(Click on image to enlarge)To read the entire edition of the First Capitol News including all stories and ads please go to www.firstcapitolnews.com
Saturday, April 21, 2007
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS FRONT PAGE - April 21, 2007
(Click on image to enlarge)To read the entire edition of the First Capitol News including all stories and ads please go to www.firstcapitolnews.com
Standing By Our Word
From Our Publisher
Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Standing By Our Word
The First Capitol News strives to bring you the news you won’t find anywhere else. Our stories are often ones other newspapers can’t or won’t print. “Can’t” because our sources know we won’t sweep their information under the rug. They simply choose to talk with us over other media outlets. “Won’t” because the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Journal Newspapers are both owned by the same Iowa based company. They are first and foremost in the business of making money. That puts them in a very delicate position when it comes to covering what rich and powerful special interests may be doing.
During this past election, we reported that two sources within the Police Department of the City of St. Charles confirmed that Mayor Patti York had promised the Fraternal Order of Police she would get rid of Police Chief Tim Swope.
Rather than developing their own sources for independent confirmation of our story, the Post and Journal chose to cover a press conference by the Mayor and officers of the Fraternal Order of Police to criticize our reporting and deny the story. Further, the Mayor then promised to not fire any department directors for one year if reelected.
Many voters took her at her word. But we stand by our word, to you, our readers.
On the day before the April 3rd election, residents awoke to find a newspaper made to look like the First Capitol News on their lawns. It loudly proclaimed that our stories had been false and proceeded to attack in a most cowardly way, the Mayor’s opponent and several members of the Council.
Only after the election, did it come to light that millionaire developer T. R. Hughes had paid $58,000 to Voters for Good Government to run a negative smear campaign on behalf of the Mayor and a slate of Council candidates. Buddy Hardin, the treasurer and only member of Voters for Good Government, also runs the O’Fallon License Bureau.
Hughes had previously poured tens of thousands of dollars into the recall efforts against two Council members, efforts which were tainted with fraud according to an investigation by St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas. Prior to making his fortune in homebuilding, Hughes was a police officer and former head of the local Police Association.
Where are the editorials in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Journal newspapers decrying how big money unduly influenced the City elections in St. Charles? Where is their righteous indignation at the smear campaign tactics?
If Police Chief Tim Swope is here one year from now, then the Mayor will have kept her word. If, however, he ceases to be Police Chief, as our sources said he would, then the citizens of St. Charles will know on which newspaper they can depend for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Publisher
First Capitol News
Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Standing By Our Word
The First Capitol News strives to bring you the news you won’t find anywhere else. Our stories are often ones other newspapers can’t or won’t print. “Can’t” because our sources know we won’t sweep their information under the rug. They simply choose to talk with us over other media outlets. “Won’t” because the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Journal Newspapers are both owned by the same Iowa based company. They are first and foremost in the business of making money. That puts them in a very delicate position when it comes to covering what rich and powerful special interests may be doing.
During this past election, we reported that two sources within the Police Department of the City of St. Charles confirmed that Mayor Patti York had promised the Fraternal Order of Police she would get rid of Police Chief Tim Swope.
Rather than developing their own sources for independent confirmation of our story, the Post and Journal chose to cover a press conference by the Mayor and officers of the Fraternal Order of Police to criticize our reporting and deny the story. Further, the Mayor then promised to not fire any department directors for one year if reelected.
Many voters took her at her word. But we stand by our word, to you, our readers.
On the day before the April 3rd election, residents awoke to find a newspaper made to look like the First Capitol News on their lawns. It loudly proclaimed that our stories had been false and proceeded to attack in a most cowardly way, the Mayor’s opponent and several members of the Council.
Only after the election, did it come to light that millionaire developer T. R. Hughes had paid $58,000 to Voters for Good Government to run a negative smear campaign on behalf of the Mayor and a slate of Council candidates. Buddy Hardin, the treasurer and only member of Voters for Good Government, also runs the O’Fallon License Bureau.
Hughes had previously poured tens of thousands of dollars into the recall efforts against two Council members, efforts which were tainted with fraud according to an investigation by St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas. Prior to making his fortune in homebuilding, Hughes was a police officer and former head of the local Police Association.
Where are the editorials in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Journal newspapers decrying how big money unduly influenced the City elections in St. Charles? Where is their righteous indignation at the smear campaign tactics?
If Police Chief Tim Swope is here one year from now, then the Mayor will have kept her word. If, however, he ceases to be Police Chief, as our sources said he would, then the citizens of St. Charles will know on which newspaper they can depend for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Phyllis Schaltenbrand
Publisher
First Capitol News
Improprieties Cast Shadow Over Ward 9 City Elections Similar Situation In Hayti, Mo & Judge Orders New Election
By Tony Brockmeyer
In the April 3 city council election in Ward 9 it was discovered that some voters who lived in Ward 10 were given ballots to vote in the Ward 9 election. Incumbent Councilman Joe Koester was facing a challenge from Ron Stivison. Koester lost by only six votes 406 to 400.
On April 5, the St. Charles County Counselor’s office notified all parties involved that Director of Elections Rich Chrismer had found errors in Precinct 32’s conduct of the election for Ward 9 and believed a new special election may be necessary.
Also on April 5th the County Counselor’s office filed a petition in St. Charles County Circuit Court wherein it stated, “Wherefore, Plaintiff Rich Chrismer, Director of Elections for St. Charles County, pursuant to Section 115.600 of Missouri’s Comprehensive Election Act of 1977, requests that this Court enter an order and judgment invalidating the April 3, 2006 election for City Council member for Ward 9 in the City of St. Charles, and ordering a new election for that office.”
Later that evening it was reported that Chrismer had changed his mind and did not believe a new election was needed. Our sources at the County government building told us that a great deal of pressure was placed on Chrismer not to ask for a new election.
According to the petition, voters casting ballots in the election for Ward 9 were to cast yellow ballots, while voters casting ballots in the election for Ward 10 were to cast cherry ballots. However, until notified of their error by a DRE technician-election judge, election judges at precinct 32 issued all voters, whether voting in the Ward 9 or Ward 10 election, only yellow ballots. As many as seventeen votes may have been cast mistakenly in the election contest for Council Member for Ward 9.
The matter was set for hearing on Friday, April 20th. First assigned to Judge Lucy Rauch who recused herself. Then to Judge Ted House who recused himself, then to Judge Nancy Schneider who recused herself and now a request has been sent to the Missouri Supreme Court for judicial assignment.
A story in the Democrat Argus newspaper April 12, 2007 edition by Karol Wilcox reported that in the city of Hayti, election night totals showed mayoral challenger Bobby Watkins ahead of incumbent Richard Ashbaugh by 10 votes but allegations surfaced that some of the votes cast were from voters outside of the city limits. The voters were supposed to be given county only ballots but in error were given Hayti city ballots.
Pemiscot County Circuit Judge Fred Copeland has ordered a new election for Mayor of Hayti be held on Tuesday, April 24. According to the Democrat Argus article, Judge Copeland referred to Missouri Statue which he says left him with no discretion in the matter and that a new election must be held. Until the new election is held the Hayti elections were not certified and the incumbent Mayor will preside as mayor until the outcome of the new election. According to state statutes, Ashbaugh remains mayor until a new mayor is elected and certified.
Joe Koester told the First Capitol News. “I believe it is only fair that a new election be held and I am hoping the courts agree.”
In the April 3 city council election in Ward 9 it was discovered that some voters who lived in Ward 10 were given ballots to vote in the Ward 9 election. Incumbent Councilman Joe Koester was facing a challenge from Ron Stivison. Koester lost by only six votes 406 to 400.
On April 5, the St. Charles County Counselor’s office notified all parties involved that Director of Elections Rich Chrismer had found errors in Precinct 32’s conduct of the election for Ward 9 and believed a new special election may be necessary.
Also on April 5th the County Counselor’s office filed a petition in St. Charles County Circuit Court wherein it stated, “Wherefore, Plaintiff Rich Chrismer, Director of Elections for St. Charles County, pursuant to Section 115.600 of Missouri’s Comprehensive Election Act of 1977, requests that this Court enter an order and judgment invalidating the April 3, 2006 election for City Council member for Ward 9 in the City of St. Charles, and ordering a new election for that office.”
Later that evening it was reported that Chrismer had changed his mind and did not believe a new election was needed. Our sources at the County government building told us that a great deal of pressure was placed on Chrismer not to ask for a new election.
According to the petition, voters casting ballots in the election for Ward 9 were to cast yellow ballots, while voters casting ballots in the election for Ward 10 were to cast cherry ballots. However, until notified of their error by a DRE technician-election judge, election judges at precinct 32 issued all voters, whether voting in the Ward 9 or Ward 10 election, only yellow ballots. As many as seventeen votes may have been cast mistakenly in the election contest for Council Member for Ward 9.
The matter was set for hearing on Friday, April 20th. First assigned to Judge Lucy Rauch who recused herself. Then to Judge Ted House who recused himself, then to Judge Nancy Schneider who recused herself and now a request has been sent to the Missouri Supreme Court for judicial assignment.
A story in the Democrat Argus newspaper April 12, 2007 edition by Karol Wilcox reported that in the city of Hayti, election night totals showed mayoral challenger Bobby Watkins ahead of incumbent Richard Ashbaugh by 10 votes but allegations surfaced that some of the votes cast were from voters outside of the city limits. The voters were supposed to be given county only ballots but in error were given Hayti city ballots.
Pemiscot County Circuit Judge Fred Copeland has ordered a new election for Mayor of Hayti be held on Tuesday, April 24. According to the Democrat Argus article, Judge Copeland referred to Missouri Statue which he says left him with no discretion in the matter and that a new election must be held. Until the new election is held the Hayti elections were not certified and the incumbent Mayor will preside as mayor until the outcome of the new election. According to state statutes, Ashbaugh remains mayor until a new mayor is elected and certified.
Joe Koester told the First Capitol News. “I believe it is only fair that a new election be held and I am hoping the courts agree.”
Burglary Suspects Arrested 11 Guns Recovered 1 Missing
By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
St. Charles police have arrested three high school students who are accused of committing a burglary where 12 guns were stolen along with 2000.00 worth of gift cards and a DVD/IPOD system. All but one of the guns have been recovered.
On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, sometime between 8:45am and 2:30pm, Police believe these three suspects broke into a house in the 100 block of Elks Trail by prying open a door. Upon gaining entry, the subjects removed the above described items.
Chief Tim Swope said, “It was excellent police work that led patrol officers to the suspects. Once the information was developed the patrol officers and detectives worked very hard to arrest the subjects and recover the missing guns and other items.
Chief Swope stated with the current events that occurred in Virginia that it was extremely important to locate the suspects and recover the guns and find out the suspects motive in this case. Chief Swope does not believe at this time that the suspects were planning any kind of attack on their school.
The three suspects are identified as:
Marquise L. Crump
black, male, 18 yrs of age
residing in the 2600 blk of Falcons Way
St. Charles, Mo
Michael T Tinsley II
white, male, 17 yrs of age
residing in the 2700 blk Kristopher Bend
St. Charles, Mo.
Jeff Johnson III
black, male, 17 yrs of age
residing 3400 blk of River Chase Pkwy
St. Charles, Mo.
The three suspects have been charged with Burglary 2nd Degree and Felony Stealing and are being held on $20,000 bond.
St. Charles police have arrested three high school students who are accused of committing a burglary where 12 guns were stolen along with 2000.00 worth of gift cards and a DVD/IPOD system. All but one of the guns have been recovered.
On Tuesday, April 17, 2007, sometime between 8:45am and 2:30pm, Police believe these three suspects broke into a house in the 100 block of Elks Trail by prying open a door. Upon gaining entry, the subjects removed the above described items.
Chief Tim Swope said, “It was excellent police work that led patrol officers to the suspects. Once the information was developed the patrol officers and detectives worked very hard to arrest the subjects and recover the missing guns and other items.
