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Saturday, April 08, 2006
FIRST CAPITOL NEWS - April 8, 2006 Front Page
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David Slays Goliath - Greer Beats Recall Attempt
By Tony Brockmeyer
In the first recall election in the history of St. Charles, Councilwoman Dottie Greer, Ward 7, overcame an attempt to remove her from office.
Greer, serving her first term, defeated the Citizens Empowerment Committee headed by Linda Meyer, The St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government headed by Ken Kielty and Glennon Jamboretz, The Citizens for Responsible Community headed by Carl Maus and Raymond Stone and the Do The Right Thing Committee headed by Ed Watkins, Kevin Kast, Mike Sellenschuetter, and TR Hughes. Combined, the groups spent an estimated $70,000 in their efforts to recall Greer and take control of the City Council and the $100 million City budget. Greer was victorious despite efforts by the Mayor and her husband, Councilmen Mike Weller, Bob Kneemiller, Larry Muench, Jerry Reese and Bob Hoepfner.
“I know how it felt when David fought Goliath and won,” Dottie Greer told the First Capitol News in an exclusive interview after the election. “My ward came together as a community and wanted me to stay in office and represent their interests, not special interests. It was wonderful coming home two days in a row and finding flowers on my porch. I spent less than $300 in the campaign. A lot of people helped me and they even bought their own signs. I received a lot of prayers and want to give the glory to God.”
Although they voted to have the City pay for legal representation for themselves, Hoepfner, Reese, Muench, Weller and Kneemiller, in executive meeting of the City Council, voted to deny Greer the same representation.
Shortly before the election Kneemiller sent a letter to voters in Greer’s Ward criticizing her. Weller, TR Hughes, Watkins, Jamboretz, the Mayor, the Mayor’s husband and associates all worked the polls trying to convince voters to recall Greer. Just a few days prior to the election Citizens for Responsible Community sent out a negative mailer ridiculing City Council President Rory Riddler, Greer and Councilman Mark Brown who they are also attempting to recall. An anonymous, mudslinging, vicious mailer full of hate, lies and misinformation, attacking this writer, City Council Special Counsel Eric Tolen and Matt McWilliams an insurance broker handling insurance for the City, was sent to voters in Greer’s Ward just days prior to the election.
Shortly before the election St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas filed felony charges against Kay Seemiller, who was employed by Citizens Empowerment Committee headed by Linda Meyer. Meyer is the wife of a St. Charles police officer who at one time was the president of the St. Charles Police Officer’s Association. In addition to paying recall petition circulators on a per signature basis she also paid herself out of the committee funds. It is expected the prosecutor will file charges on additional individuals.
For more information on the recall efforts and individuals involved please see the First Capitol News archives at
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
ttt
In the first recall election in the history of St. Charles, Councilwoman Dottie Greer, Ward 7, overcame an attempt to remove her from office.
Greer, serving her first term, defeated the Citizens Empowerment Committee headed by Linda Meyer, The St. Charles Citizens for Responsible Government headed by Ken Kielty and Glennon Jamboretz, The Citizens for Responsible Community headed by Carl Maus and Raymond Stone and the Do The Right Thing Committee headed by Ed Watkins, Kevin Kast, Mike Sellenschuetter, and TR Hughes. Combined, the groups spent an estimated $70,000 in their efforts to recall Greer and take control of the City Council and the $100 million City budget. Greer was victorious despite efforts by the Mayor and her husband, Councilmen Mike Weller, Bob Kneemiller, Larry Muench, Jerry Reese and Bob Hoepfner.
“I know how it felt when David fought Goliath and won,” Dottie Greer told the First Capitol News in an exclusive interview after the election. “My ward came together as a community and wanted me to stay in office and represent their interests, not special interests. It was wonderful coming home two days in a row and finding flowers on my porch. I spent less than $300 in the campaign. A lot of people helped me and they even bought their own signs. I received a lot of prayers and want to give the glory to God.”
Although they voted to have the City pay for legal representation for themselves, Hoepfner, Reese, Muench, Weller and Kneemiller, in executive meeting of the City Council, voted to deny Greer the same representation.
Shortly before the election Kneemiller sent a letter to voters in Greer’s Ward criticizing her. Weller, TR Hughes, Watkins, Jamboretz, the Mayor, the Mayor’s husband and associates all worked the polls trying to convince voters to recall Greer. Just a few days prior to the election Citizens for Responsible Community sent out a negative mailer ridiculing City Council President Rory Riddler, Greer and Councilman Mark Brown who they are also attempting to recall. An anonymous, mudslinging, vicious mailer full of hate, lies and misinformation, attacking this writer, City Council Special Counsel Eric Tolen and Matt McWilliams an insurance broker handling insurance for the City, was sent to voters in Greer’s Ward just days prior to the election.
Shortly before the election St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas filed felony charges against Kay Seemiller, who was employed by Citizens Empowerment Committee headed by Linda Meyer. Meyer is the wife of a St. Charles police officer who at one time was the president of the St. Charles Police Officer’s Association. In addition to paying recall petition circulators on a per signature basis she also paid herself out of the committee funds. It is expected the prosecutor will file charges on additional individuals.
For more information on the recall efforts and individuals involved please see the First Capitol News archives at
firstcapitolnews.blogspot.com.
ttt
Karam Joins Race To Capture 2nd Congressional District Seat
Saying he is running to help “Save The American Dream”, Charles Karam filed to seek the Democratic nomination in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.“
In his filing statement, Karam pointed out his main reasons for running. “We have gone to war with no plan on how to win and seen it used as justification for billions of dollars to be stolen or squandered by companies like Haliburton. Even the operation of our nation’s most vital ports was nearly outsourced to a foreign government corporation. A culture of greed is destroying the middle class with outlandish oil prices and excessive profits by big oil companies. Big brother is back with government interference in personal family decisions, like the Terry Schiavo case, and the wire taping and spying on United States citizens without proper court review. Karl Rove, Bill Frist, Tom DeLay and Jack Abramhoff are the poster children of a Republican Party drunk on power and addicted to special interest money.”
