A good editorial from Post-Dispatch. County Executive Sam Page and council member Lisa Clancy mounted in essence a coup to deliver the county council leadership to Clancy. The courts overturned this effort but there are substantial legal fees. Page and Clancy need to be held accountable. written by Paul Dribin
Lisa Clancy is the St. Louis County Council member from my district. She ran as a reformer but has turned out to be an unusually power hungry politician. She developed a scheme to get herself picked as leader. This process involved the vote of a member whose term expired. Not surprisingly the courts ruled against her. This whole activity has caused the county time and money and is disgraceful. Ms. Clancy should resign. Written by Paul Dribin
County Executive Page has appointed Rochelle Walton Gray to a position as Covid outreach coordinator. The trouble is Ms. Gray totally lacks experience for the position. Her claim to fame is voting for Lisa Clancy, a Page crony as Council Chair after her term expired, probably an unconstitutional action. This is simply pay to play and unethical. Written by Paul Dribin
Lisa Clancy used a slight of hand to be reelected as council leader in the last meeting and now some of her colleagues are upset. A change to the county council allowed an council member who voted in favor of Clancy to vote even though she had lost the election but her successor was sworn in. Regardless of the legalities, Clancy should have realized that the intent of the voters would have been to wait until the new member was sworn in to elect officers of the county council. In any case, a difficult situation is at hand. Written by Paul Dribin
The idea is good, the execution has stunk. Clancy again gave the impression of ineptly playing power politics. The whole idea warrants reconsideration. Written by Paul Dribin
Lisa Clancy is a young progressive member of the St. Louis County Council. She has supported police reform, affordable housing and other progressive causes. In a short period of time she has risen to become leader of the County Council.
During this time though she has played hardball, leading the effort to delegate to Sam Page, an ally and County Executive complete control over coronavirus relief funds. She has taken charge of a well intentioned effort to increase the sales tax to increase funding for early childhood education. This effort appears to have been hijacked by powerful people and some of the advocates are saying they are not sure of what the initiative authorizes. Furthermore she introduced the legislation to enable this effort at the last possible moment. I am disappointed to see a young progressive leader acting very much like a traditional politician. Written by Paul Dribin
St. Louis County is talking about putting a sales tax increase to support childcare on the ballot in November. This seems like a good idea for several reasons, it is good for kids and families, supports employment, and has been shown to correlate heavily with good outcomes in life.
The mechanics, have been messy. Many advocates complain the language of the bill which is very vague and not what they had in mind. Lisa Clancy, the councilwoman who has pushed it is accused of playing hardball politics by introducing it at the end. The State of Missouri is for some reason proposing an investigation.
The most troubling part of the legislation is that it is not clear if the funds can be used to support teacher salaries or decrease tuition. The parties involved need to fix things. The issue is too important. Written by Paul Dribin
To use a cliche, there was a sea change as a result of the elections in St. Louis County. The biggest upset was Wesley Bell defeating Robert McCullough for County Prosecutor. McCullough had been in the office a long time and appeared invincible. Steve Stenger barely won reelection over a little known and under funded opponent. Lisa Clancy, a political newcomer won the one council seat that had been loyal to Stenger.
Some observations. Bell’s win was a result of his talent and hard work and a desire on the part of voters for change. Mr. Bell who is African American would not have won without the support of a large number of white voters. Many people I know want to see significant changes in the criminal justice system, ending of cash bail for non violent crimes, and a reform of the municipal court process. The Ferguson decision also did not sit well with many people. I believe that McCullough made the right legal decision in that case but failed the public relations and political battle.
A second effect was the corruption of Steve Stenger. A strong candidate would have defeated Stenger. McCullough was joined at the hip to Stenger. Clancy won on an anti Stenger platform. It is very sad the Republicans have not fielded a strong candidate to run against Stenger in November. Written by Paul Dribin
The St Louis Contrarian 