Chief Swope stated with the current events that occurred in Virginia that it was extremely important to locate the suspects and recover the guns and find out the suspects motive in this case. Chief Swope does not believe at this time that the suspects were planning any kind of attack on their school.
The three suspects are identified as:
Marquise L. Crump
black, male, 18 yrs of age
residing in the 2600 blk of Falcons Way
St. Charles, Mo
Michael T Tinsley II
white, male, 17 yrs of age
residing in the 2700 blk Kristopher Bend
St. Charles, Mo.
Jeff Johnson III
black, male, 17 yrs of age
residing 3400 blk of River Chase Pkwy
St. Charles, Mo.
The three suspects have been charged with Burglary 2nd Degree and Felony Stealing and are being held on $20,000 bond.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
Tuesday night’s council meeting was rather dull. Bob Kneemiller had the city council under control and they voted the way he, or the mayor, wanted them to vote. I hope it was only because they are new on the job and are still finding their bearings. I would hope they would not abdicate their authority as the legislative body and let the administration have free reign without any oversight.
They gave up one of the rights that previous councils had fought hard to retain, the right to name outside attorneys to represent the city. There are some instances in which legal advice or representation is needed in areas in which the city attorney may not have the expertise or at times when his work load does not give him the time to properly handle the matter. When this occurs he makes recommendation to the city council but the decision was in their hands to decide which attorney was hired to handle such matters. At the council meeting Tuesday night they gave up that authority.The administration can now hire any attorney they want without input from the council. I wonder if they realize how this is going to impact their terms on the council. I hope in the future they are more cognizant of what they are being asked to do. There are times the results could be disastrous if they don’t pay attention.
Two of the Mayor’s appointments were approved by the Council. Thomas Smith was appointed once again to the Park Board and Gene Carol was appointed to the Fourth of July committee. Smith was written about in the First Capitol News as treasurer for 23 special interest committees that funneled millions of dollars into Republican political campaigns. The committees were headquartered in his home at 320 Monroe in St. Charles. He also operated several unlicensed businesses from that address including Survey St. Louis which was heavily in the fraud and forgery ridden recall campaigns against Mark Brown and Dottie Greer. He is a state employee working for State Representative Tom Dempsey. You can read about Smith in our archives, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com in stories titled ‘Money Laundering”. He had been serving on the Park Board but the previous Council had refused to reappoint him when his term expired.
Gene Carrol was also active in the fraud and forgery riddled recall campaigns. In fact, he filed suit in an attempt to have Mark Brown recalled, costing St. Charles taxpayers thousands of dollars in attorney fees to defend the suit. The previous council had also refused to reappoint Carrol to the Fourth of July committee when his term expired.
They gave up one of the rights that previous councils had fought hard to retain, the right to name outside attorneys to represent the city. There are some instances in which legal advice or representation is needed in areas in which the city attorney may not have the expertise or at times when his work load does not give him the time to properly handle the matter. When this occurs he makes recommendation to the city council but the decision was in their hands to decide which attorney was hired to handle such matters. At the council meeting Tuesday night they gave up that authority.The administration can now hire any attorney they want without input from the council. I wonder if they realize how this is going to impact their terms on the council. I hope in the future they are more cognizant of what they are being asked to do. There are times the results could be disastrous if they don’t pay attention.
Two of the Mayor’s appointments were approved by the Council. Thomas Smith was appointed once again to the Park Board and Gene Carol was appointed to the Fourth of July committee. Smith was written about in the First Capitol News as treasurer for 23 special interest committees that funneled millions of dollars into Republican political campaigns. The committees were headquartered in his home at 320 Monroe in St. Charles. He also operated several unlicensed businesses from that address including Survey St. Louis which was heavily in the fraud and forgery ridden recall campaigns against Mark Brown and Dottie Greer. He is a state employee working for State Representative Tom Dempsey. You can read about Smith in our archives, firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com in stories titled ‘Money Laundering”. He had been serving on the Park Board but the previous Council had refused to reappoint him when his term expired.
Gene Carrol was also active in the fraud and forgery riddled recall campaigns. In fact, he filed suit in an attempt to have Mark Brown recalled, costing St. Charles taxpayers thousands of dollars in attorney fees to defend the suit. The previous council had also refused to reappoint Carrol to the Fourth of July committee when his term expired.
EDITORIAL
NEW CITY COUNCIL SHOULD NOT BE A RUBBER STAMP
Now that the elections are over I hope the new council understands what their role in city government entails. In the past, some city councils have been rubber stamps for the administration and have cost taxpayers tremendous amounts of money. There sometimes has been a mindset that the city council was part of the administration. That is dangerous. This attitude does not allow for the oversight of the administration and creates a government that lacks the fundamental three branches of government. For a representative form of government to work properly there must be three branches. The administration, the legislative and the judicial. The city council is there to represent their constituents as the legislative branch, creating laws that enrich or protect our quality of life. The administrative branch is to carry out these laws. The judicial branch is to make sure the laws are followed.
Oversight by the legislative branch of the administration is another duty they are elected to fulfill. This role is crucial to protect the citizens from an over zealous administration that can and will be tempted to use your tax dollars to enrich political campaign contributors. The administrative branch will use pork projects to create work for engineering companies or change the cities fuel contract to help pay back a company for helping in the election. Keep in mind this goes on to some extent but a council that refuses to do their job and is just a rubber stamp for the administration will soon have the residents they represent outraged.
In the past the administration tried to reward some on the council for playing ball with special treatment purchasing trucks. I would bet there are a number of paybacks due with this past election. Some employees who used their constitutionally protected freedom of speech and placed a sign for the opponent of the newly elected will come under fire by the administration. This is the ultimate in the need for oversight. This should be questioned by both the newly appointed Director of Administration and the
City Attorney. We saw some paybacks with board appointments at the Tuesday council meeting when those on the council placed a person on a board who had sued the city and cost the taxpayers thousands in legal fees. That was a political payback by the Mayor.
In conclusion, our founding fathers created a system that allows for civil public discussion. Those newly elected should not be fearful of the Mayor and administration when asking questions. Those newly elected should be fearful of an electorate that is bright enough to know when they are being represented or when the rubber stamp is being used.
Now that the elections are over I hope the new council understands what their role in city government entails. In the past, some city councils have been rubber stamps for the administration and have cost taxpayers tremendous amounts of money. There sometimes has been a mindset that the city council was part of the administration. That is dangerous. This attitude does not allow for the oversight of the administration and creates a government that lacks the fundamental three branches of government. For a representative form of government to work properly there must be three branches. The administration, the legislative and the judicial. The city council is there to represent their constituents as the legislative branch, creating laws that enrich or protect our quality of life. The administrative branch is to carry out these laws. The judicial branch is to make sure the laws are followed.
Oversight by the legislative branch of the administration is another duty they are elected to fulfill. This role is crucial to protect the citizens from an over zealous administration that can and will be tempted to use your tax dollars to enrich political campaign contributors. The administrative branch will use pork projects to create work for engineering companies or change the cities fuel contract to help pay back a company for helping in the election. Keep in mind this goes on to some extent but a council that refuses to do their job and is just a rubber stamp for the administration will soon have the residents they represent outraged.
In the past the administration tried to reward some on the council for playing ball with special treatment purchasing trucks. I would bet there are a number of paybacks due with this past election. Some employees who used their constitutionally protected freedom of speech and placed a sign for the opponent of the newly elected will come under fire by the administration. This is the ultimate in the need for oversight. This should be questioned by both the newly appointed Director of Administration and the
City Attorney. We saw some paybacks with board appointments at the Tuesday council meeting when those on the council placed a person on a board who had sued the city and cost the taxpayers thousands in legal fees. That was a political payback by the Mayor.
In conclusion, our founding fathers created a system that allows for civil public discussion. Those newly elected should not be fearful of the Mayor and administration when asking questions. Those newly elected should be fearful of an electorate that is bright enough to know when they are being represented or when the rubber stamp is being used.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters to The Editor
Dear First Capitol News,
Like many informed and honest St. Charles residents, it was with deep outrage and profound disbelief that I absorbed the news of the 2007 election results. The fight to restore and maintain integrity in our city is not over, however, and it is gratifying to know that at least 5000 residents see Mayor York for the hypocritical, unchristian scoundrel that she is. Now is the time for continued action and unity, not apathy and complacency.
Some members of my own family were guilty of voting for York. My conversations with these family members, who are otherwise honest long-standing St. Charles residents, have given me some insight as to why, in this particular instance, the “Good Guys” lost the election (assuming, of course, that no further election fraud is discovered).
Mr. Tom Hughes purchased the election results through professional political means. Simply put, it was honest amateurs versus dishonest professional spin-doctors, and the professionals won. A lesson of American politics that we should now learn is this: Americans respect craftiness, the well played gambit, and the ability to change the rules to win the game. People also respect and recognize strength, even when it is wielded by evil. It is a fact that allowed Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler to gain power.
Gone (forever sadly) are the days when civil honest debates between God-fearing leaders resulted in a truly representative democracy. There are candidates and backroom dealers who believe that whatever you can steal in this world is okay. Honest leaders such as John Gieseke, Joe Koester, and Rory Riddler believe in the higher standard we all will eventually be judged by.
We, the honest residents of St. Charles, with our honest community leaders, can learn the lessons of politics and defeat TR Hughes and his band of bought-and-paid-for politicians. We can do so by honestly and candidly identifying our weaknesses, taking power out of our enemies’ strengths, and exploiting our enemies weaknesses. By playing politics with integrity and the intent to do good, we will demonstrate a strength that both our enemies and apathetic neighbors will come to respect. Active good government is the best deterrent to home builders (and mayors) with delusions of world domination.
What are our weaknesses? We have relied heavily on a single source of public information to get the message out. A minority of people have the time or inclination to read The First Capitol News. And some who do read doubt the information published by this fine publication. I have no doubt that York is guilty of the Express Scripts scandal, the Police Building behind-the-scenes buyout theft, the Election Printing-Paid-for-by-Tax-Dollars crime, the Recall-Election-Fraud indictment issue, and so on and so on. The majority of the voting public in this last election, however, do not seem to be aware of these transgressions. Additionally, this publication is suspect solely for the unique truthfulness it does not share in common with other newspapers. From the First Capitol News we hear the truth, unvarnished and unswayed by backroom politics. When the same truth is not heard from other newspapers, it is less convincing. Unfortunately, it was easy for the professionals employed by Hughes to dupe some St. Charles residents into ignoring the truth — by making the messager’s integrity suspect. They were able to characterize the FCN to some people as a one-person attempt to deceive the voters of St. Charles (ironic isn’t it?) into voting the way that person wanted through the use of biased, unfair written press. And yet they were frightened enough by the FCN to publish a last minute ‘Capitol News Extra” paper to confuse the issue (more will be said on this in listing our strengths).
What are our enemies strengths? Although financial disparity is an obvious advantage I will focus instead on the use of political action groups, most especially in name — such as Citizens for Responsible Government. The illusion of independence, consumer advocacy and protection leads the casual reader to accept the distortions and hogwash these yellow-press groups spew forth. The name sounds honest. Defensive correction of lies never achieves 100% — some voters will not get the message or believe it when a candidate defends himself against a lie. This is one of the reasons the “Good Guys” lost the election. The most successful way to discredit such a group is to create a counter organization with nearly the same name and publish material so obviously fictitious that the casual public associates the target organization with bold faced lies and tastelessness. This is an example of how deception is used to expose the truth.
What are our enemies weaknesses? Put concisely, the TRUTH concerning every action they have taken. Let us package this truth in an easier to absorb format. We need to become effective, efficient and inexpensive. Lets get the truth out in a way that everyone accepts and understands who the “Good Guys are” and most certainly who the “Bad Guys are”.
-Let’s print bumper stickers that have “YORK” with a circle around it and red line through the name. And also make one up for “HUGHES”.