Karam an American citizen, born to a Christian family in Lebanon, a nation torn by civil war and religious strife, came to America when he was 20 at the urging of his family to seek a better life. He worked to put himself through school and in 1980, he met his wife Mary Jo, and moved to St. Louis. The couple have two beautiful daughters ages 5 and 8. “I will never forget what freedom has meant to me, which is why I want to save the American Dream for future generations, “ explained Karam.
The candidate holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering with a minor in Business Administration. He also attended Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and received a diploma in management of local government. Karam served for 15 years in the City of Overland as City Engineer and Public Works Director/City Administrator. He started his own development and new homebuilding firm and is currently managing a family-owned company, R.C.W. Corporation/America Home Builders, as President and CEO.
Last year Charles Karam was appointed by St. Louis County Executive Charles Dooley to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and now serve as Vice-Chairman of the MSD Board of Trustees.
Charles Karam also used the occasion of his filing to unveil his New Agenda For America. “As a member of the next Congress, I want to promote a new agenda for the 21st Century. One that puts the needs of working people ahead of corporate greed, the lives of seniors ahead of the drug companies, the interests of taxpayers ahead of powerful lobbyists,” explained the candidate.
The main points of his plan are to:
Restore Integrity In Washington by closing the loopholes that high-priced Washington based lobbyists have driven truckloads of money through. We are trillions of dollars in debt due to run-away spending to satisfy special interests and their high priced Washington lobbyists.
Stop Bleeding America’s Middle Class At The Gas Pump - Exxon and Mobil’s excessive profit margins…the largest in history, should be taxed and put into alternative energy research and development.
Build America’s Job Base by keeping American jobs from being outsourced to foreign countries and encouraging new job growth…jobs that pay a living wage. We must secure our nation’s boarders, keep control of our ports and stop firms from hiring and exploiting undocumented workers.
Make Retirement More Secure by not allowing the big drug companies to rip-off America’s Seniors. There is no reason we should pay more for the same prescription drugs than consumers in Canada.
Keep Politics Out Of Family Decisions - Congress has no right to intervene in your family’s private end of life decisions as the Republicans did with such blatant disregard in the Terry Shiavo case.
Investigate Billions Missing In Iraq - Tens of billions of dollars are missing from rebuilding programs in Iraq. Those who stole this money are the worst kind of war profiteers and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Respect The Bill Of Rights and stop the erosion of our fundamental freedoms. Restore the balance between civil liberties, privacy and security.
Encourage Smart Growth Decisions - We can protect the environment by making smarter decisions in city planning, creating housing near business centers to reduce drive time and encouraging mixed use developments to provide greens space and more recreational opportunities.
Empower People Through Education - We can empower people to change their lives and help our children to remain competitive in their future careers by putting education first.
Encourage Business Development - The St. Louis region is well positioned to take advantage of advances in bio-technology, agri-business and medical research. We should encourage, not discourage, tomorrow’s industries like stem cell research. We need to encourage entrepreneurship, new business development and protect small business from predatory competition.
In his filing statement, Karam pointed out his main reasons for running. “We have gone to war with no plan on how to win and seen it used as justification for billions of dollars to be stolen or squandered by companies like Haliburton. Even the operation of our nation’s most vital ports was nearly outsourced to a foreign government corporation. A culture of greed is destroying the middle class with outlandish oil prices and excessive profits by big oil companies. Big brother is back with government interference in personal family decisions, like the Terry Schiavo case, and the wire taping and spying on United States citizens without proper court review. Karl Rove, Bill Frist, Tom DeLay and Jack Abramhoff are the poster children of a Republican Party drunk on power and addicted to special interest money.”
Karam an American citizen, born to a Christian family in Lebanon, a nation torn by civil war and religious strife, came to America when he was 20 at the urging of his family to seek a better life. He worked to put himself through school and in 1980, he met his wife Mary Jo, and moved to St. Louis. The couple have two beautiful daughters ages 5 and 8. “I will never forget what freedom has meant to me, which is why I want to save the American Dream for future generations, “ explained Karam.
The candidate holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering with a minor in Business Administration. He also attended Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and received a diploma in management of local government. Karam served for 15 years in the City of Overland as City Engineer and Public Works Director/City Administrator. He started his own development and new homebuilding firm and is currently managing a family-owned company, R.C.W. Corporation/America Home Builders, as President and CEO.
Last year Charles Karam was appointed by St. Louis County Executive Charles Dooley to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and now serve as Vice-Chairman of the MSD Board of Trustees.
Charles Karam also used the occasion of his filing to unveil his New Agenda For America. “As a member of the next Congress, I want to promote a new agenda for the 21st Century. One that puts the needs of working people ahead of corporate greed, the lives of seniors ahead of the drug companies, the interests of taxpayers ahead of powerful lobbyists,” explained the candidate.
The main points of his plan are to:
Restore Integrity In Washington by closing the loopholes that high-priced Washington based lobbyists have driven truckloads of money through. We are trillions of dollars in debt due to run-away spending to satisfy special interests and their high priced Washington lobbyists.
Stop Bleeding America’s Middle Class At The Gas Pump - Exxon and Mobil’s excessive profit margins…the largest in history, should be taxed and put into alternative energy research and development.
Build America’s Job Base by keeping American jobs from being outsourced to foreign countries and encouraging new job growth…jobs that pay a living wage. We must secure our nation’s boarders, keep control of our ports and stop firms from hiring and exploiting undocumented workers.
Make Retirement More Secure by not allowing the big drug companies to rip-off America’s Seniors. There is no reason we should pay more for the same prescription drugs than consumers in Canada.
Keep Politics Out Of Family Decisions - Congress has no right to intervene in your family’s private end of life decisions as the Republicans did with such blatant disregard in the Terry Shiavo case.
Investigate Billions Missing In Iraq - Tens of billions of dollars are missing from rebuilding programs in Iraq. Those who stole this money are the worst kind of war profiteers and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Respect The Bill Of Rights and stop the erosion of our fundamental freedoms. Restore the balance between civil liberties, privacy and security.
Encourage Smart Growth Decisions - We can protect the environment by making smarter decisions in city planning, creating housing near business centers to reduce drive time and encouraging mixed use developments to provide greens space and more recreational opportunities.
Empower People Through Education - We can empower people to change their lives and help our children to remain competitive in their future careers by putting education first.
