has retained the old-growth trees as well as kept the proper zoning. I was happy to work together with the developer, John Rice, who is a real asset to Saint Charles and someone the community can trust and believe when he says he wants to do right by his town. Again, I digress....
So, if Mr. Hoepfner doesn’t like me, I can only guess that it was because of such reasons since we had limited business together. My feelings towards him outside of city hall are not negative. Cheryl Primm is a friend of his and mine, if she likes him, I guess I like him too. I just had to chuckle when I read that I played a part in his switching sides....
I never figured that one out; after one of the major components of a “side” has moved – does either side really exist anymore? I didn’t think so – I voted for what I believed was right – which meant I voted along with the majority of the council most of the time. It was rare that real conflicts were battled out but a large share of those conflicts had to do with fights and history that I had no part of. Sadly, when you go to city hall to work for a better town, you have to contend with factions of all sorts. So much of what happens or doesn’t happen in local government is based upon who you know rather than what’s best for our community. Had I not opposed county residents hooking into our sewage without annexing into our town (i.e. opposed the wrong developer) then I would not have been targeted to get removed from office. We all know that in the end, money buys elections and until we change the process we have the best democracy money can buy. Take care Bob and try to let it go...