-Let us create a monthly (or quarterly) newspaper called the “St. Charles Post-Dispatch” and make it resemble the Pulitzer giant to give credibility to our arguments (a casual viewer reading a citation in an election ad oftentimes will pick up ‘St. Charles‘ and assume it’s the journal, or ‘Post Dispatch’ and believe it’s the St. Louis variety). The truth works only when it is believed.
-Let us cite council meetings and court room documents when impeaching the character of York, Hughes and her cronies (people give great credence to judicial proceedings — it’s law, not politics). Taking the newspaper out of the citation removes the ability of spin doctors to discredit it. How does a spin doctor discredit a televised council meeting?
-Let us create a political action committee called Citizens for Patti and put forth an ad showing a cartoon character named ‘Princess Patti’ sarcastically thanking the public for electing her mayor and for not being swayed by her many transgressions (which are then listed).
-Let’s put out another ad listing her many faults with the legend “undisputed” and “no comment” from Patti York (York’s defense against any charge leveled against her is simply to pretend it isn’t worth defending against — basically, the ‘it’s no big deal‘ defense...legally, it’s not effective. Politically it is).
-Let us also create a political action committee named “Christians for Ethical Government” and support our candidates with endorsements while declaring that no “Christian who believes in an ethical government” would vote for thieves like York. If York disputes the ad, she will look even more guilty.
-Another ad should have a cartoon of her ‘top cop’ holding the city administrator down on the ground at gunpoint, the legend reading “A slice of ‘little Chicago’ — public official held at gun point without legal cause by Mayor York’s ‘Top Cop’.” The follow up text concerning intimidation, police brutality and York’s desire to make this lunatic Chief of Police is obvious.
Hughes also had a backup plan for the mayoral election — take over the council. Even if the best candidate for mayor (Gieseke) had won, Hughes radical, self-serving agenda could still be pushed through. Therefore, as for council members who received financial support from TR Hughes, put out a single ad next election: “Who does blank work for? Millionaires or the Residents of this Ward?” and cite that Hughes donated money to a committee which promotes the candidate, ending with the axiom “money is the root of all evil”. Let Hughes and York become household words for corrupt government in the City of Saint Charles. We, the public, have a civic duty to make them be ashamed of themselves and all the evil they have done.
Finally, timing is everything. Had FCN withheld the charge that York promised to fire Chief Swope and most of the senior police staff until two days before the election, she would have been unable to respond (lie) in time to save her political neck (the infamous ‘Capital News Extra’‘). St. Charles is afraid of being without a Chief of Police, and Chief Swope’s ability and integrity has been a godsend (let’s let him know that we support him). York has been politically twisting things so that some people believe the council had been at fault for the 18 month vacancy in the Chief of Police position. But, as a political ad should remind us, “York is the Mayor — Who else should we hold accountable?”
I hope that we will learn the lessons of the last election and take back our city. With integrity, ingenuity and faith in God, we will do it.
Sincerely Yours,
Dr. JM Erwin, DC
Owner 370 Chiropractic
Robin Carnahan
Secretary of State
I am writing about an incident which occurred on Election Day and which makes me question how well our Election Commissioner’s office is being run. This incident did not affect the outcome of any election and so no candidate will report it; yet the election officials were apparently very confused, and it is surely important for all of us that our election officials are well trained and know what they doing when they are running the polls.
Here is what happened at the Ward 4 polling place at St. Robert’s Church on April 3rd.
About 2:30 Tuesday afternoon, my phone rang and a good friend of mine was on the line. He was very, very angry. He had been to the polls to vote and was told that he lived in St. Charles County and could not vote in the City even though he had a City voter registration card and valid identification. He told the officials that he paid taxes in the city and had voted at this polling place many times before, but they still would not let him vote in the City, though they did try to give him a Francis Howell ballot, which he refused because he said he knew where he lived.
He was so angry that I volunteered to call the Election Commissioner’s office for him. The office looked up his name and told me he was listed as an active city voter and he should go back to the polling place at St. Robert’s and vote. I relayed this information and thought the problem was solved. An hour later, however, my phone rang again. My friend had driven through the rain to the polls for the second time. This time he was told the Election Commissioner’s office had made a mistake and he still could not vote in the City. At no time during this process was he offered a provisional ballot.
We then followed up by calling the City Clerk who verified my friend’s residency and passed the information along to the Election Commissioner’s office. My friend made a third trip to the polling place, and this time he was allowed to vote. When he left, the judges were making a list of all the other voters they had either turned away or given the wrong ballot.
There is something very wrong with the way our Election Commissioner’s office is being run when it takes three trips to the polls, several calls to the Commissioner’s office, and a call to the City Clerk to determine if a voter is eligible to vote even though he has a valid voter registration card and valid identification. I admire my friend’s determination to cast his vote, but I have to wonder how many people either left without voting or voted the wrong ballot because of the confusion of the election officials.
Eleanor McCune
Dear Editor,
The April 1st (fools) “Extra” edition is great! What a Crock of Stuff you managed to pack into it! Great writing! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time...
Hold on.
“Paid for by Voters for Good Government, William Clark Hardin, IV, Treasurer”??
Hey! It wasn’t you guys turning a joke after all.
THEY DID IT TO THEMSELVES!
What a Crock.
Wm G.
St. Charles City Resident who looks forward to, at the polls, answering Mr. Keilty’s insult to my daughter. Neither she or I will vote for you.
Tony,
You should start your next issue on a theme of “Imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery”. You could go on with how Patti’s hatchet men knew that residents
look to the FCN for the truth, so to get people to believe any of their spin,
They had to try to fool people into believing they were reading the FCN. If it
didn’t look like the FCN, nobody would have picked it up.—
Jerry Haferkamp
Dear Editor,
As a regular voter in Saint Charles, I did my research before this election and found John Gieseke to be the best candidate for mayor in the city. After I read his article in the FCN about AT&T coming into Saint Charles,
(http://firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com/2007/02/councilman-john-gieseke-speaks-out-on.html) that sealed the deal for me. I also read his website and saw that he was endorsed by CWA Local 6320, which has just voted to merge with my own Local 6310 in the past months. I was dead set on getting John Gieseke elected with my vote.
I had emailed John and asked that a sign be put up in my yard, and to my surprise, he himself showed up the next day to place the sign and ask any questions that I had. We spoke about my job at AT&T and the video franchising that was about to happen.
I received all of the slanderous junk mail like everyone else in the city, and appreciated how John ran a clean campaign. Then on Friday, March 31st, I received the attached memo from Local 6310 President Tony Ellebracht. I was thrown off balance, but not being one to let my Union dictate who I should vote for when I had done my own research, I still voted for John.
I wanted to send along this information, and I welcome any responses.
Sincerely
Joshua Weiss
Ward 7
Editor’s note
The memo told the members to vote for York because of Gieseke’s ties with Charter. This was not true because Gieseke had no ties with Charter.
Dear Editor,
I think it is time someone reminds Wayne Oetting of the Saint Charles School District Mission Statement. “…Our mission is to provide the care, leadership and instructional skills necessary to ensure that effective learning occurs for each child…Each person should be treated with dignity…We value all members of our learning community and demonstrate honesty, respect, and trust…All Voices should be heard in the decision making process…We base decisions on the best interest of the students…We allocate our resources in a conscientious manner consistent with our principals and goals”. Does any of that sound familiar to you Wayne Oetting or do you only allocate OUR resources in a manner consistent with Your principles and goals.
I want to remind Wayne Oetting that the School Board’s survey in 2005 showed an overwhelming majority of the taxpayers wanted to keep our elementary schools open; Wayne Oetting has always insisted they should be shut down. The School Board’s “Option’s Plans” (Option #4 to be specific) shows that this district will only SAVE 1.59 million dollars by closing down Benton and Blackhurst and reconfiguring the middle schools, but our board seemed to think the taxpayers should PAY 6.5 million dollars to keep them open.
Although it has been established that kicking the Non-resident children out of our schools certainly does not SAVE the district $200,000, Wayne Oetting still keeps trying to convince us that it COSTS “something”. Perhaps that “something” you refer to is the lives of those poor kids Wayne Oetting, or is it the integrity of our entire district you wanted to sacrifice.
At the March 8th meeting Wayne Oetting said he didn’t feel it was necessary for the Board to meet in April, because Wayne Oetting doesn’t like it when the Board questions decisions (like using the same number of buses next year even though they will be busing a lot more kids a whole lot farther).
Wayne Oetting is the one that COSTS this district. Wayne Oetting is costing this district it’s schools, teachers, children, and integrity because Wayne Oetting does NOT listen to anyone except Wayne Oetting. If Wayne Oetting doesn’t want to show up at the April Meeting of the School Board, then I suggest Wayne Oetting do the taxpayers the biggest favor of all and never show up again.
Jim DuMontelle
To the Editor,
The minimum wage getting hijacked by the Republicans is the final straw. The Republican party should be run out of politics, people should be Revolting. The votes of the American people mean nothing anymore.
What is it going to take to get our country to wake up to the take-over happening Right before our very eyes. courtesy of bushco. Something needs to be done.
The downfall of America is upon us, think that it is not. Remember you read this today And see where we are in about 5 years, when the damage in place now; effects us then.
Steve Belosi Lake St. Louis, Mo.
Like many informed and honest St. Charles residents, it was with deep outrage and profound disbelief that I absorbed the news of the 2007 election results. The fight to restore and maintain integrity in our city is not over, however, and it is gratifying to know that at least 5000 residents see Mayor York for the hypocritical, unchristian scoundrel that she is. Now is the time for continued action and unity, not apathy and complacency.
Some members of my own family were guilty of voting for York. My conversations with these family members, who are otherwise honest long-standing St. Charles residents, have given me some insight as to why, in this particular instance, the “Good Guys” lost the election (assuming, of course, that no further election fraud is discovered).
Mr. Tom Hughes purchased the election results through professional political means. Simply put, it was honest amateurs versus dishonest professional spin-doctors, and the professionals won. A lesson of American politics that we should now learn is this: Americans respect craftiness, the well played gambit, and the ability to change the rules to win the game. People also respect and recognize strength, even when it is wielded by evil. It is a fact that allowed Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler to gain power.
Gone (forever sadly) are the days when civil honest debates between God-fearing leaders resulted in a truly representative democracy. There are candidates and backroom dealers who believe that whatever you can steal in this world is okay. Honest leaders such as John Gieseke, Joe Koester, and Rory Riddler believe in the higher standard we all will eventually be judged by.
We, the honest residents of St. Charles, with our honest community leaders, can learn the lessons of politics and defeat TR Hughes and his band of bought-and-paid-for politicians. We can do so by honestly and candidly identifying our weaknesses, taking power out of our enemies’ strengths, and exploiting our enemies weaknesses. By playing politics with integrity and the intent to do good, we will demonstrate a strength that both our enemies and apathetic neighbors will come to respect. Active good government is the best deterrent to home builders (and mayors) with delusions of world domination.
What are our weaknesses? We have relied heavily on a single source of public information to get the message out. A minority of people have the time or inclination to read The First Capitol News. And some who do read doubt the information published by this fine publication. I have no doubt that York is guilty of the Express Scripts scandal, the Police Building behind-the-scenes buyout theft, the Election Printing-Paid-for-by-Tax-Dollars crime, the Recall-Election-Fraud indictment issue, and so on and so on. The majority of the voting public in this last election, however, do not seem to be aware of these transgressions. Additionally, this publication is suspect solely for the unique truthfulness it does not share in common with other newspapers. From the First Capitol News we hear the truth, unvarnished and unswayed by backroom politics. When the same truth is not heard from other newspapers, it is less convincing. Unfortunately, it was easy for the professionals employed by Hughes to dupe some St. Charles residents into ignoring the truth — by making the messager’s integrity suspect. They were able to characterize the FCN to some people as a one-person attempt to deceive the voters of St. Charles (ironic isn’t it?) into voting the way that person wanted through the use of biased, unfair written press. And yet they were frightened enough by the FCN to publish a last minute ‘Capitol News Extra” paper to confuse the issue (more will be said on this in listing our strengths).
