In light of Tuesday’s school-board and municipal elections, the Call offers the following endorsements:
In Lindbergh, six candidates are seeking election to three seats on the Board of Education.
Seats held by board Secretary Kathleen Kienstra, board Treasurer Mark Rudoff and board member Don Bee that carry three-year terms are up for election. Also up for election will be a seat vacated earlier this year by Janine Fabick that will carry a one-year term. Larry McIntosh currently is serving in the seat.
Kienstra and Bee have filed for the seats that carry three-year terms. Also filing for those seats are: Vicki Lorenz Englund, Joseph Sartorius, Leslie Weiss and George Rezabek.
Because Rudoff was the only candidate to file for the seat that carries a one-year term, no election will take place and he will serve out the remainder of Fabick’s term.
As in past years, all of the candidates filing would be more than capable of serving the district well. Given their service over the past three years, the Call enthusiastically endorses the re-election bids of Kienstra and Bee.
Given her extensive volunteer work and knowledge of the district, the Call also wholeheartedly endorses Weiss.
In Mehlville, nine candidates are seeking election to three seats on the Board of Education.
Marea Kluth-Hoppe, John Roland Jr., Deb Langland, Elaine Powers, Rich Franz, Michael Doyel, Mark Stoner, Franchesca Gindler and David Wessel are seeking election to the three seats, which carry three-year terms. Incumbents Drew Frauenhoffer and Erin Weber did not file for re-election. The third seat formerly was held by Karl Frank Jr., who resigned in November.
We believe a majority of the candidates would serve the district well and break the “groupthink” that has paralyzed the Board of Education and damaged its credibility. In light of voters’ overwhelming rejection of an 88-cent tax-rate increase last November, the school board is in desperate need of community leaders capable of bringing new ideas and a fresh approach to begin the process of rebuilding the public trust.
After all, as one current board member said when he campaigned for the post, “If the voters do not support the board and administration, it is a failure of the board, not the failure of the people.”
We believe the candidates who are best equipped to begin that process of restoring the board’s credibility are Elaine Powers, Rich Franz and David Wessel and encourage voters to elect them to the board next week.
In Green Park, incumbent Tony Konopka is being challenged in his bid for a third two-year term as mayor by newcomer Mark C. Friederich.
Konopka, who was elected mayor in 2007, has a long history with the city, including serving four years as a Ward 2 alderman. He also previously served on the city’s Board of Adjustment and formerly was the city’s street commissioner. While we haven’t agreed with Konopka on every issue, it’s obvious he has accomplished more as mayor in the last four years than what was done the previous six and heartily endorse his re-election bid, especially given the fact that Friederich canvassed his neighborhood seeking signatures on a disincorporation petition as stated in the June 2009 Board of Aldermen meeting minutes.
In Ward 2, incumbent Tim Thuston is being challenged by Vicki Gamache, who is making her first bid for elective office.
Both candidates are impressive, but we believe that Mr. Thuston deserves to be re-elected given his service to the city the past four years.
As we’ve said before, despite the city’s subsequent stalling, his leadership on the business-license committee in 2008 was exemplary.
In Sunset Hills’ only contested race, incumbent Dee Baebler is being challenged by Jim Rode for the Ward 1 aldermanic seat. Baebler was appointed to complete Bill Nolan’s unexpired term on the board after he was elected mayor last year. While both candidates would do a good job of representing Ward 1 and the city, we believe Baebler deserves election to the post based on her excellent service over the past year.
Given our space limitations, we received more letters than we could print pertaining to next week’s election.
Besides the letters in this issue, we received two more letters in support of fire district incumbent Aaron Hilmer, one more letter for fire district candidate Michael Klund, one more letter for Crestwood mayoral candidate Jeff Schlink, one letter for Mehlville school board candidates Rich Franz and Mark Stoner and one letter about “false information” contained in ads placed by the Club for Missouri Growth.
