First, here are the answers to the quiz at the end of the last column. Actually, Bart Simpson uses the phrase “I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything.” Those of you who guessed that it was the head of the petition drive to disenfranchise voters in wards 3 and 7 lose 1 point.
The next answer to the statement, “It doesn’t matter how they got the signatures, all that matters is that they have the signatures.” (May not be verbatim) was of course, Petty Patty. Although it may have sounded like the fictional Mafia boss Don Vito Corlione or the real life Al Capone, it was our own Patty. You should have figured that one out since there were no severed horse heads left in anyone’s bed. Not yet, anyway.
For those of you who, like me, are missing that magnificent missive of malcontent and misinformation, The Citizen, don’t despair. I’m sure the editor and his $$$$ backers are just saving up to present you with a blast of glossy, professionally printed mailings just prior to election time. Unfortunately, the various column and letter writers in the FCN don’t have millions to spend on getting the truth out. Then again, we are not looking for financial gain like they are. All we have to gain with your support is good government. We do need YOU to speak out.
Speaking of spending, have you ever put an ad in the St. Peters ad rag. Not very cheap, is it? Just think how much a multi-paged insert must cost to run every other week. Think how much it costs to rent rooms at the Convention Center to have meetings. Think of how much (thousands) was spent to get signatures by the “Astroturf” recall organizations (For those who missed last week’s column, Astroturf designates groups whose “grass roots” are artificial, like Astroturf). What would possibly be the reason Astroturfers would spend so much money to get their majority on the Council? Could it possibly be that developers don’t ever want to hear the word “no”’ again? Since they never heard it prior to this Council, when they finally did hear it they probably had to look up the meaning.
The two Councilpersons being attacked are working in the best interests of their constituents. Unlike some previous council members, they aren’t there to get future contracts from the city. They aren’t voting “aye” on every request from Lindenwood in order to get (or keep) a job there. Unlike their predecessors, both attend almost every meeting and question what effect each act will have on their constituents.
Ward 3 and ward 7 voters, think about it. Do you want to revert to the type of representation, or actually the lack thereof, that you had before?
When it gets nearer to the election, I’ll get into the REAL reasons for these recall efforts. I want them to be fresh in your mind when you step into the voting booth. Believe me, it has nothing to do with cell phone towers, fireworks or the word “cesspool”. The reasons these anti-resident groups exist is completely self-serving and not for the good of our citizens. Actually the many groups are all the same group, financed by the same people. They keep coming up with more names for themselves to make you think there is a real citizen’s recall effort out there. Don’t be fooled. There isn’t.
Ward 3 and ward 7 voters can take the For Sale sign off City Hall. The rest of us can only stand by and watch and hope they do. Don’t help in making our electoral process a joke.
