Creve Coeur Fire Protection District Board Q&A: Unexpired Term

Patch gave candidates a series of questions to answer as part of our Participate 2012 coverage.

Cathy Keeler is running to finish out the remainder of her late husband's unexpired term. Sam Goodman is her opponent.

Goodman has expressed campaign concerns via  concerning the sustainability of district pay and pension policies. We are also linking to his responses given to the League of Women Voters and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Cathy Keeler

Brief Biography 

My name is Cathy Keeler. I am retired after having ran my own business for many years. I believe in serving the community, and besides my tenure as Director with the Fire District I serve as Director for Central County Emergency 911 dispatch. I am also a current member of Backstoppers and a former member of the Elks, the Lions, and the Marine Corps League among others.

Why are you running for a seat on the board?

I am running to continue the work my late-husband started many years ago, to keep the Creve Coeur Fire District on the cutting edge of technology by employing the best trained paramedics and fire-fighters in St. Louis County.

What are the two biggest issues facing the Creve Coeur Fire District:

Decreased income from lowered tax assessments: By engineering several budget cuts, including a negotiated reduction of benefits for the paramedics and fire-fighters, we balanced the budget without going to the citizens for a tax increase.

Increased duties beyond the traditional role of paramedic/fire-fighter: In recent years the fire district became responsible for much more than fighting fires. To meet this demand we instituted regimented training programs that make our personnel subject-matter experts in many diversified fields.

If elected, at the end of my term, voters could say ________about what I’ve accomplished?

At the end of my term the voters will say the District is on solid ground, not just for the next year but many years into the future.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story indicated Goodman did not respond to a Patch request for answers to these questions. Patch did send out the questions with a Thursday 5 p.m. deadline. Goodman called to clarify Friday afternoon and said he did not receive the form. Patch apologizes for any miscommunication but did send out the forms to each candidate.