McCulloch’s Airport
by Alex Spencer
Watching public meetings on cable access television usually guarantees the average viewer a way to beat insomnia.
But last Monday night’s St. Charles County Council meeting had a moment of high drama. Adolphus Busch IV, heir to a fortune amassed by his ancestors slinging suds, made an appearance during the public comment period and just flat-out threatened the council members.
Now I am not so naive as to live under the misconception that in our “one-man, one-vote” system, the vote of any of us commoners amounts to a whole hill of beans compared to the decrees of a brewery baron like Adolphus. Guys like him buy up politicians with fat political contributions and off-the-books free goodies. Such things are so commonplace that earlier this year, Councilman Joe Brazil didn’t even bother to lie when questioned about his boondoggle fishing trip to the Florida Keys aboard Adolphus’ private yacht.
But normally the fat cats who own stables of politicians allow us in the masses a semblance of some type of egalitarian democracy during our little rituals called public meetings. After all, it helps us all live under the delusion that the system is fair—at least fair enough that we can go home and enjoy another Budweiser rather than waste our time actually attending public meetings.
On Monday evening, however, Adolphus dispensed with such niceties to make it clear that His County Council forgot who was in charge if it was going to defy his will by considering any expansion of the county airport at Smartt Field.
Adolphus doesn’t want the airport expanded because it might negatively impact the flight patterns of migratory birds. In English, the planes may chase off the ducks. And Adolphus, when hanging out on his 2000+ acre private estate, likes to shoot at the ducks.
So Adolphus stared down the Council and said that his private political action group of wealthy duck hunters, the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, would come after any politician who dared vote against him. You could almost smell the testosterone through the television. I haven’t seen bullying like this outside of a middle school locker room. Like I said, high drama.
Now the proposed airport expansion is co-sponsored by Council members Foust, Morrison, and Schnur. Council members Brazil, Funderburk and White are already known to be purchased workhorses (i.e., Clydesdales) in Adolphus’ personal stable of politicians. So Adolphus’ threats appear to be directed at the newest and only undecided member of the County Council—Joe McCulloch.
And therein lies the rub. With the Republican members of the Council split evenly between Adolphus’ trio and the three bill co-sponsors, the lone Democrat member of the County Council will likely decide the fate of Smartt Field.
No one seems to know how McCulloch will react to Adolphus’ threat. Adolphus’ Great Duck Hunters Alliance supported Richard Baum against McCulloch this April when McCulloch won his council seat in a largely Republican leaning district. But McCulloch faces a re-election bid next year in that same difficult district, so Adolphus’ threat may have some teeth. Even so, McCulloch, a retired St. Louis City cop and former prosecutor, seems like the kind of guy unlikely to succumb to a rich kid turned bully.
The conflict between these characters currently defines primetime drama on cable access television. You just have to wait through all the zoning issues.