What are our enemies strengths? Although financial disparity is an obvious advantage I will focus instead on the use of political action groups, most especially in name — such as Citizens for Responsible Government. The illusion of independence, consumer advocacy and protection leads the casual reader to accept the distortions and hogwash these yellow-press groups spew forth. The name sounds honest. Defensive correction of lies never achieves 100% — some voters will not get the message or believe it when a candidate defends himself against a lie. This is one of the reasons the “Good Guys” lost the election. The most successful way to discredit such a group is to create a counter organization with nearly the same name and publish material so obviously fictitious that the casual public associates the target organization with bold faced lies and tastelessness. This is an example of how deception is used to expose the truth.
What are our enemies weaknesses? Put concisely, the TRUTH concerning every action they have taken. Let us package this truth in an easier to absorb format. We need to become effective, efficient and inexpensive. Lets get the truth out in a way that everyone accepts and understands who the “Good Guys are” and most certainly who the “Bad Guys are”.
-Let’s print bumper stickers that have “YORK” with a circle around it and red line through the name. And also make one up for “HUGHES”.
-Let us create a monthly (or quarterly) newspaper called the “St. Charles Post-Dispatch” and make it resemble the Pulitzer giant to give credibility to our arguments (a casual viewer reading a citation in an election ad oftentimes will pick up ‘St. Charles‘ and assume it’s the journal, or ‘Post Dispatch’ and believe it’s the St. Louis variety). The truth works only when it is believed.
-Let us cite council meetings and court room documents when impeaching the character of York, Hughes and her cronies (people give great credence to judicial proceedings — it’s law, not politics). Taking the newspaper out of the citation removes the ability of spin doctors to discredit it. How does a spin doctor discredit a televised council meeting?
-Let us create a political action committee called Citizens for Patti and put forth an ad showing a cartoon character named ‘Princess Patti’ sarcastically thanking the public for electing her mayor and for not being swayed by her many transgressions (which are then listed).
-Let’s put out another ad listing her many faults with the legend “undisputed” and “no comment” from Patti York (York’s defense against any charge leveled against her is simply to pretend it isn’t worth defending against — basically, the ‘it’s no big deal‘ defense...legally, it’s not effective. Politically it is).
-Let us also create a political action committee named “Christians for Ethical Government” and support our candidates with endorsements while declaring that no “Christian who believes in an ethical government” would vote for thieves like York. If York disputes the ad, she will look even more guilty.
-Another ad should have a cartoon of her ‘top cop’ holding the city administrator down on the ground at gunpoint, the legend reading “A slice of ‘little Chicago’ — public official held at gun point without legal cause by Mayor York’s ‘Top Cop’.” The follow up text concerning intimidation, police brutality and York’s desire to make this lunatic Chief of Police is obvious.
Hughes also had a backup plan for the mayoral election — take over the council. Even if the best candidate for mayor (Gieseke) had won, Hughes radical, self-serving agenda could still be pushed through. Therefore, as for council members who received financial support from TR Hughes, put out a single ad next election: “Who does blank work for? Millionaires or the Residents of this Ward?” and cite that Hughes donated money to a committee which promotes the candidate, ending with the axiom “money is the root of all evil”. Let Hughes and York become household words for corrupt government in the City of Saint Charles. We, the public, have a civic duty to make them be ashamed of themselves and all the evil they have done.
Finally, timing is everything. Had FCN withheld the charge that York promised to fire Chief Swope and most of the senior police staff until two days before the election, she would have been unable to respond (lie) in time to save her political neck (the infamous ‘Capital News Extra’‘). St. Charles is afraid of being without a Chief of Police, and Chief Swope’s ability and integrity has been a godsend (let’s let him know that we support him). York has been politically twisting things so that some people believe the council had been at fault for the 18 month vacancy in the Chief of Police position. But, as a political ad should remind us, “York is the Mayor — Who else should we hold accountable?”
I hope that we will learn the lessons of the last election and take back our city. With integrity, ingenuity and faith in God, we will do it.
Sincerely Yours,
Dr. JM Erwin, DC
Owner 370 Chiropractic
Robin Carnahan
Secretary of State
I am writing about an incident which occurred on Election Day and which makes me question how well our Election Commissioner’s office is being run. This incident did not affect the outcome of any election and so no candidate will report it; yet the election officials were apparently very confused, and it is surely important for all of us that our election officials are well trained and know what they doing when they are running the polls.
Here is what happened at the Ward 4 polling place at St. Robert’s Church on April 3rd.
About 2:30 Tuesday afternoon, my phone rang and a good friend of mine was on the line. He was very, very angry. He had been to the polls to vote and was told that he lived in St. Charles County and could not vote in the City even though he had a City voter registration card and valid identification. He told the officials that he paid taxes in the city and had voted at this polling place many times before, but they still would not let him vote in the City, though they did try to give him a Francis Howell ballot, which he refused because he said he knew where he lived.
He was so angry that I volunteered to call the Election Commissioner’s office for him. The office looked up his name and told me he was listed as an active city voter and he should go back to the polling place at St. Robert’s and vote. I relayed this information and thought the problem was solved. An hour later, however, my phone rang again. My friend had driven through the rain to the polls for the second time. This time he was told the Election Commissioner’s office had made a mistake and he still could not vote in the City. At no time during this process was he offered a provisional ballot.
We then followed up by calling the City Clerk who verified my friend’s residency and passed the information along to the Election Commissioner’s office. My friend made a third trip to the polling place, and this time he was allowed to vote. When he left, the judges were making a list of all the other voters they had either turned away or given the wrong ballot.
There is something very wrong with the way our Election Commissioner’s office is being run when it takes three trips to the polls, several calls to the Commissioner’s office, and a call to the City Clerk to determine if a voter is eligible to vote even though he has a valid voter registration card and valid identification. I admire my friend’s determination to cast his vote, but I have to wonder how many people either left without voting or voted the wrong ballot because of the confusion of the election officials.
Eleanor McCune
Dear Editor,
The April 1st (fools) “Extra” edition is great! What a Crock of Stuff you managed to pack into it! Great writing! I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time...
Hold on.
“Paid for by Voters for Good Government, William Clark Hardin, IV, Treasurer”??
Hey! It wasn’t you guys turning a joke after all.
THEY DID IT TO THEMSELVES!
What a Crock.
Wm G.
St. Charles City Resident who looks forward to, at the polls, answering Mr. Keilty’s insult to my daughter. Neither she or I will vote for you.
Tony,
You should start your next issue on a theme of “Imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery”. You could go on with how Patti’s hatchet men knew that residents
look to the FCN for the truth, so to get people to believe any of their spin,
They had to try to fool people into believing they were reading the FCN. If it
didn’t look like the FCN, nobody would have picked it up.—
Jerry Haferkamp
Dear Editor,
As a regular voter in Saint Charles, I did my research before this election and found John Gieseke to be the best candidate for mayor in the city. After I read his article in the FCN about AT&T coming into Saint Charles,
(http://firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com/2007/02/councilman-john-gieseke-speaks-out-on.html) that sealed the deal for me. I also read his website and saw that he was endorsed by CWA Local 6320, which has just voted to merge with my own Local 6310 in the past months. I was dead set on getting John Gieseke elected with my vote.
I had emailed John and asked that a sign be put up in my yard, and to my surprise, he himself showed up the next day to place the sign and ask any questions that I had. We spoke about my job at AT&T and the video franchising that was about to happen.
I received all of the slanderous junk mail like everyone else in the city, and appreciated how John ran a clean campaign. Then on Friday, March 31st, I received the attached memo from Local 6310 President Tony Ellebracht. I was thrown off balance, but not being one to let my Union dictate who I should vote for when I had done my own research, I still voted for John.
I wanted to send along this information, and I welcome any responses.
Sincerely
Joshua Weiss
Ward 7
Editor’s note
The memo told the members to vote for York because of Gieseke’s ties with Charter. This was not true because Gieseke had no ties with Charter.
Dear Editor,
I think it is time someone reminds Wayne Oetting of the Saint Charles School District Mission Statement. “…Our mission is to provide the care, leadership and instructional skills necessary to ensure that effective learning occurs for each child…Each person should be treated with dignity…We value all members of our learning community and demonstrate honesty, respect, and trust…All Voices should be heard in the decision making process…We base decisions on the best interest of the students…We allocate our resources in a conscientious manner consistent with our principals and goals”. Does any of that sound familiar to you Wayne Oetting or do you only allocate OUR resources in a manner consistent with Your principles and goals.
I want to remind Wayne Oetting that the School Board’s survey in 2005 showed an overwhelming majority of the taxpayers wanted to keep our elementary schools open; Wayne Oetting has always insisted they should be shut down. The School Board’s “Option’s Plans” (Option #4 to be specific) shows that this district will only SAVE 1.59 million dollars by closing down Benton and Blackhurst and reconfiguring the middle schools, but our board seemed to think the taxpayers should PAY 6.5 million dollars to keep them open.
Although it has been established that kicking the Non-resident children out of our schools certainly does not SAVE the district $200,000, Wayne Oetting still keeps trying to convince us that it COSTS “something”. Perhaps that “something” you refer to is the lives of those poor kids Wayne Oetting, or is it the integrity of our entire district you wanted to sacrifice.
At the March 8th meeting Wayne Oetting said he didn’t feel it was necessary for the Board to meet in April, because Wayne Oetting doesn’t like it when the Board questions decisions (like using the same number of buses next year even though they will be busing a lot more kids a whole lot farther).
Wayne Oetting is the one that COSTS this district. Wayne Oetting is costing this district it’s schools, teachers, children, and integrity because Wayne Oetting does NOT listen to anyone except Wayne Oetting. If Wayne Oetting doesn’t want to show up at the April Meeting of the School Board, then I suggest Wayne Oetting do the taxpayers the biggest favor of all and never show up again.
Jim DuMontelle
To the Editor,
The minimum wage getting hijacked by the Republicans is the final straw. The Republican party should be run out of politics, people should be Revolting. The votes of the American people mean nothing anymore.
What is it going to take to get our country to wake up to the take-over happening Right before our very eyes. courtesy of bushco. Something needs to be done.
The downfall of America is upon us, think that it is not. Remember you read this today And see where we are in about 5 years, when the damage in place now; effects us then.
Steve Belosi Lake St. Louis, Mo.
THE CITY DESK by Rory Riddler
I would like to thank the residents of Ward 9 for granting me the opportunity and privilege to serve as your councilman for three years.
I am proud of the progress we made for our ward including several new, large investments along West Clay. I hope these new residential and retail developments truly come to fruition. This is my hometown and I want only the best for our community. I have served as your councilman without giving in to special interest money although the opposite path would have been much less difficult. One fight in particular that I am proud of is my stance against special legislation that forced our town to give away its sewer service to T.R. Hughes’ St. Andrew development while the development did not have to annex into our community. So much did I find this special law an affront to our town, that it compelled me to run for state office with the hope that I could make certain that such one-sided legislation couldn’t be passed in the future to the further detriment of our community. My stance solidly on the side of my hometown, in opposition to special interests made me the target of T.R. Hughes who put $58k into unseating those whom he considered his enemies. Imagine the amount of money for a council seat! My audacity to run for state office against the local political apparatus made me the target of “Buddy” Hardin, whom I have never met. You see, it is their belief that 1) you should never oppose their will and their interests and 2) you should never run as a Democrat in this town. I believe that mixed government compliments the process while they believe it threatens to dilute their influence. Monolithic political machines benefit certain individuals but general participation in local government benefit the whole community. While I see the process as competition, they see it as warfare.
