OPINION: Mayoral Campaign Mailer "Disgraceful"

Editor's Note: The following opinion is republished with permission of CreveCoeurVoter.com editor David Caldwell. To avoid any confusion, any references about "Your Editor", "I" or "We" refers to Mr. Caldwell, and not Creve Coeur Patch.

Just when I thought that this year’s mayoral campaign was going to set a high standard for integrity and honesty, the Creve Coeur Cares crowd had to come along and spoil it. [Your editor is speaking personally this time, and I will not hide behind the editorial we.] I was digesting the thoughtful responses CCV received from the two candidates to the Kitchen Table Talk inquiry and preparing to write about the things I liked about their answers. Then I received . It is disgraceful!

You remember the Creve Coeur Cares (CCC) folks. They are the ones who told us that we had to pass a sales tax to Keep Our Trash Free They took money from Allied Waste to promulgate their propaganda. Then, after the tax passed, the facts came out. The cost of trash pickup was not going up- it was going down! With the sales tax figured in, the city suddenly had a surplus of almost a million dollars! CCC tricked Creve Coeur residents into voting for an unnecessary sales tax. And now some of the same CCC folks, whose names now appear as leaders for a better government, are playing dirty again. And others have knowingly or unwittingly associated themselves- you should know better.

I hate to even reprint the statements that appear in this hit piece, but I have to in order to point out the misleading elements and the absurdity of some of them.

Sam Page: Barry is the right leader for our city, bridging past successes with an even brighter future. He has an open mind, and the ability to listen closely.”

Are we to infer that Ms. Bryant has not been successful, does not have an open mind, and does not listen? She was named legislator of the year and was re-elected four times by her Ward 4 constituents. Among her accomplishments, she was instrumental in rooting out the fact that Mr. Page filed an anonymous complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission, a dirty trick, which was thrown out as having no merit. Does this have anything to do with Mr. Page’s endorsement? We now have some new rules and more transparency thanks in part to Ms. Bryant.

Tara Nealy: The Mayor needs to be able to work with everyone and not become a polarizing factor. That’s why I am voting for Barry.

We do not need the go along- get along mentality in a Mayor. We need a leader who thinks for themselves. Was it too polarizing that someone stood against Transportation Development District proposals which never made good on their promises, overran their budgets and/or schedules, and had to be bailed out by the taxpayers? Was it too polarizing for Ms. Nealy that someone stood up for our neighbors in St. Louis County and pushed for implementation of the Golden Rule in our zoning ordinances? Is it too polarizing for Ms. Nealy that someone points out and documents mistakes that have been made in an effort to avoid repeating them? If we had a Mayor who had used the veto pen now and then Creve Coeur would be better off today.

Harold Dielmann: We live in a great city and I can unequivocally say that Barry is the only choice for Mayor if we want to maintain our high quality of life.

Gimme a break Mr. Mayor. This is absurd on its face. You have been a tireless and effective Mayor, but I do not give you, any Mayor, the City Council, the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Beautification Committee- or all of them put together- credit for my quality of life. I will give the some of the credit.

These quotes, and others not repeated here, contain innuendos demeaning Ms. Bryant. But let’s get to the really disgraceful part of this mailer, signed by 34 individuals.

The difference between Barry and his opponent is clear. Barry’s opponent has a long history of being embroiled in controversy and turmoil. She has wasted valuable city resources by engaging in divisive political actions. It is our strong belief that Barry has the experience, knowledge, commitment, vision, and temperament that we need as a Mayor.

This is a declarative statement, presented without evidence, which is false and misleading. It is hard not to become embroiled in controversy and turmoil when the controversy and turmoil is created by political opponents who do not stop short of making personal attacks to achieve their goals, even going to the extreme of making bogus ethics accusations. We applaud Ms. Bryant for going the extra miles to engage in political actions to represent not only her constituents, but all of the residents of Creve Coeur, even County neighbors. As to temperament, we are electing a Mayor, not a judge.

This mailer follows the common political axiom- define your opponent as an unacceptable choice. I hope it doesn’t work. I will get around to analyzing the candidates’ experience, voting records, vision, and positions on issues. I will have positive things to say about both candidates. And I will disagree with both candidates on some things. Meanwhile I call on Mr. Glantz to disavow this mailer. I will post any statement to that effect, from Mr. Glantz or any of the leaders for a better government. I will lose some respect for those who continue to associate themselves with a dirty, negative campaign. Do not succumb to the allures of political power and take the low road to that destination.

I call on Ms. Bryant to continue her positive campaign. Her mailers have focused on her achievements and have not attacked her opponent.

I urge Creve Coeur voters to throw this mailer in the garbage where it belongs.  

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