Encourage Business Development - The St. Louis region is well positioned to take advantage of advances in bio-technology, agri-business and medical research. We should encourage, not discourage, tomorrow’s industries like stem cell research. We need to encourage entrepreneurship, new business development and protect small business from predatory competition.
RAMBLING WITH THE EDITOR - Tony Brockmeyer
click on image to enlarge$5 A Signature, Dead or Alive
A St. Charles police officer knocked on my door Monday morning. He was not wearing a brown shirt, was not jack booted, did not appear to be a Nazi, and did not bully me. He told me he was there because of a criminal complaint filed by Linda Meyer, the treasurer of the Citizens Empowerment Committee who is trying to recall Councilwoman Dottie Greer and Councilman Mark Brown, and the wife of a St. Charles police officer who was formerly the president of the St. Charles Police Officers Association. I thought he was joking but he told me she was complaining of being harassed by a cartoon in the February 17th edition of the First Capitol News. She does not like being in cartoons in this newspaper and was upset with the words “dead or alive.” The officer said he wanted to give me an opportunity to respond to her complaint. The cartoon in question is the middle cartoon on this page. I explained to the officer the dead or alive was referring to the fraudulent signatures her committee had collected during the recall petition process and pointed out that one of the signatures was from a dead person. He told me she was insisting the complaint be filed with the office of the Prosecuting Attorney for criminal prosecution. I told the officer the cartoon was protected under the Constitution and I did not care what Linda Meyer thought.
Linda Meyer and members of her group have called and visited our advertisers, filed malicious and false complaints with the better business bureau and tried many times to hurt our newspaper. Now that's harassment!
Happy Easter
Because of the Easter Holiday next weekend our next edition will be on April 22, 2006. However, check our daily web log, firstcapitolnews-today.blogspot.com for daily updates seven days a week.
RED BAGS
There is a shortage of red bags in which to wrap the newspaper. Because of this there may be occasions when we just have to tie the papers and throw them without bags.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT?
After two ballots the election for City Council President Tuesday evening was continued until the next Council meeting. The votes were evenly split on both ballots, five for Rory Riddler and five for Bob Kneemiller. Kneemiller made a motion to continue the matter to the next meeting. Evidently he thought Dottie Greer would be recalled and a new member of the Council to be appointed by the Mayor would vote for him. More to come.
The City Desk - Rory Riddler City Council President
Maus & Stone Throw
Sticks And Stones
There is a political campaign committee that calls itself Citizens For Responsible Community (CFRC). They are one of several what I would call “conduit” committees. Their main purpose appears to be to serve as a front organization for laundering vast sums of political cash.
Like many other states, Missouri wisely adopted campaign spending limits to try to reduce the influence of special interest money in elections. In local races for the City Council, that limit is $300 per person or business.
But CFRC has received four donations of over $30,000 each from wealthy individuals seeking to gain political influence with local office holders. These individuals have given over 100 times the amount they legally could have donated to an individual candidate.
Their latest and largest donor was a homebuilder who gave $35,000 to Citizens For Responsible Community. But wait you say! Isn’t CFRC an anti-development group working to stop the unbridled growth of urban sprawl? How can they be taking money from millionaire developers?
The self-appointed co-leaders-for-life of the CFRC, Carl Maus and Raymond Stone have a unique definition of what “Responsible Growth” means. One time it can be to not build residential homes on land they say should be for commercial development. The next time, it is okay to build homes on that exact same parcel if the developer is now someone that gave the CFRC money.
They have also developed a well-deserved reputation for using the political cash they receive, not to support candidates, but to run negative attacks against their opponents. It is the old “good” cop “bad” cop ploy. The candidates they want to win get to say they had nothing to do with the nasty mudslinging pieces mailed out on their behalf by CFRC.
Recently an incumbent Alderman from O’Fallon resigned for personal and health reasons. It was too late, however, for his name to be removed from the ballot.
Carl Maus and Raymond Stone mailed out a flyer attacking this Alderman anyway. They showed his likeness with a turban on his head and chasing away “infidel” homebuilders.
This Alderman was part of the same “anti-development” slate that CFRC had helped elect previously. But CFRC then publicly “disowned” three Aldermen who refused to back-off those developers the CFRC was receiving money from.
So why spend money on a candidate that isn’t running a campaign for reelection and has publicly resigned from the board? The answer was because the Alderman was still being politically active in the community. In other words, they needed to send him a message. Sounds like an episode of the Sopranos.
Maus and Stone also tried their hand again at bending the political landscape to their will in the City of St. Charles. Neither of them live in the City of St. Charles, but they were part of an alliance of such outside special interest brokers who altogether spent a considerable amount of money trying to recall Dottie Greer.
How much money was spent trying to oust Councilwoman Greer? By my estimate, from all committees and anonymous sources, over $70,000!
Of course the CFRC couldn’t mail out literature in Dottie’s ward without using the opportunity to attack me personally. After all, they are still embarrassed that all the money they spent against me two years ago didn’t fool the voters. So I ended up on a mailer in Dottie’s ward dressed like “The Riddler” of Batman infamy. Gee, where have I heard that one before. Oh yeah…third grade.
Now a guy whose name in German literally means “Mouse” and a guy whose name is “Stone” probably had issues growing up. Kids can be cruel. But at some point you have to grow up.
Putting a turban on the likeness of an Alderman in O’Fallon and making him appear to be a terrorist, especially at a time when American servicemen and women are in harms way, was terribly…terribly cruel. It is the worst kind of mudslinging.
When asked about how such personal attacks might affect a person’s family, Maus and Stone told a local reporter that they do consider how the children of a target might feel and that is why they didn’t send the one of the Alderman dressed like a terrorist to his home.
Gee, that’s so nice of them. They mail it to all of his neighbors, the people his children go to school with, but they saved him the embarrassment of having one come to his own home.
This is the quote they gave a local newspaper about this magnanimous gesture of not sending a copy of the mailing of the man they just tried to make look like Osama Bin Laden to his home:
“We are not brutes,” Maus said. “We do have hearts.”
Could I see the X-rays again just to make sure.