I am not here to cry sour grapes but rather I am here to warn the citizens of St. Charles to guard their vote and their government against wholesale purchase by the highest bidder lest we end up with the best democracy money can buy. Had the newspapers let the public know before the election that a developer was sinking thousands and thousands of dollars into council races, I think the public would have had a much different take on the matter.
I ran my race by stating my vision for ward 9, never attacking my opponent. In return, I spoke with my opponent and we agreed to run a fair race. Unfortunately, this pledge was one-sided. My record was twisted until it was metamorphosed into something that no longer represented anything close to the truth.
This local election cycle was by far the most caustic our town has ever experienced. This election is indicative of why there is such disdain for the process and why good people do not dare partake in local democracy.
In a race where usually a thousand or so dollars is raised and spent, twenty-five thousand dollars was pumped into a simple council race. I want to state for the record that I have no ties to the pornography industry, as was claimed. It was also stated that I am an activist for a pro-abortion group. This was a wholesale lie sent out a day before the election to guarantee that no defensive response could be sent out.
It was stated that I spent taxpayer’s money to go to Vegas and Germany; this was true – I went to Vegas with, nearly, the entire council and mayor to a retailers’ convention. I went to Germany along with the mayor and half of the council as a delegate for the recognition of our sister-city’s tenth anniversary.
To clarify another intentionally misrepresented fact – I did not vote to exclude seniors from a tax rebate – I voted to make certain that limited tax resources were provided for our town’s most needy seniors by placing an income cap on those who qualify for this tax rebate. Finally, I missed a vote on a particular issue regarding sex offenders because of automobile troubles and in no way was this ordinance in jeopardy of not passing due to my absence.
For about two years I have written a simple column in the local paper. My articles have been mostly about federal and state politics and some have addressed city matters, however, I have never written lies nor have I attacked anyone’s personal life.
I considered my opponent a family friend and someone of honor; however, words spoken in confidence exclusively to him were then contorted from something positive to something sinister. It had been erroneously claimed that I had an investment by a local developer in my brewery business. I stated to my opponent that this wasn’t true, but I would welcome any investment and would consider stepping down from my position on council if my interests were in conflict due to an investment. This would be the right thing to do. My opponent claimed not to know who was in control of Voters for Good Government or have anything to do with the smear-campaign against me; however, this twisting of information could have only originated from him and was sent out in a mailer against me. I was upset most of all by the breach of trust and manipulation of the facts by someone I had considered a family friend. Those in government must be trustworthy in order for us to trust the entire system.
In conclusion, I want to again thank the residents of ward 9 for their vote three years ago and for their votes this year that resulted in a virtual tie. To those who have written lies, I am compelled by my faith to forgive you. If winning at local politics means crawling into the gutter with wealthy developers and political pundits or intentionally twisting my opponents voting record beyond recognition of any original intent to win votes, I would rather take a different path. For now, we can only await a recount and perhaps a new election due to voter irregularities in our election; however, this is for the judge to decide. It does concern me when the county petitions the courts for a new election due to voting outside of the ward. It calls into question the election process when voters are given the wrong ballots, reportedly, until one o’clock in the afternoon.
Clearly, money can influence an election’s outcome enough on its own accord; we need to protect the validity of our elections by guaranteeing that voters are not disenfranchised either deliberately or by accident.
Once again for the record, the make up of the council was certain to change due to the fact that at least two council members wouldn’t be running for their seats again, however, some papers have erroneously claimed that the factionalism came to an end on election night – the truth is, our in-fighting came to an end more than a year ago once hired guns left the picture. We knew they weren’t gone forever (they stand to make too much money). What some newspapers got quite wrong, however, was the reason for the election outcome. The results have less to do with sides and more to do with who can buy and frame the message. Give anyone $25,000 to run a council race and allow a third party to print attack pieces the last four days of the election and they too could work wonders.
I do hope that things will continue to improve in St. Charles, and I’m sure that the council will continue to work together on more than 90% of all of its business as it did in the past. What I certainly do not hope for is a council of yes-men who do not have the backbone to stand up to big money and flatly state when something is bad for St. Charles regardless of the pockets that stand to be lined...
I am proud of the progress we made for our ward including several new, large investments along West Clay. I hope these new residential and retail developments truly come to fruition. This is my hometown and I want only the best for our community. I have served as your councilman without giving in to special interest money although the opposite path would have been much less difficult. One fight in particular that I am proud of is my stance against special legislation that forced our town to give away its sewer service to T.R. Hughes’ St. Andrew development while the development did not have to annex into our community. So much did I find this special law an affront to our town, that it compelled me to run for state office with the hope that I could make certain that such one-sided legislation couldn’t be passed in the future to the further detriment of our community. My stance solidly on the side of my hometown, in opposition to special interests made me the target of T.R. Hughes who put $58k into unseating those whom he considered his enemies. Imagine the amount of money for a council seat! My audacity to run for state office against the local political apparatus made me the target of “Buddy” Hardin, whom I have never met. You see, it is their belief that 1) you should never oppose their will and their interests and 2) you should never run as a Democrat in this town. I believe that mixed government compliments the process while they believe it threatens to dilute their influence. Monolithic political machines benefit certain individuals but general participation in local government benefit the whole community. While I see the process as competition, they see it as warfare.
I am not here to cry sour grapes but rather I am here to warn the citizens of St. Charles to guard their vote and their government against wholesale purchase by the highest bidder lest we end up with the best democracy money can buy. Had the newspapers let the public know before the election that a developer was sinking thousands and thousands of dollars into council races, I think the public would have had a much different take on the matter.
I ran my race by stating my vision for ward 9, never attacking my opponent. In return, I spoke with my opponent and we agreed to run a fair race. Unfortunately, this pledge was one-sided. My record was twisted until it was metamorphosed into something that no longer represented anything close to the truth.
This local election cycle was by far the most caustic our town has ever experienced. This election is indicative of why there is such disdain for the process and why good people do not dare partake in local democracy.
In a race where usually a thousand or so dollars is raised and spent, twenty-five thousand dollars was pumped into a simple council race. I want to state for the record that I have no ties to the pornography industry, as was claimed. It was also stated that I am an activist for a pro-abortion group. This was a wholesale lie sent out a day before the election to guarantee that no defensive response could be sent out.
It was stated that I spent taxpayer’s money to go to Vegas and Germany; this was true – I went to Vegas with, nearly, the entire council and mayor to a retailers’ convention. I went to Germany along with the mayor and half of the council as a delegate for the recognition of our sister-city’s tenth anniversary.
To clarify another intentionally misrepresented fact – I did not vote to exclude seniors from a tax rebate – I voted to make certain that limited tax resources were provided for our town’s most needy seniors by placing an income cap on those who qualify for this tax rebate. Finally, I missed a vote on a particular issue regarding sex offenders because of automobile troubles and in no way was this ordinance in jeopardy of not passing due to my absence.
For about two years I have written a simple column in the local paper. My articles have been mostly about federal and state politics and some have addressed city matters, however, I have never written lies nor have I attacked anyone’s personal life.
I considered my opponent a family friend and someone of honor; however, words spoken in confidence exclusively to him were then contorted from something positive to something sinister. It had been erroneously claimed that I had an investment by a local developer in my brewery business. I stated to my opponent that this wasn’t true, but I would welcome any investment and would consider stepping down from my position on council if my interests were in conflict due to an investment. This would be the right thing to do. My opponent claimed not to know who was in control of Voters for Good Government or have anything to do with the smear-campaign against me; however, this twisting of information could have only originated from him and was sent out in a mailer against me. I was upset most of all by the breach of trust and manipulation of the facts by someone I had considered a family friend. Those in government must be trustworthy in order for us to trust the entire system.
In conclusion, I want to again thank the residents of ward 9 for their vote three years ago and for their votes this year that resulted in a virtual tie. To those who have written lies, I am compelled by my faith to forgive you. If winning at local politics means crawling into the gutter with wealthy developers and political pundits or intentionally twisting my opponents voting record beyond recognition of any original intent to win votes, I would rather take a different path. For now, we can only await a recount and perhaps a new election due to voter irregularities in our election; however, this is for the judge to decide. It does concern me when the county petitions the courts for a new election due to voting outside of the ward. It calls into question the election process when voters are given the wrong ballots, reportedly, until one o’clock in the afternoon.
Clearly, money can influence an election’s outcome enough on its own accord; we need to protect the validity of our elections by guaranteeing that voters are not disenfranchised either deliberately or by accident.
Once again for the record, the make up of the council was certain to change due to the fact that at least two council members wouldn’t be running for their seats again, however, some papers have erroneously claimed that the factionalism came to an end on election night – the truth is, our in-fighting came to an end more than a year ago once hired guns left the picture. We knew they weren’t gone forever (they stand to make too much money). What some newspapers got quite wrong, however, was the reason for the election outcome. The results have less to do with sides and more to do with who can buy and frame the message. Give anyone $25,000 to run a council race and allow a third party to print attack pieces the last four days of the election and they too could work wonders.
I do hope that things will continue to improve in St. Charles, and I’m sure that the council will continue to work together on more than 90% of all of its business as it did in the past. What I certainly do not hope for is a council of yes-men who do not have the backbone to stand up to big money and flatly state when something is bad for St. Charles regardless of the pockets that stand to be lined...
Case In Point by Joe Koester
I would like to thank the residents of Ward 9 for granting me the opportunity and privilege to serve as your councilman for three years.
I am proud of the progress we made for our ward including several new, large investments along West Clay. I hope these new residential and retail developments truly come to fruition. This is my hometown and I want only the best for our community. I have served as your councilman without giving in to special interest money although the opposite path would have been much less difficult. One fight in particular that I am proud of is my stance against special legislation that forced our town to give away its sewer service to T.R. Hughes’ St. Andrew development while the development did not have to annex into our community. So much did I find this special law an affront to our town, that it compelled me to run for state office with the hope that I could make certain that such one-sided legislation couldn’t be passed in the future to the further detriment of our community. My stance solidly on the side of my hometown, in opposition to special interests made me the target of T.R. Hughes who put $58k into unseating those whom he considered his enemies. Imagine the amount of money for a council seat! My audacity to run for state office against the local political apparatus made me the target of “Buddy” Hardin, whom I have never met. You see, it is their belief that 1) you should never oppose their will and their interests and 2) you should never run as a Democrat in this town. I believe that mixed government compliments the process while they believe it threatens to dilute their influence. Monolithic political machines benefit certain individuals but general participation in local government benefit the whole community. While I see the process as competition, they see it as warfare.
I am not here to cry sour grapes but rather I am here to warn the citizens of St. Charles to guard their vote and their government against wholesale purchase by the highest bidder lest we end up with the best democracy money can buy. Had the newspapers let the public know before the election that a developer was sinking thousands and thousands of dollars into council races, I think the public would have had a much different take on the matter.
I ran my race by stating my vision for ward 9, never attacking my opponent. In return, I spoke with my opponent and we agreed to run a fair race. Unfortunately, this pledge was one-sided. My record was twisted until it was metamorphosed into something that no longer represented anything close to the truth.
This local election cycle was by far the most caustic our town has ever experienced. This election is indicative of why there is such disdain for the process and why good people do not dare partake in local democracy.
In a race where usually a thousand or so dollars is raised and spent, twenty-five thousand dollars was pumped into a simple council race. I want to state for the record that I have no ties to the pornography industry, as was claimed. It was also stated that I am an activist for a pro-abortion group. This was a wholesale lie sent out a day before the election to guarantee that no defensive response could be sent out.
It was stated that I spent taxpayer’s money to go to Vegas and Germany; this was true – I went to Vegas with, nearly, the entire council and mayor to a retailers’ convention. I went to Germany along with the mayor and half of the council as a delegate for the recognition of our sister-city’s tenth anniversary.
