Lindbergh school board

Five candidates — incumbent Matt Alonzo, Andrew Lawson, Paul Leinweber,  David Randelman and  incumbent Christy Watz — are running for three open seats on the Lindbergh Schools Board of Education Tuesday, April 4.

It’s not surprising that there are several able candidates willing to step up and serve the community, and as always, it’s refreshing to see newcomers to public office running for public office and giving voters more options.

The Call believes most candidates would serve the public and the Lindbergh Schools community well, but we believe Alonzo, Watz and Randelman are best prepared to solve challenges Lindbergh Schools faces.

Alonzo has served on the Board of Education since 2017 and works as a teacher in the Parkway School District. This is a unique time to be in education and that perspective could be useful on the board. The Call endorses Alonzo.

Watz has also served on the board since 2017. Her thoughtful and reflective approach to questions and issues, as well as her past experience already serving, make a useful asset to the school board. The Call endorses Watz. 

In last year’s municipal elections, The Call said they appreciated Randelman’s experience on the district’s Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Committee (Randelman also ran that year for the board), but were concerned that his platform focused too much on the issue of parent choice.

This year, it seems he has expanded his platform and is up to speed on more of the issues facing the district. We think that he could provide a different perspective than some of the members currently sitting on the board, especially with a focus on academic performance, which has been a concern in the community. The Call endorses Randelman.

Read about the Lindbergh school board candidate forum here and see the candidates’ answers to The Call’s questionnaire here. 

Green Park mayor

Green Park’s incumbent Mayor Tim Thuston is challenged by Ward 1 Alderman Michael Broughton in the city’s mayoral race. Voting for Thuston is essentially a vote for the status quo for the city, with Thuston staying as mayor for another third term as mayor. We feel, and we believe residents will agree, that things have been going pretty well in Green Park. The city has restarted its neighborhood watch meetings, is installing FLOCK cameras to help curb crime, and has seen several proposals for new business development. Based on that, we don’t see any reason to jump ship from Thuston now. The Call endorses Thuston.

At the same time, we feel that Broughton is a transparent official who makes it obvious that he is well-educated about the city and wants to see it succeed. Green Park voters are lucky to have a mayoral race between two good candidates.

Read Broughton’s and Thuston’s responses to The Call’s questionnaire.