CASE IN POINT By Joe Koester, Councilman Ward 9
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
Mother Teresa
Tuesday night, Ward 7 of the City of St. Charles went to the polls and decided that city hall is not for sale to developers and the country club elites who believe their opinions are somehow more important than that of the rest of the citizens who work to build and sustain this community. Armed with a self-imposed restricted budget of about $250.00 (that’s two hundred and fifty dollars!), Dottie Greer rebuffed an assault of more than $50,000 (who knows what the actual amount was since much seemed to go undeclared) and the publication and distribution of what amounted to on-going campaign material in a paid advertisement ironically titled, The Citizen, but put out by a non-citizen of our town.
Furthermore, Dottie entered office with a plurality but was allowed to win a majority vote in her own right. (Congratulations Dottie on your second victory – the first in city history!) The First Capitol News stood by Councilwoman Greer’s side serving as the voice of the average citizen much to the chagrin of those who already controlled Lee Enterprises (Post & Journal) by way of advertisement dollars. Even with the Post, Journal, and “You Paid For It” on their side, the same group sought to silence and discredit the little paper in red because this one publication prints stories that often go against the grain of the self-anointed, “movers and shakers.” The most read newspaper in town was demonized for its take on things because it wasn’t in line with the “official message.”
It was ludicrous to hear some of the same movers and shakers with their bazillion dollars, army of hired guns, and attorneys step up and rant against council in one breath and then shout about how intimidated they were in the next! Their public declaration that the Council president by submitting to the chief of police, (in the City administrator’s presence), those signatures that were believed to be forgeries somehow make our town a police state is ridiculous. The police were not doing the bidding of elected officials; in fact, we had no idea what the findings would ultimately render or if the prosecuting attorney would agree to take action. I do think we were vindicated when our prosecutor filed felony charges in this matter and when he gave the opinion that the entire thing should not have been certified until the matter was settled.
In their great fear because of their supposed intimidation (what exactly that was supposed to be, no one knows) some of these movers and shakers sent out illegal campaign letters lacking any disclosure. These letters demonized people such as our insurance broker! The majority of citizens in Ward 7 saw this as a vile, cowardly step that frankly went too far.
Since the Mayor and Councilman Weller went to the polls and actually worked against Dottie, and Councilman Kneemiller reportedly sent out a letter against Dottie, I think Dottie has the right to shovel a little payback their way, but knowing Dottie, I don’t think she will have the same desire for revenge that Battling Bob had back in 2004.
I guess what I am really wondering is whether or not the movers and shakers will allow Council to work out its differences on its own instead of causing still more trouble. Let the “Other Fab Five” stand on their own and together we can reach for common goals, disagree about some things, fight about other things and in general, function like government has in our country since our nation’s birth!
To those who worry about a Council with differences, I say worry about a Council that has none!
Thank You, Ward 7, for knowing the issues and doing the right thing!
THE PEOPLE SPEAK - Letters to the editor
To Mike McMurran
First Capitol News Sports Editor
Saturday morning I went out to get the paper and found the weekly First Capitol News in our yard. Knowing that Mike McMurran’s sports column would be there, I quickly opened it and found the attached article. What a thrill it was to see that Mike had chosen to focus on “Family Tollefson” and our recent visit to Savvis for the Rage Home Opener.
I am sending this email to you three to let you know how much we appreciated the opportunity to attend the game as guests of the Rage, not to mention the wonderful hospitality we experienced during the game. My daughter and two sons thoroughly enjoyed being there. Mike really hit the nail on the head when he wrote about my youngest son, Andrew, and how much he enjoys the Rage games. Though he is a special needs child with some pretty serious physical disabilities, intellectually he is “all there” and truly loves sports, football, and going to the Rage games. Words alone will never adequately express what it meant to Andrew to be there, next to the field, receiving high fives from the players just before kick-offs, and receiving the autographed football.
Please accept my most heartfelt thanks for the joy you brought to Andrew, Peter, and Sophie. Keep up the good work — on the field and in the community!
Mike McMurran — Thanks for including us in your weekly column. It was pretty exciting to see your column and it gave us something to share with our friends and relatives. And, as always, I appreciate what you did in helping us to get tickets to the game. See you on the soccer field!
Kevin Tollefson
Dear Editor,
Until the following items are dealt with plus some others, Missouri is not qualified to pass safety laws for motorcycle riders. For the most part, we are far better riders than most people are drivers and we know, better than anyone, Missouri’s traffic laws are an hypocrisy designed by and for private interests. If Missouri actually wanted highway safety, they would:
-Defy the Missouri Transportation committees chaired by politicians with conflicting interests. Trucks are allowed to soar down our interstates at break-neck speeds in defiance of all the laws of physics while they pound our interstates into dust. It takes far longer to stop a thirty-plus ton vehicle than it does a one and a half ton vehicle. These facts are why most states pass laws to make them stay in the right lane at 55 to sixty MPH and actually write them speeding tickets if they don‘t!
-Enforce and improve the lane laws. We have them in Missouri but they are ignored by law enforcement people. The fact of someone in the passing lane holding up a string of traffic for a mile or two is disregarded right along with the victims passing on their right. The facts of accident results in these incidents go unreported by the police and the media in favor of speed estimates and seat belt usage. States that enforce their lane laws have found that removing lane hogs improves traffic flow resulting in less accidents and road rage.
-Stop cell phone usage while driving. Many states have recognized the fact that some drivers can’t walk and chew gum at the same time so they put a stop to cell phone usage while driving. Missouri often preaches “Driving is a full time job” yet they ignore egocentric drivers that blabber on cell phones causing no end of accidents and road rage. There is no way these folks could be paying attention to their driving.
-Make anyone over the age of seventy take a driver’s exam or at least a reflex test when renewing their license. Some of the elderly do not belong behind the wheel. They are a menace to themselves and others because of slow reflexes and ignoring traffic. Unfortunately, the AARP has more power than it should.
It should be considered that the vast majority of Motorcycle riders are not risk-challenged teenagers or smelly gangsters. We are older, responsible adults and almost all if us have health insurance. We do not appreciate badly-informed do-gooders, motorcycle haters and hypocritical politicians telling us how to be safe because they obviously don’t know.