To clarify another intentionally misrepresented fact – I did not vote to exclude seniors from a tax rebate – I voted to make certain that limited tax resources were provided for our town’s most needy seniors by placing an income cap on those who qualify for this tax rebate. Finally, I missed a vote on a particular issue regarding sex offenders because of automobile troubles and in no way was this ordinance in jeopardy of not passing due to my absence.
For about two years I have written a simple column in the local paper. My articles have been mostly about federal and state politics and some have addressed city matters, however, I have never written lies nor have I attacked anyone’s personal life.
I considered my opponent a family friend and someone of honor; however, words spoken in confidence exclusively to him were then contorted from something positive to something sinister. It had been erroneously claimed that I had an investment by a local developer in my brewery business. I stated to my opponent that this wasn’t true, but I would welcome any investment and would consider stepping down from my position on council if my interests were in conflict due to an investment. This would be the right thing to do. My opponent claimed not to know who was in control of Voters for Good Government or have anything to do with the smear-campaign against me; however, this twisting of information could have only originated from him and was sent out in a mailer against me. I was upset most of all by the breach of trust and manipulation of the facts by someone I had considered a family friend. Those in government must be trustworthy in order for us to trust the entire system.
In conclusion, I want to again thank the residents of ward 9 for their vote three years ago and for their votes this year that resulted in a virtual tie. To those who have written lies, I am compelled by my faith to forgive you. If winning at local politics means crawling into the gutter with wealthy developers and political pundits or intentionally twisting my opponents voting record beyond recognition of any original intent to win votes, I would rather take a different path. For now, we can only await a recount and perhaps a new election due to voter irregularities in our election; however, this is for the judge to decide. It does concern me when the county petitions the courts for a new election due to voting outside of the ward. It calls into question the election process when voters are given the wrong ballots, reportedly, until one o’clock in the afternoon.
Clearly, money can influence an election’s outcome enough on its own accord; we need to protect the validity of our elections by guaranteeing that voters are not disenfranchised either deliberately or by accident.
Once again for the record, the make up of the council was certain to change due to the fact that at least two council members wouldn’t be running for their seats again, however, some papers have erroneously claimed that the factionalism came to an end on election night – the truth is, our in-fighting came to an end more than a year ago once hired guns left the picture. We knew they weren’t gone forever (they stand to make too much money). What some newspapers got quite wrong, however, was the reason for the election outcome. The results have less to do with sides and more to do with who can buy and frame the message. Give anyone $25,000 to run a council race and allow a third party to print attack pieces the last four days of the election and they too could work wonders.
I do hope that things will continue to improve in St. Charles, and I’m sure that the council will continue to work together on more than 90% of all of its business as it did in the past. What I certainly do not hope for is a council of yes-men who do not have the backbone to stand up to big money and flatly state when something is bad for St. Charles regardless of the pockets that stand to be lined...
I am proud of the progress we made for our ward including several new, large investments along West Clay. I hope these new residential and retail developments truly come to fruition. This is my hometown and I want only the best for our community. I have served as your councilman without giving in to special interest money although the opposite path would have been much less difficult. One fight in particular that I am proud of is my stance against special legislation that forced our town to give away its sewer service to T.R. Hughes’ St. Andrew development while the development did not have to annex into our community. So much did I find this special law an affront to our town, that it compelled me to run for state office with the hope that I could make certain that such one-sided legislation couldn’t be passed in the future to the further detriment of our community. My stance solidly on the side of my hometown, in opposition to special interests made me the target of T.R. Hughes who put $58k into unseating those whom he considered his enemies. Imagine the amount of money for a council seat! My audacity to run for state office against the local political apparatus made me the target of “Buddy” Hardin, whom I have never met. You see, it is their belief that 1) you should never oppose their will and their interests and 2) you should never run as a Democrat in this town. I believe that mixed government compliments the process while they believe it threatens to dilute their influence. Monolithic political machines benefit certain individuals but general participation in local government benefit the whole community. While I see the process as competition, they see it as warfare.
I am not here to cry sour grapes but rather I am here to warn the citizens of St. Charles to guard their vote and their government against wholesale purchase by the highest bidder lest we end up with the best democracy money can buy. Had the newspapers let the public know before the election that a developer was sinking thousands and thousands of dollars into council races, I think the public would have had a much different take on the matter.
I ran my race by stating my vision for ward 9, never attacking my opponent. In return, I spoke with my opponent and we agreed to run a fair race. Unfortunately, this pledge was one-sided. My record was twisted until it was metamorphosed into something that no longer represented anything close to the truth.
This local election cycle was by far the most caustic our town has ever experienced. This election is indicative of why there is such disdain for the process and why good people do not dare partake in local democracy.
In a race where usually a thousand or so dollars is raised and spent, twenty-five thousand dollars was pumped into a simple council race. I want to state for the record that I have no ties to the pornography industry, as was claimed. It was also stated that I am an activist for a pro-abortion group. This was a wholesale lie sent out a day before the election to guarantee that no defensive response could be sent out.
It was stated that I spent taxpayer’s money to go to Vegas and Germany; this was true – I went to Vegas with, nearly, the entire council and mayor to a retailers’ convention. I went to Germany along with the mayor and half of the council as a delegate for the recognition of our sister-city’s tenth anniversary.
To clarify another intentionally misrepresented fact – I did not vote to exclude seniors from a tax rebate – I voted to make certain that limited tax resources were provided for our town’s most needy seniors by placing an income cap on those who qualify for this tax rebate. Finally, I missed a vote on a particular issue regarding sex offenders because of automobile troubles and in no way was this ordinance in jeopardy of not passing due to my absence.
For about two years I have written a simple column in the local paper. My articles have been mostly about federal and state politics and some have addressed city matters, however, I have never written lies nor have I attacked anyone’s personal life.
I considered my opponent a family friend and someone of honor; however, words spoken in confidence exclusively to him were then contorted from something positive to something sinister. It had been erroneously claimed that I had an investment by a local developer in my brewery business. I stated to my opponent that this wasn’t true, but I would welcome any investment and would consider stepping down from my position on council if my interests were in conflict due to an investment. This would be the right thing to do. My opponent claimed not to know who was in control of Voters for Good Government or have anything to do with the smear-campaign against me; however, this twisting of information could have only originated from him and was sent out in a mailer against me. I was upset most of all by the breach of trust and manipulation of the facts by someone I had considered a family friend. Those in government must be trustworthy in order for us to trust the entire system.
In conclusion, I want to again thank the residents of ward 9 for their vote three years ago and for their votes this year that resulted in a virtual tie. To those who have written lies, I am compelled by my faith to forgive you. If winning at local politics means crawling into the gutter with wealthy developers and political pundits or intentionally twisting my opponents voting record beyond recognition of any original intent to win votes, I would rather take a different path. For now, we can only await a recount and perhaps a new election due to voter irregularities in our election; however, this is for the judge to decide. It does concern me when the county petitions the courts for a new election due to voting outside of the ward. It calls into question the election process when voters are given the wrong ballots, reportedly, until one o’clock in the afternoon.
Clearly, money can influence an election’s outcome enough on its own accord; we need to protect the validity of our elections by guaranteeing that voters are not disenfranchised either deliberately or by accident.
Once again for the record, the make up of the council was certain to change due to the fact that at least two council members wouldn’t be running for their seats again, however, some papers have erroneously claimed that the factionalism came to an end on election night – the truth is, our in-fighting came to an end more than a year ago once hired guns left the picture. We knew they weren’t gone forever (they stand to make too much money). What some newspapers got quite wrong, however, was the reason for the election outcome. The results have less to do with sides and more to do with who can buy and frame the message. Give anyone $25,000 to run a council race and allow a third party to print attack pieces the last four days of the election and they too could work wonders.
I do hope that things will continue to improve in St. Charles, and I’m sure that the council will continue to work together on more than 90% of all of its business as it did in the past. What I certainly do not hope for is a council of yes-men who do not have the backbone to stand up to big money and flatly state when something is bad for St. Charles regardless of the pockets that stand to be lined...
The View From The Cheap Seats
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
I would like to use this column today to say good-by to a friend. Although I’ve only known him for a little over 4 years, I have as much respect for him as I have had for anyone I’ve known in my 64 years. He is a teacher. He is noMichelle D. McBride to Be Recognizedt just a teacher of a school subject, but a teacher of manners, respect and citizenship.
His name is Terry Martinez. He is the present Director of Bands at St. Charles West. He won’t be for long. He has accepted the same position in the O’Fallon, Illinois High School.
A few years ago, I volunteered as the driver for the St. Charles West Band. On our first overnight trip, I knew what this man did for these band members. In my 35 years as an over the road driver, I had to stay in motels where high school basketball, baseball and other sport teams stayed. I was usually kept awake well into the morning hours with yelling and running in the halls and doors slamming. On this night, there was absolute quiet at 10 o’clock, and I knew why.
Terry would have been a good drill sergeant. He instilled discipline, but with the love of a parent. In the morning, neatly dressed students came down for breakfast. All behaved like ladies and gentlemen. I was proud to be wearing a St. Charles West shirt.
I don’t know how much, but I can’t help but think that Mr. Martinez’s decision to leave was partly due to four members of our school board unceremoniously expelling his children due to where they live. You see, Terry was promised that he could have his children attend St. Charles schools as a condition of his employment. He lived just outside the district. Now that his children were tossed out, he may have felt that there was no reason to pass on a better job opportunity. I know that he was upset knowing that this board couldn’t be trusted to honor their word.
The St. Charles schools will be worse off with the loss of this teacher. How many more good teachers will leave is anyone’s guess. He is more than a band director. I know all the band parents will feel this loss, but will be glad to see him at area competitions.
Godspeed Terry Martinez. The pleasure was all mine.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
By Jerry Haferkamp
I would like to use this column today to say good-by to a friend. Although I’ve only known him for a little over 4 years, I have as much respect for him as I have had for anyone I’ve known in my 64 years. He is a teacher. He is noMichelle D. McBride to Be Recognizedt just a teacher of a school subject, but a teacher of manners, respect and citizenship.
His name is Terry Martinez. He is the present Director of Bands at St. Charles West. He won’t be for long. He has accepted the same position in the O’Fallon, Illinois High School.
A few years ago, I volunteered as the driver for the St. Charles West Band. On our first overnight trip, I knew what this man did for these band members. In my 35 years as an over the road driver, I had to stay in motels where high school basketball, baseball and other sport teams stayed. I was usually kept awake well into the morning hours with yelling and running in the halls and doors slamming. On this night, there was absolute quiet at 10 o’clock, and I knew why.
Terry would have been a good drill sergeant. He instilled discipline, but with the love of a parent. In the morning, neatly dressed students came down for breakfast. All behaved like ladies and gentlemen. I was proud to be wearing a St. Charles West shirt.
I don’t know how much, but I can’t help but think that Mr. Martinez’s decision to leave was partly due to four members of our school board unceremoniously expelling his children due to where they live. You see, Terry was promised that he could have his children attend St. Charles schools as a condition of his employment. He lived just outside the district. Now that his children were tossed out, he may have felt that there was no reason to pass on a better job opportunity. I know that he was upset knowing that this board couldn’t be trusted to honor their word.
The St. Charles schools will be worse off with the loss of this teacher. How many more good teachers will leave is anyone’s guess. He is more than a band director. I know all the band parents will feel this loss, but will be glad to see him at area competitions.
Godspeed Terry Martinez. The pleasure was all mine.
That’s the view from the cheap seats.
Michelle D. McBride to Be Recognized
Michelle D. McBride to Be Recognized at the Annual Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon for Her Outstanding Volunteer Contributions
Michelle D. McBride, Fiscal Manager for the St. Charles County Collector of Revenue, is also a dedicated volunteer who works tirelessly on behalf of the region’s young people. She will be honored for her tremendous volunteer efforts, at the 52nd Annual Women of Achievement Luncheon, on Tuesday, May 15th, at the Ritz Carlton, in Clayton She will be recognized as a Woman of Achievement for Citizenship because of her numerous accomplishments and role modeling within the community. Since 1955, when this prestigious recognition program was first established, over 520 St. Louis area women have received this coveted award.
