There are three candidates running for president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, but only one will be elected on Tuesday, March 5, when city residents head to the polls for primary election day.
On Friday, the three candidates had another opportunity to present their case and face off against each other during an Alderman Forum hosted by the St. Louis Press Club at the Missouri Athletic Club.
With veteran newsman Charles Jaco as the moderator, the candidates – Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed, 15th ward alderman Megan-Ellyia Green and incumbent Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed – answered a variety of questions regarding support (or lack thereof) of Better Together.
Better Together, a plan to consolidate the city and the county, aims to “improve the cost and effectiveness of St. Louis’ municipal services,” as stated on its website.
When the question was raised on whether they would vote yes on Better Together the way the proposal stands now, all three candidates said no, but Reed implied that he would be open to considering a revised plan. However, the overall opinion among the aldermanic presidential hopefuls is that the plan is not solid enough for consideration as it currently stands.
During one exchange, Reed expressed that St. Louis should focus on all of the great things happening in the city’s schools, but Nasheed seemed to disagree, earlier stating that the current condition of city schools is “deplorable.”
“We have to understand that we indeed have some value … we oftentimes approach the bargaining table like we’re the kid that stole the cookie out of the cookie jar, and we’re ashamed of ourselves. We have some great things happening in our schools. We have some great things happening all across our communities,” Reed stressed. “So when we talk about our schools, let’s talk about the great things that are happening – and when we talk about our city.”
During questioning by reporters, Green and Reed answered directly and off the cuff, whereas Nasheed had her phone on the table for reference and replied as if giving a speech instead of answering a question.
“I want to be more optimistic about where we can go as a region in terms of consolidation. However, this particular plan is too extreme, all of the things that oversee our city would be demolished. Everything that we have built in this city would be obsolete in terms of how we govern,” Nasheed said. “We’re going to be in a place to allow for the county to dictate to the city without giving the vote of the people.”
Green appears more willing to say no than others who are considering the merits of the proposal.
“I think that the part of the Better Together plan that I do potentially like is the police department consolidation. I think there needs to be a uniformity of standards, but I think we also have to recognize that simply consolidating police departments and consolidating standards will not necessarily solve all of our problems with the police department,” Green said. “I think if we have an officer that lives in Ballwin and they’re policing North City, there can potentially be a very big disconnect between police and community.”
Although she somewhat agrees with this fraction of the plan, Green said that she would vote a definite no on the overall plan.
Throughout the lunch-hour forum, Jaco consistently singled out Nasheed, making jokes, implying that she took up too much time answering questions and going off-topic. Reed appeared to take delight in Jaco’s humorous liberties with Nasheed, chuckling several times.
Another topic of debate was airport privatization, with Nasheed and Green agreeing that the research is not being done in an accurate and objective manner, both stating that there is a conflict of interest. In summation, it seems that the two challengers share many similar views, the main difference lies in whether they intend to act, and how exactly they intend to act. However, it is this reporter’s observation that Green seemed to have the most concern for the city’s constituents when it came to issues within the community.
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