Joe Morice,
Honda Riders Club of America; River Road Riders Club
First Capitol News Sports Editor
Saturday morning I went out to get the paper and found the weekly First Capitol News in our yard. Knowing that Mike McMurran’s sports column would be there, I quickly opened it and found the attached article. What a thrill it was to see that Mike had chosen to focus on “Family Tollefson” and our recent visit to Savvis for the Rage Home Opener.
I am sending this email to you three to let you know how much we appreciated the opportunity to attend the game as guests of the Rage, not to mention the wonderful hospitality we experienced during the game. My daughter and two sons thoroughly enjoyed being there. Mike really hit the nail on the head when he wrote about my youngest son, Andrew, and how much he enjoys the Rage games. Though he is a special needs child with some pretty serious physical disabilities, intellectually he is “all there” and truly loves sports, football, and going to the Rage games. Words alone will never adequately express what it meant to Andrew to be there, next to the field, receiving high fives from the players just before kick-offs, and receiving the autographed football.
Please accept my most heartfelt thanks for the joy you brought to Andrew, Peter, and Sophie. Keep up the good work — on the field and in the community!
Mike McMurran — Thanks for including us in your weekly column. It was pretty exciting to see your column and it gave us something to share with our friends and relatives. And, as always, I appreciate what you did in helping us to get tickets to the game. See you on the soccer field!
Kevin Tollefson
Dear Editor,
Until the following items are dealt with plus some others, Missouri is not qualified to pass safety laws for motorcycle riders. For the most part, we are far better riders than most people are drivers and we know, better than anyone, Missouri’s traffic laws are an hypocrisy designed by and for private interests. If Missouri actually wanted highway safety, they would:
-Defy the Missouri Transportation committees chaired by politicians with conflicting interests. Trucks are allowed to soar down our interstates at break-neck speeds in defiance of all the laws of physics while they pound our interstates into dust. It takes far longer to stop a thirty-plus ton vehicle than it does a one and a half ton vehicle. These facts are why most states pass laws to make them stay in the right lane at 55 to sixty MPH and actually write them speeding tickets if they don‘t!
-Enforce and improve the lane laws. We have them in Missouri but they are ignored by law enforcement people. The fact of someone in the passing lane holding up a string of traffic for a mile or two is disregarded right along with the victims passing on their right. The facts of accident results in these incidents go unreported by the police and the media in favor of speed estimates and seat belt usage. States that enforce their lane laws have found that removing lane hogs improves traffic flow resulting in less accidents and road rage.
-Stop cell phone usage while driving. Many states have recognized the fact that some drivers can’t walk and chew gum at the same time so they put a stop to cell phone usage while driving. Missouri often preaches “Driving is a full time job” yet they ignore egocentric drivers that blabber on cell phones causing no end of accidents and road rage. There is no way these folks could be paying attention to their driving.
-Make anyone over the age of seventy take a driver’s exam or at least a reflex test when renewing their license. Some of the elderly do not belong behind the wheel. They are a menace to themselves and others because of slow reflexes and ignoring traffic. Unfortunately, the AARP has more power than it should.
It should be considered that the vast majority of Motorcycle riders are not risk-challenged teenagers or smelly gangsters. We are older, responsible adults and almost all if us have health insurance. We do not appreciate badly-informed do-gooders, motorcycle haters and hypocritical politicians telling us how to be safe because they obviously don’t know.
Joe Morice,
Honda Riders Club of America; River Road Riders Club
COMMENTS & COMMENTARY by Charles Hill
Often times you hear the phrase you “can’t fight city hall”. This phrase is synonymous with City Hall standing in the way of progress in one way or another. This past week we saw that in reality when you say you “can’t fight City Hall” it really means you can’t fight the people of a city. After all City Hall is an extension of the people who make up a city.
The voters of Ward 7 showed that you could fight City Hall when they refused to recall Ward 7 Councilwoman Dottie Greer. Despite efforts of the Mayor, her husband, her confidants, Glennon Jamboretz, Ken Kielty. Linda Meyer, Kevin Kast, Mike Weller and Bob Kneemiller along with millionaire developer TR Hughes and Mike Sellenschuetter, Dottie retained her office
The recall of Dottie Greer wasn’t Dottie vs. wealthy developers, public relations firms, scorned police wives, Mayor York, Bob Kneemiller or Mike Weller. It was them against City Hall, a City Hall that is the people’s public house. Our City Hall is only as strong as those who serve their terms in our government. Each and every member of the council is an extension of the wards they represent.
That is where the wealthy developers, public relation firm, scorned police officers wives, Mayor York, Bob Kneemiller and Mike Weller made their mistake. They thought they were fighting Dottie alone. She had support in her ward because her ward saw her supporting them. She fought to get streets fixed, streetlights installed, tax relief for the seniors. Dottie didn’t break any laws; she broke the mold of previous council members in the ward. She said the rich and famous are not my constituents. Those who live on Park, Headland, Elmhurst, West Adams, Concordia, Westminster just to name a few, are the people who Dottie serves. Those she serves, delivered a blow to a millionaire developer and his friend the Mayor this past Tuesday. The money spent to get rid of Dottie dwarfed the amounts spent in normal City Council races. The negative, mudslinging ads against her offended even the most hardened of souls. Those who decided to pick on Dottie for recall did it because they thought she was weak.
Dottie by herself might have appeared weak but the residents of Ward 7 are not weak. They are as strong as ever. The residents of Ward 7 sent a message to the likes of Tom Hughes, Kevin Kast, Patti York, Bob Kneemiller, Mike Sellenschuetter, Linda Meyer, Ken Kielty and Mike Weller that our City Hall is not for sale. The people spoke to those who conspired in destroying our city and our way government for their own gain. As a resident of Ward 1 I say thank you to the people of Ward 7 for not allowing our City Hall to go to the highest bidder.
The voters of Ward 7 showed that you could fight City Hall when they refused to recall Ward 7 Councilwoman Dottie Greer. Despite efforts of the Mayor, her husband, her confidants, Glennon Jamboretz, Ken Kielty. Linda Meyer, Kevin Kast, Mike Weller and Bob Kneemiller along with millionaire developer TR Hughes and Mike Sellenschuetter, Dottie retained her office
The recall of Dottie Greer wasn’t Dottie vs. wealthy developers, public relations firms, scorned police wives, Mayor York, Bob Kneemiller or Mike Weller. It was them against City Hall, a City Hall that is the people’s public house. Our City Hall is only as strong as those who serve their terms in our government. Each and every member of the council is an extension of the wards they represent.