Since Michelle was a young child, growing up in a rural community in the metro East, she has embraced the importance of volunteerism and good citizenship. Through her active participation in a variety of 4H programs, she learned about fundraising and volunteering to help others, such as veterans and the elderly. As an adult, in addition to her fulltime professional responsibilities, she has devoted herself to the community’s youth. For more than 14 years, Michelle has served in a variety of leadership positions in the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts and the Venture Scouts, including Assistant Troop Leader, Neighborhood Postal Express Girl Scouts Coordinator, Assistant Scout Master, Troup Treasurer, Troop Merit Badge Coordinator, Troop Ad Altare Dei Counselor, Venture Crew Advisor, Crew Committee Chair, Venture Crew Pope Pius Counselor and other roles. In the midst of her political campaign for St. Charles County Collector of Revenue, she volunteered half of her personal, vacation time to participate in Scout Summer Camp. Another example of her willingness to give of her time and energy occurred when a Girl Scout Troop needed a licensed Troop Camper, in order for its unit to camp at the neighborhood “Moving On Up” event. Unselfishly, Michelle volunteered her services and spent the weekend teaching third graders many of the necessary skills of fire-building, camp cooking and more. She created the “Moving On Up Bridging Ceremony” in which scouts move up from one level of scouting to the next, even utilizing her musical ability to write meaningful lyrics for the ceremony. Helping youngsters understand and appreciate the outdoors, while developing qualities of integrity and good citizenship, which will remain with them forever, has been a passion for Michelle. She has said, “If I can act as a catalyst to mold the characters of the youth of today into credible adults of tomorrow, then I have done my job on earth.”
In addition to her incredible commitment to scouting, Michelle has served as a volunteer organist for the St. Elizabeth/St. Robert Regional School in her parish for over 12 years. She adjusts her professional schedule to ensure that she is able to do her job and still have time to play the organ for and sing with the school children. She serves as an outstanding role model for the area’s children, demonstrating that it is more than possible for an individual to integrate God, Family and Career while serving others. Michelle’s influence on young people and her passion for volunteering have earned her the honor of being selected as a 2007 Woman of Achievement.
Reservations for the Women of Achievement Award Luncheon are $50 per person with seating at table of 10. For reservations or more information about the 2007 Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon please contact Jenny Besser at 314-
584-6011. Please send checks to: Women of Achievement Luncheon c/o MAC Meetings and Events, 801 North Second Street, Suite 302, St. Louis, MO 63102. The deadline for reservations is May 1st. No reservations can be accepted after May 8th.
Michelle D. McBride, Fiscal Manager for the St. Charles County Collector of Revenue, is also a dedicated volunteer who works tirelessly on behalf of the region’s young people. She will be honored for her tremendous volunteer efforts, at the 52nd Annual Women of Achievement Luncheon, on Tuesday, May 15th, at the Ritz Carlton, in Clayton She will be recognized as a Woman of Achievement for Citizenship because of her numerous accomplishments and role modeling within the community. Since 1955, when this prestigious recognition program was first established, over 520 St. Louis area women have received this coveted award.
Since Michelle was a young child, growing up in a rural community in the metro East, she has embraced the importance of volunteerism and good citizenship. Through her active participation in a variety of 4H programs, she learned about fundraising and volunteering to help others, such as veterans and the elderly. As an adult, in addition to her fulltime professional responsibilities, she has devoted herself to the community’s youth. For more than 14 years, Michelle has served in a variety of leadership positions in the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts and the Venture Scouts, including Assistant Troop Leader, Neighborhood Postal Express Girl Scouts Coordinator, Assistant Scout Master, Troup Treasurer, Troop Merit Badge Coordinator, Troop Ad Altare Dei Counselor, Venture Crew Advisor, Crew Committee Chair, Venture Crew Pope Pius Counselor and other roles. In the midst of her political campaign for St. Charles County Collector of Revenue, she volunteered half of her personal, vacation time to participate in Scout Summer Camp. Another example of her willingness to give of her time and energy occurred when a Girl Scout Troop needed a licensed Troop Camper, in order for its unit to camp at the neighborhood “Moving On Up” event. Unselfishly, Michelle volunteered her services and spent the weekend teaching third graders many of the necessary skills of fire-building, camp cooking and more. She created the “Moving On Up Bridging Ceremony” in which scouts move up from one level of scouting to the next, even utilizing her musical ability to write meaningful lyrics for the ceremony. Helping youngsters understand and appreciate the outdoors, while developing qualities of integrity and good citizenship, which will remain with them forever, has been a passion for Michelle. She has said, “If I can act as a catalyst to mold the characters of the youth of today into credible adults of tomorrow, then I have done my job on earth.”
In addition to her incredible commitment to scouting, Michelle has served as a volunteer organist for the St. Elizabeth/St. Robert Regional School in her parish for over 12 years. She adjusts her professional schedule to ensure that she is able to do her job and still have time to play the organ for and sing with the school children. She serves as an outstanding role model for the area’s children, demonstrating that it is more than possible for an individual to integrate God, Family and Career while serving others. Michelle’s influence on young people and her passion for volunteering have earned her the honor of being selected as a 2007 Woman of Achievement.
Reservations for the Women of Achievement Award Luncheon are $50 per person with seating at table of 10. For reservations or more information about the 2007 Women of Achievement Awards Luncheon please contact Jenny Besser at 314-
584-6011. Please send checks to: Women of Achievement Luncheon c/o MAC Meetings and Events, 801 North Second Street, Suite 302, St. Louis, MO 63102. The deadline for reservations is May 1st. No reservations can be accepted after May 8th.
“Money Talks”
Kevin Daniels
Vice President, Main Street Financial
One Piece Of Paper You Want To Keep
Every year in the early part of March, I start getting piles of envelopes stuffed with piles of envelopes and more envelopes, each with documents still inside...it’s tax time in the US of A! I almost always hear this statement: I don’t know what to keep and what to throw away, you decide. I have even had people bring in their files and ask our staff to “clean out” their paper accumulations. We are glad to help but realize some of these clients worry about paperwork they do not understand. And quite frankly, some of it is very difficult to understand.
I have noticed that many of us, the older we get, for some reason or another become less attached to possessions and prefer simplifying life by de-accumulation, which includes the removal of excess paper. (I am not sure why, since paper takes up a relatively small amount of space in the average American household!) I admit that because of rules, legalities/liabilities, fair reporting rules and so on, there is plenty of fine print paper that falls out of an investment sponsor envelope. Much of that paper is required by law to keep you informed and can be tossed in the name of lean files. But the real issue in my mind is what NOT to throw away. Here are a few keepers: Anything that says “Important Tax Information” is a keeper, but that should be obvious, read on.
Anything that starts with the word “Form” like Form-1099, Form-1098, Form-1099 int, or Form 1099-div, or proceeds from broker and barter transactions just to name a few. Other good keepers are documents entitled “Annual Statement” or “Annual Review” as well as statements that end on December 31st. But here is the one that sneaks up on us, probably because it is not so obvious: COST BASIS DOCUMENTS. They are not labeled so clearly because the clearing firm that holds the security or the fund sponsor does not know when you will elect to liquidate your position and they often do not come at tax time. These are documents that prove how much your investment cost you and they will come in all shapes and sizes! Here is the rule, if you still own the security, then you still need the statements. The reason for this is that you have to know about your capital gains distributions and dividends as well as you partial sales and additional purchased shares.
If you sell a stock or a mutual fund this year, you (or your tax preparer) will have to tell the government what you paid for that asset, or more accurately what it has cost you since you have been the owner. How else will you know if you made a profit? Compare this to your home. If you buy a house for $175,000, and sell it for $200,000, did you make money? Not if your renovation costs were more than the difference of these two numbers. The same is true for stocks and mutual funds. You may have purchased this asset many years ago, and may have paid capital gains on many tax returns. This is said to have increased your cost basis or in other words, it has increased the amount you have put into the security. If you shred these records, you may have a difficult time determining your capital loss or capital gain. And because of that, you may pay more taxes than you really owe. Remember, the capital gain/loss is the selling price of the security or asset minus the cost basis.
So alright then, if you must throw away some paper, make sure you are especially careful about keeping paperwork on securities. These records will prove to be valuable in the future when that security is sold.
Vice President, Main Street Financial
One Piece Of Paper You Want To Keep
Every year in the early part of March, I start getting piles of envelopes stuffed with piles of envelopes and more envelopes, each with documents still inside...it’s tax time in the US of A! I almost always hear this statement: I don’t know what to keep and what to throw away, you decide. I have even had people bring in their files and ask our staff to “clean out” their paper accumulations. We are glad to help but realize some of these clients worry about paperwork they do not understand. And quite frankly, some of it is very difficult to understand.
I have noticed that many of us, the older we get, for some reason or another become less attached to possessions and prefer simplifying life by de-accumulation, which includes the removal of excess paper. (I am not sure why, since paper takes up a relatively small amount of space in the average American household!) I admit that because of rules, legalities/liabilities, fair reporting rules and so on, there is plenty of fine print paper that falls out of an investment sponsor envelope. Much of that paper is required by law to keep you informed and can be tossed in the name of lean files. But the real issue in my mind is what NOT to throw away. Here are a few keepers: Anything that says “Important Tax Information” is a keeper, but that should be obvious, read on.
Anything that starts with the word “Form” like Form-1099, Form-1098, Form-1099 int, or Form 1099-div, or proceeds from broker and barter transactions just to name a few. Other good keepers are documents entitled “Annual Statement” or “Annual Review” as well as statements that end on December 31st. But here is the one that sneaks up on us, probably because it is not so obvious: COST BASIS DOCUMENTS. They are not labeled so clearly because the clearing firm that holds the security or the fund sponsor does not know when you will elect to liquidate your position and they often do not come at tax time. These are documents that prove how much your investment cost you and they will come in all shapes and sizes! Here is the rule, if you still own the security, then you still need the statements. The reason for this is that you have to know about your capital gains distributions and dividends as well as you partial sales and additional purchased shares.
If you sell a stock or a mutual fund this year, you (or your tax preparer) will have to tell the government what you paid for that asset, or more accurately what it has cost you since you have been the owner. How else will you know if you made a profit? Compare this to your home. If you buy a house for $175,000, and sell it for $200,000, did you make money? Not if your renovation costs were more than the difference of these two numbers. The same is true for stocks and mutual funds. You may have purchased this asset many years ago, and may have paid capital gains on many tax returns. This is said to have increased your cost basis or in other words, it has increased the amount you have put into the security. If you shred these records, you may have a difficult time determining your capital loss or capital gain. And because of that, you may pay more taxes than you really owe. Remember, the capital gain/loss is the selling price of the security or asset minus the cost basis.
So alright then, if you must throw away some paper, make sure you are especially careful about keeping paperwork on securities. These records will prove to be valuable in the future when that security is sold.
FIRST CAPITOL COUNSELING Dr, Howard Rosenthal
What Your Buying Habits Reveal About Your Personality
Dr. Howard Rosenthal
When I was a youngster my father owned a company that manufactured shampoos and hair conditioners. His bestseller was the original Rum & Egg Shampoo, a product he invented himself. Now here’s where the story gets a little humorous (or perhaps not so humorous depending on your vantage point). We would routinely receive correspondence from folks who just loved the Rum & Egg . . . heck, they thought it was the best darn shampoo on the face of the planet. In fact, they’d go a step farther and trash another brand or two of Rum & Egg and say something like, “Why can’t Brand X or Brand Y make Rum & Egg like yours? The product they manufacture is pure junk.”
Now you might be thinking that we were patting ourselves on the back for making such a great product. Well if that’s what you thought then hold onto your horses because I haven’t gotten to the punch line yet. Moments after the first call we receive another telephone message. This time it would be from an irate customer who would be ranting and raving about how inferior our product was, “Why in the heck can’t you guys make a decent Rum & Egg Shampoo like Brand X or Brand Y? I’ll even send you a bottle of their brand so you can see how good the competition’s product really is.”
