Editorial
Councilman Hoepfner Joins With Mayor
To Thwart The Public’s Right To Know
Tuesday night the lights went out at City Hall in more ways than one. An electrical storm briefly knocked out the lights and shut down the elevators during the middle of the City Council meeting. But a vote taken by the Council also turned out the light on the public’s ability to know what’s going on.
Councilman Bob Hoepfner was the one who “pulled the plug” on running the agendas of upcoming Council meetings. Previously he had argued and voted in favor of running the agendas so the public would know what was coming up and could call their Council members or attend the meetings. As little as a week before the vote he personally told this editor that he would sponsor the contract to continue to run the agendas.
It was a core value of Councilman Hoepfner’s, but one he was willing to sacrifice to prove his new found loyalty to the Mayor and her allies on the Council. The Mayor, stung by criticism of her actions, has tried for months to squash the agendas being printed. She finally found her knight in shining armor to ride to her rescue...Bob Hoepfner.
Last week, Mr. Hoepfner announced in John Sonderreger’s column in the Post-Dispatch that he had joined the Mayor’s faction on the City Council. The first “test” of his loyalty was for Councilman Hoepfner to sell out his principles that the public had a right to know, in advance, what was going to be debated at a City Council meeting. He passed their test with flying colors.
It took her two years, but Mayor Patti York succeeded in taking control of the 10th Ward. We aren’t sure yet what all it took to accomplish that, but we promise to share it with you, our readers, when details of the arrangements come to light.