That is where the wealthy developers, public relation firm, scorned police officers wives, Mayor York, Bob Kneemiller and Mike Weller made their mistake. They thought they were fighting Dottie alone. She had support in her ward because her ward saw her supporting them. She fought to get streets fixed, streetlights installed, tax relief for the seniors. Dottie didn’t break any laws; she broke the mold of previous council members in the ward. She said the rich and famous are not my constituents. Those who live on Park, Headland, Elmhurst, West Adams, Concordia, Westminster just to name a few, are the people who Dottie serves. Those she serves, delivered a blow to a millionaire developer and his friend the Mayor this past Tuesday. The money spent to get rid of Dottie dwarfed the amounts spent in normal City Council races. The negative, mudslinging ads against her offended even the most hardened of souls. Those who decided to pick on Dottie for recall did it because they thought she was weak.
Dottie by herself might have appeared weak but the residents of Ward 7 are not weak. They are as strong as ever. The residents of Ward 7 sent a message to the likes of Tom Hughes, Kevin Kast, Patti York, Bob Kneemiller, Mike Sellenschuetter, Linda Meyer, Ken Kielty and Mike Weller that our City Hall is not for sale. The people spoke to those who conspired in destroying our city and our way government for their own gain. As a resident of Ward 1 I say thank you to the people of Ward 7 for not allowing our City Hall to go to the highest bidder.
THE CONSERVATIVE FACTOR - Alex Spencer
Well, that was quite an election night, wasn’t it? Turnout was low, which is not surprising. St. Charles County survived the introduction of optical scan voting equipment, again not surprising. The whole process went relatively smooth, yet again not surprising. But some of the results were definitely surprising.
Let’s take a look at what happened. First the bad news: In a mildly surprising upset, former O’Fallon Alderman Cheryl Hibbeler won the special election to fill the vacancy on the County Council. I say mildly surprising for a couple reasons. It’s certainly no secret and no surprise that the Republican Party in St. Charles County is broken. The green wing whackos led by Cowboy Ray, Cowboy Carl and crazy Brandy Pedersen are tearing apart the GOP. The dispute over Darrel Lackey’s nomination was not helpful, and their amateur mouthpiece, Malcontent MacNab, has been doing his best to undermine Lackey’s candidacy. In fact, he’s still at it. This is unfortunate and the result is entirely predictable. The Democrats exerted very little effort, exploited the schism in the party and paved the way for Hibbeler’s victory. Second, the spoiler candidate from St. Paul manufactured enough headlines to earn himself a few votes that probably would have gone to Lackey. Now, the formerly 100% Republican St. Charles County Council is 2/7 Democrat. Wow. Let that sink in for a moment. It’s a frightening harbinger of things to come. I sincerely hope the Republican State Party folks are paying attention. It’s time to remind everyone that Republicans are pro-business and generally pro-growth. It’s time to send a message to crazy Brandy Pedersen and Malcontent MacNab that we don’t need or want them in the Republican party anymore. Go join the Democrats. Problem is they certainly won’t want you either. Maybe you can start your own independent party for the insane. Now, that’s an entertaining thought.
Now, the good news: Things went well for Scott Rupp. I was very pleased to see him become State Senator Rupp, and I believe he will do a fine job. Of course, the right thing for Councilman Joe Brazil to do would be to bow out of the contested primary situation he has created, but that seems unlikely. He would have to obtain a special dispensation from his sugar daddy – A.B. (that’s duckboy-in-chief Adolphus Busch to my less informed readers), to withdraw from the race and with AB’s pathetically long string of losses in court battles to stop the Lakeside 370 project in St. Peters, he really needs a State Senator of his very own to introduce crazy legislation to stop growth. Things bode well for Senator Rupp and the benefit of incumbency may be enough to help him past Brazil for the rematch with Henke. It will also be interesting to see how low Brazil will stoop to try and steal the Republican nomination. Cowboy Ray and Cowboy Carl are certainly talented when it comes to slinging mud and other assorted kinds of slime at opponents. I hope that Rupp does his research and seriously questions how Brazil can possibly call himself a Republican. Turnout will be much higher in November, but so will the level of effort by both parties as they attempt to win a U. S. Senate seat. It remains to be seen whether Senator Rupp will in fact remain Senator Rupp, but things look good.
The best news of all…a very special congratulations to Darling Dottie. She will happily remain on the St. Charles City Council, as she should. Perhaps, the various committees (all orchestrated, organized and funded by Glenn Jamboretz and Tom Hughes) and the Mayor will finally understand that the people are starting to get it. It’s not so easy to pull the wool over our eyes anymore and Cowboy Ray and Cowboy Carl are starting to lose their touch (which happens to arrogant political operatives when they try to win that one race too many). Memo to Cowboy Ray and Cowboy Carl: your ridiculously large signs blocked traffic at my polling place, get a clue. Memo to Jamboretz and Hughes: sometimes you can’t buy elections, bummer for you boys. Memo to Linda Meyer: get a life and a real job - your days of milking the recall efforts for lunch money are numbered. Memo to Patti York: no such luck this time - you are going to have to wait until election time to stack the council with sycophants and groupies – hey maybe John Sonderegger is interested, you might look into that.
Now for News of the Weird: O’Fallon Musical Chairs. Two more incumbents bit the dust (involuntarily) when Bob Patek and Jimmy Mitchell lost their seats on the Board of Aldermen. With the vacancies created by the resignations of Schipper, Hudson and Busken and the assorted Mayoral appointments that will be needed, the end result is 6 brand spanking new aldermen. My goodness. That’s a lot of new aldermen. Apparently the people of O’Fallon decided that they made a mistake and they managed to correct it without recalling any elected officials or seeking a do-over in court. Unfortunately, the City of O’Fallon did place a measure on the ballot turning them into a third class city, primarily so that citizens will now have the right to recall elected officials. This is an unfortunate legacy left by the cowards who resigned their aldermanic seats in some kind of kindergarten-style protest. It remains to be seen whether the good people of O’Fallon will allow themselves to be used in some sort of political witchhunt again or if its time for the City of O’Fallon to go back to being a decent place to live. I suspect that will depend in large part on whether Mayor Morrow got the message.