And send us a bottle, they did! Now what the aforementioned dummies (um excuse me, I mean customers) didn’t know was that most of the time it was the exact same stuff! Let me put it in a different way. We’d fill a thousand bottles to the brim with Rum & Egg and some bottles would get our label, others Brand X, and others Brand Y, Z or whatever. We never had a clue which bottles received which labels. Hello folks: you’re all buying the same stuff.
Often the same shampoo or conditioner would even be made under the same name with ten different colors, ten different brand names and ten different perfumes. (Sorry to disappoint you ladies, but in cosmetics generally the most expensive part of the product is the package and the perfume, in that order.)
But this principle goes way beyond hair care products. At one time made in Japan meant junk, but that’s hardly been the case for the last twenty years. Now Japanese always stands for superior quality . . . or does it? A few years back researchers took models of automobiles and VCRs that were sold either with US nameplates (Dodge or RCA) or Japanese badges (Mitsubishi or JVC). Like the shampoo saga, the products were actually identical. Customers were given the Japanese brand and the American issue and told to rate them. Perhaps you’ve already guessed that the products sporting a Japanese label – never mind that in reality they were the same – were rated much better. Consumers made comments like, “The Japanese model just rode quieter,” or “the picture and the sound were markedly better.” Had you performed the experiment in the early 1950s the products with the US nameplate would surely have won by a landslide.
Your belief in what you purchase has a lot to do with what the media tells you and that can be altered by where you live. Recently, I was speaking with a very successful businessman visiting here from Japan for the first time. “Do you drive a Lexus?” I asked. “Why would I drive a Toyota?” he quipped. “I own a huge company and need to impress people, so I can only purchase a BMW or a Mercedes. Toyota is not a luxury car in Japan.”
“But you know it has tremendous prestige in the US,” I protested. “Yes,” he responded, “we have heard this once or twice in Japan. We just find it strange, kind of funny, I guess.”
The war to invade your wallet, that little plastic card of yours, or your pocket book, begins and ends with the battle for your mind.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal is Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and a multi-book author. His website is www.howardrosenthal.com
Dr. Howard Rosenthal
When I was a youngster my father owned a company that manufactured shampoos and hair conditioners. His bestseller was the original Rum & Egg Shampoo, a product he invented himself. Now here’s where the story gets a little humorous (or perhaps not so humorous depending on your vantage point). We would routinely receive correspondence from folks who just loved the Rum & Egg . . . heck, they thought it was the best darn shampoo on the face of the planet. In fact, they’d go a step farther and trash another brand or two of Rum & Egg and say something like, “Why can’t Brand X or Brand Y make Rum & Egg like yours? The product they manufacture is pure junk.”
Now you might be thinking that we were patting ourselves on the back for making such a great product. Well if that’s what you thought then hold onto your horses because I haven’t gotten to the punch line yet. Moments after the first call we receive another telephone message. This time it would be from an irate customer who would be ranting and raving about how inferior our product was, “Why in the heck can’t you guys make a decent Rum & Egg Shampoo like Brand X or Brand Y? I’ll even send you a bottle of their brand so you can see how good the competition’s product really is.”
And send us a bottle, they did! Now what the aforementioned dummies (um excuse me, I mean customers) didn’t know was that most of the time it was the exact same stuff! Let me put it in a different way. We’d fill a thousand bottles to the brim with Rum & Egg and some bottles would get our label, others Brand X, and others Brand Y, Z or whatever. We never had a clue which bottles received which labels. Hello folks: you’re all buying the same stuff.
Often the same shampoo or conditioner would even be made under the same name with ten different colors, ten different brand names and ten different perfumes. (Sorry to disappoint you ladies, but in cosmetics generally the most expensive part of the product is the package and the perfume, in that order.)
But this principle goes way beyond hair care products. At one time made in Japan meant junk, but that’s hardly been the case for the last twenty years. Now Japanese always stands for superior quality . . . or does it? A few years back researchers took models of automobiles and VCRs that were sold either with US nameplates (Dodge or RCA) or Japanese badges (Mitsubishi or JVC). Like the shampoo saga, the products were actually identical. Customers were given the Japanese brand and the American issue and told to rate them. Perhaps you’ve already guessed that the products sporting a Japanese label – never mind that in reality they were the same – were rated much better. Consumers made comments like, “The Japanese model just rode quieter,” or “the picture and the sound were markedly better.” Had you performed the experiment in the early 1950s the products with the US nameplate would surely have won by a landslide.
Your belief in what you purchase has a lot to do with what the media tells you and that can be altered by where you live. Recently, I was speaking with a very successful businessman visiting here from Japan for the first time. “Do you drive a Lexus?” I asked. “Why would I drive a Toyota?” he quipped. “I own a huge company and need to impress people, so I can only purchase a BMW or a Mercedes. Toyota is not a luxury car in Japan.”
“But you know it has tremendous prestige in the US,” I protested. “Yes,” he responded, “we have heard this once or twice in Japan. We just find it strange, kind of funny, I guess.”
The war to invade your wallet, that little plastic card of yours, or your pocket book, begins and ends with the battle for your mind.
Dr. Howard Rosenthal is Professor and Program Coordinator of Human Services at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and a multi-book author. His website is www.howardrosenthal.com
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS SPORTS - Mike McMurran Sports Editor
Things are finally getting back into a regular routine in the McMurran household. In case you’ve been living in a cave, or if you are not a regular reader of this column, I’ve spent most of the past two months or so campaigning for Bob Kneemiller’s City Council position. He soundly trounced me by a 2-1 margin which somewhat surprised me, but life goes on. More than anything else I was concerned how my kids would react to their dear old dad getting beat – they handled it rather well. As Maggie put it, “at least you had the courage to run Dad, no one else in the 4th ward even ran.” Well put for a 5th grader. “Sometimes when you go to bat you’re going to strike out Dad,” Joe shared with me. I wish Bob all the luck in the world.
When asked if I thought the mud-slinging campaign material that was thrown into yards the day before the election hurt my chances, I had to respond “no.” Maggie and Joe both read the articles written about me and said, “Dad, if these were true, wouldn’t you have been arrested? If these were true, why would the people of Country Club Hills have voted you in as Mayor?” Sometimes life’s lessons are priceless. I shared with my children that saying bad things about people, whether they be true are not, has long been a tool of republicans. I then shared with them the lies told about John Kerry as well as the lies told about my good friend Tom Green. I think I lost them when I went into the difference between republican ideology and democratic philosophy – but then again they are only 8 and 11 years old.
Like I told most of my friends and supporters who called me and offered condolences, maybe I’m just meant to be a teacher and a youth coach. After all, it’s only natural to do what one does best. As luck would have it, two days after the election I was called by the powers to be of the O’Fallon Junior Renegades Football organization. It seems the Gateway Football League is shaking up their levels of participation this season, and rather than having 7 and 8 year-olds playing together, they are going to have a separate league for 7 year-olds. My youngest son, Dee, is 7 and is going to play for the Renegades next season, along with two or three of his classmates. Well, those in charge have approached me and asked me to be the head coach of the 7 year-old team. I’m not certain, no, I’m quite certain that had I won the election I would not have had the time to coach the team and would have had to decline the offer. Like I’ve said before, the Creator of the Universe works in strange ways. I am now the official head coach of the 7 year-old O’Fallon Junior Renegades Football team. I’m sure you’ll be reading more about my endeavors in future editions.
St. Charles own Brad Soderberg seems to be getting the short end of the stick from Father Biondi and the administration at St. Louis University. Closer examination indicates it might just be Biondi himself. Any way you look at it the University did Soderberg wrong! Over the years I’ve developed a pretty close relationship with former SLU head coach and former Clayton a.d. Rich Grawer. Rich said, “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it (release a coach). SLU seems to have done it the wrong way.” From everything I’ve read and heard about the firing, only one other head men’s’ basketball coach has been fired after April 15th in the past 5 years. That would be former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy – and he was released for behavior off the court. I believe Soderberg will land on his feet. I’ve never met the man, but from a distance he seems well grounded to what’s important. Look at what happened to Grawer after he was fired. He landed possibly the best a.d. job in the state at Clayton high school. I’m not sure what he started out making, but by the time he retired I’m sure he was making six figures. “And I get to go home every night,” he told me once when I asked him if the Clayton job was a let down after coaching Division I basketball.
Good luck to a few baseball and softball teams this season. Maggie is playing softball for St. Cletus and will open their season this weekend in a tournament at St Elizabeth. Daniel and Joe both play in the St. Peter’s Athletic Association – Dee plays for the Cobras and Joe for the Titans. By the time this fine weekly hits the street they both will have a game under their belt.
Finally, happy 9th birthday to my oldest son, Joseph Conway McMurran. Joe, I waited 43 years to have a son – the wait was well worth buddy.
When asked if I thought the mud-slinging campaign material that was thrown into yards the day before the election hurt my chances, I had to respond “no.” Maggie and Joe both read the articles written about me and said, “Dad, if these were true, wouldn’t you have been arrested? If these were true, why would the people of Country Club Hills have voted you in as Mayor?” Sometimes life’s lessons are priceless. I shared with my children that saying bad things about people, whether they be true are not, has long been a tool of republicans. I then shared with them the lies told about John Kerry as well as the lies told about my good friend Tom Green. I think I lost them when I went into the difference between republican ideology and democratic philosophy – but then again they are only 8 and 11 years old.
Like I told most of my friends and supporters who called me and offered condolences, maybe I’m just meant to be a teacher and a youth coach. After all, it’s only natural to do what one does best. As luck would have it, two days after the election I was called by the powers to be of the O’Fallon Junior Renegades Football organization. It seems the Gateway Football League is shaking up their levels of participation this season, and rather than having 7 and 8 year-olds playing together, they are going to have a separate league for 7 year-olds. My youngest son, Dee, is 7 and is going to play for the Renegades next season, along with two or three of his classmates. Well, those in charge have approached me and asked me to be the head coach of the 7 year-old team. I’m not certain, no, I’m quite certain that had I won the election I would not have had the time to coach the team and would have had to decline the offer. Like I’ve said before, the Creator of the Universe works in strange ways. I am now the official head coach of the 7 year-old O’Fallon Junior Renegades Football team. I’m sure you’ll be reading more about my endeavors in future editions.
St. Charles own Brad Soderberg seems to be getting the short end of the stick from Father Biondi and the administration at St. Louis University. Closer examination indicates it might just be Biondi himself. Any way you look at it the University did Soderberg wrong! Over the years I’ve developed a pretty close relationship with former SLU head coach and former Clayton a.d. Rich Grawer. Rich said, “There’s a right way and a wrong way to do it (release a coach). SLU seems to have done it the wrong way.” From everything I’ve read and heard about the firing, only one other head men’s’ basketball coach has been fired after April 15th in the past 5 years. That would be former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy – and he was released for behavior off the court. I believe Soderberg will land on his feet. I’ve never met the man, but from a distance he seems well grounded to what’s important. Look at what happened to Grawer after he was fired. He landed possibly the best a.d. job in the state at Clayton high school. I’m not sure what he started out making, but by the time he retired I’m sure he was making six figures. “And I get to go home every night,” he told me once when I asked him if the Clayton job was a let down after coaching Division I basketball.
Good luck to a few baseball and softball teams this season. Maggie is playing softball for St. Cletus and will open their season this weekend in a tournament at St Elizabeth. Daniel and Joe both play in the St. Peter’s Athletic Association – Dee plays for the Cobras and Joe for the Titans. By the time this fine weekly hits the street they both will have a game under their belt.
Finally, happy 9th birthday to my oldest son, Joseph Conway McMurran. Joe, I waited 43 years to have a son – the wait was well worth buddy.
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