As a recap, Fort Zumwalt got its bond issue courtesy of an excellent campaign by Dr. DuBray. Voters said no to tax increases for the St. Charles School District and St. Charles Community College but yes to transferring funds. Francis Howell School District ends up with two new teacher’s union-approved board members. Apparently, the voters were not happy with Rhonda Brown’s inability to pick a side and stick with it or else they aren’t happy with her husband Skippy’s leadership in St. Peters. Either way, there is only one Brown holding political office now. It remains to see if Mark Lafata holds on as School Board President in the new landscape.
Another election day has come and gone. No telling yet what the final consequences of this particular election will show us, but it is certainly interesting. The fallout from this election will shape the political landscape as we move forward. Some folks woke up on Wednesday to start campaigning for the August primary election. Others are planning for their first go-around in municipal government. I guess there is always an election somewhere. It’s a wonder anyone has time to govern.
Let’s take a look at what happened. First the bad news: In a mildly surprising upset, former O’Fallon Alderman Cheryl Hibbeler won the special election to fill the vacancy on the County Council. I say mildly surprising for a couple reasons. It’s certainly no secret and no surprise that the Republican Party in St. Charles County is broken. The green wing whackos led by Cowboy Ray, Cowboy Carl and crazy Brandy Pedersen are tearing apart the GOP. The dispute over Darrel Lackey’s nomination was not helpful, and their amateur mouthpiece, Malcontent MacNab, has been doing his best to undermine Lackey’s candidacy. In fact, he’s still at it. This is unfortunate and the result is entirely predictable. The Democrats exerted very little effort, exploited the schism in the party and paved the way for Hibbeler’s victory. Second, the spoiler candidate from St. Paul manufactured enough headlines to earn himself a few votes that probably would have gone to Lackey. Now, the formerly 100% Republican St. Charles County Council is 2/7 Democrat. Wow. Let that sink in for a moment. It’s a frightening harbinger of things to come. I sincerely hope the Republican State Party folks are paying attention. It’s time to remind everyone that Republicans are pro-business and generally pro-growth. It’s time to send a message to crazy Brandy Pedersen and Malcontent MacNab that we don’t need or want them in the Republican party anymore. Go join the Democrats. Problem is they certainly won’t want you either. Maybe you can start your own independent party for the insane. Now, that’s an entertaining thought.
Now, the good news: Things went well for Scott Rupp. I was very pleased to see him become State Senator Rupp, and I believe he will do a fine job. Of course, the right thing for Councilman Joe Brazil to do would be to bow out of the contested primary situation he has created, but that seems unlikely. He would have to obtain a special dispensation from his sugar daddy – A.B. (that’s duckboy-in-chief Adolphus Busch to my less informed readers), to withdraw from the race and with AB’s pathetically long string of losses in court battles to stop the Lakeside 370 project in St. Peters, he really needs a State Senator of his very own to introduce crazy legislation to stop growth. Things bode well for Senator Rupp and the benefit of incumbency may be enough to help him past Brazil for the rematch with Henke. It will also be interesting to see how low Brazil will stoop to try and steal the Republican nomination. Cowboy Ray and Cowboy Carl are certainly talented when it comes to slinging mud and other assorted kinds of slime at opponents. I hope that Rupp does his research and seriously questions how Brazil can possibly call himself a Republican. Turnout will be much higher in November, but so will the level of effort by both parties as they attempt to win a U. S. Senate seat. It remains to be seen whether Senator Rupp will in fact remain Senator Rupp, but things look good.
The best news of all…a very special congratulations to Darling Dottie. She will happily remain on the St. Charles City Council, as she should. Perhaps, the various committees (all orchestrated, organized and funded by Glenn Jamboretz and Tom Hughes) and the Mayor will finally understand that the people are starting to get it. It’s not so easy to pull the wool over our eyes anymore and Cowboy Ray and Cowboy Carl are starting to lose their touch (which happens to arrogant political operatives when they try to win that one race too many). Memo to Cowboy Ray and Cowboy Carl: your ridiculously large signs blocked traffic at my polling place, get a clue. Memo to Jamboretz and Hughes: sometimes you can’t buy elections, bummer for you boys. Memo to Linda Meyer: get a life and a real job - your days of milking the recall efforts for lunch money are numbered. Memo to Patti York: no such luck this time - you are going to have to wait until election time to stack the council with sycophants and groupies – hey maybe John Sonderegger is interested, you might look into that.
Now for News of the Weird: O’Fallon Musical Chairs. Two more incumbents bit the dust (involuntarily) when Bob Patek and Jimmy Mitchell lost their seats on the Board of Aldermen. With the vacancies created by the resignations of Schipper, Hudson and Busken and the assorted Mayoral appointments that will be needed, the end result is 6 brand spanking new aldermen. My goodness. That’s a lot of new aldermen. Apparently the people of O’Fallon decided that they made a mistake and they managed to correct it without recalling any elected officials or seeking a do-over in court. Unfortunately, the City of O’Fallon did place a measure on the ballot turning them into a third class city, primarily so that citizens will now have the right to recall elected officials. This is an unfortunate legacy left by the cowards who resigned their aldermanic seats in some kind of kindergarten-style protest. It remains to be seen whether the good people of O’Fallon will allow themselves to be used in some sort of political witchhunt again or if its time for the City of O’Fallon to go back to being a decent place to live. I suspect that will depend in large part on whether Mayor Morrow got the message.
As a recap, Fort Zumwalt got its bond issue courtesy of an excellent campaign by Dr. DuBray. Voters said no to tax increases for the St. Charles School District and St. Charles Community College but yes to transferring funds. Francis Howell School District ends up with two new teacher’s union-approved board members. Apparently, the voters were not happy with Rhonda Brown’s inability to pick a side and stick with it or else they aren’t happy with her husband Skippy’s leadership in St. Peters. Either way, there is only one Brown holding political office now. It remains to see if Mark Lafata holds on as School Board President in the new landscape.
Another election day has come and gone. No telling yet what the final consequences of this particular election will show us, but it is certainly interesting. The fallout from this election will shape the political landscape as we move forward. Some folks woke up on Wednesday to start campaigning for the August primary election. Others are planning for their first go-around in municipal government. I guess there is always an election somewhere. It’s a wonder anyone has time to govern.
VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS by Jerry Haferkamp
The View From The Cheap Seats
By Jerry Haferkamp
Tuesday’s recall outcome has to be bittersweet at best. Sweet because the majority of voters turned back the onslaught against our city, but bitter when you realize that 715 voters chose to support corruption and fraud over honesty. I guess because of my advancing years I would like to have seen an overwhelming vote against the powers trying to buy City hall. I long for the days when honesty and integrity were revered in St. Charles, the days when a person was judged by the content of his character, not by the size of his wallet.
The For Sale sign has not been removed from City Hall yet. The prospective buyers are still waging war against you in the form of the recall effort aimed against Mark Brown. They won’t rest until they get a puppet council, and we shouldn’t rest until we show them again and again that they are wrong. Hopefully the Brown recall will also be unsuccessful for them, but if so they will only go after another councilman. The only ones safe from a recall drive are the ones who already dance to their tune: Weller, Kneemiller, Reese and Hoepfner. I will cut Muench a lot of slack because I really think he is independent and is pretty sick of the attacks on his fellow council members. I could be wrong, but his future actions will show whether he supports the continued assault on the citizens or not. I think that he (unlike Larry Weller, Curly Kneemiller, Moe Reese and Schlep Hoepfner) really wants what is best for his constituents.
Probably the most disheartening occurrence Tuesday was the traveling troupe of comic figures that appeared at the Ward 7 polls. Showing up to support the recall were Petty Patti, Weller, carpetbaggers Watkins, Jamboretz and others. You would think that the mayor and councilmen would have at least stayed neutral, but that isn’t what they need to do to help their friends close the deal on the purchase of City Hall. I have heard that the developer who is suing the City was there for good measure. With the help of Weller, Reese and Kneemiller, he has his eye on your tax dollars.
What Petty Patti and her handlers fail to realize is that most of the good people of St. Charles don’t want to hate. This recall was based on hate. The developers hate the word “No”. The mayor hates to be told “No”. Linda hates that Mr. Linda’s pal is no longer running the police department. They all hate the council members that won’t dance to their music. It was never about fireworks or cell towers. It was about the power that Patti’s handlers could have with just one more council seat. Therein lies the reason for the Mark Brown recall effort. We can only hope the voters in Brown’s ward send the same message back to the special interests and carpetbaggers.
I’m also going to have to cut Jack Banas a little slack. Although he has sworn depositions stating that there was conspiracy, it may be difficult to prove. The Ward 7 resident who submitted the fraudulent documents will claim she didn’t know they were phony. Banas has sworn depositions to counter that claim. It would probably be a case of “I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything”. Then again, maybe Banas should prosecute and let a jury decide.
Thank you Ward 7. You were inundated with nearly $50,000 worth propaganda, but you did “the right thing” and retained Council member Greer. (Kinda makes you wonder what makes it worth $50,000 to buy a council seat). The whole city owes you a big round of applause. Beware, Ward 2. You’re next on the hit list. Brown has worked hard for you. It’s your chance to turn back the assault on your city.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
By Jerry Haferkamp
Tuesday’s recall outcome has to be bittersweet at best. Sweet because the majority of voters turned back the onslaught against our city, but bitter when you realize that 715 voters chose to support corruption and fraud over honesty. I guess because of my advancing years I would like to have seen an overwhelming vote against the powers trying to buy City hall. I long for the days when honesty and integrity were revered in St. Charles, the days when a person was judged by the content of his character, not by the size of his wallet.
The For Sale sign has not been removed from City Hall yet. The prospective buyers are still waging war against you in the form of the recall effort aimed against Mark Brown. They won’t rest until they get a puppet council, and we shouldn’t rest until we show them again and again that they are wrong. Hopefully the Brown recall will also be unsuccessful for them, but if so they will only go after another councilman. The only ones safe from a recall drive are the ones who already dance to their tune: Weller, Kneemiller, Reese and Hoepfner. I will cut Muench a lot of slack because I really think he is independent and is pretty sick of the attacks on his fellow council members. I could be wrong, but his future actions will show whether he supports the continued assault on the citizens or not. I think that he (unlike Larry Weller, Curly Kneemiller, Moe Reese and Schlep Hoepfner) really wants what is best for his constituents.
Probably the most disheartening occurrence Tuesday was the traveling troupe of comic figures that appeared at the Ward 7 polls. Showing up to support the recall were Petty Patti, Weller, carpetbaggers Watkins, Jamboretz and others. You would think that the mayor and councilmen would have at least stayed neutral, but that isn’t what they need to do to help their friends close the deal on the purchase of City Hall. I have heard that the developer who is suing the City was there for good measure. With the help of Weller, Reese and Kneemiller, he has his eye on your tax dollars.
What Petty Patti and her handlers fail to realize is that most of the good people of St. Charles don’t want to hate. This recall was based on hate. The developers hate the word “No”. The mayor hates to be told “No”. Linda hates that Mr. Linda’s pal is no longer running the police department. They all hate the council members that won’t dance to their music. It was never about fireworks or cell towers. It was about the power that Patti’s handlers could have with just one more council seat. Therein lies the reason for the Mark Brown recall effort. We can only hope the voters in Brown’s ward send the same message back to the special interests and carpetbaggers.
I’m also going to have to cut Jack Banas a little slack. Although he has sworn depositions stating that there was conspiracy, it may be difficult to prove. The Ward 7 resident who submitted the fraudulent documents will claim she didn’t know they were phony. Banas has sworn depositions to counter that claim. It would probably be a case of “I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove anything”. Then again, maybe Banas should prosecute and let a jury decide.
Thank you Ward 7. You were inundated with nearly $50,000 worth propaganda, but you did “the right thing” and retained Council member Greer. (Kinda makes you wonder what makes it worth $50,000 to buy a council seat). The whole city owes you a big round of applause. Beware, Ward 2. You’re next on the hit list. Brown has worked hard for you. It’s your chance to turn back the assault on your city.
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
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