South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Call makes endorsements for next Tuesday’s primary

Voters will go to the polls for next Tuesday’s primary to select their parties’ candidates for the November general election.

Missouri Senate

Former state Rep. Sue Schoemehl of Oakville and current state Rep. Scott Sifton of Affton are vying in the Democratic primary for the 1st District Senate seat. The primary winner will face Republican incumbent Sen. Jim Lembke, who is seeking a second, four-year term, in the November general election.

Certainly, either candidate would serve their party well in a race against Lembke. However, some stark differences exist between Schoemehl, who served eight years in the House before being term-limited out, and Sifton, who was elected to the House in 2010.

Perhaps the biggest difference is their stance on abortion. Schoemehl is anti-abortion and endorsed by Missouri Right to Life, while Sifton believes “abortion should be a woman’s decision and not the government’s …”

During her tenure in the House, Schoemehl sought to strengthen the Missouri Open Meetings and Records Act, also called the Sunshine Law. She favors amending the Sunshine Law to require audio recordings of closed sessions of government bodies while Sifton opposes such a measure.

Based on her eight years in the House and her efforts to increase the transparency and accountability of government, the Call endorses Schoemehl.

Missouri House

Tim Hotop is challenging state Rep. Cloria Brown in the Republican primary in the newly redrawn 94th District. We believe Brown, elected two years ago to represent the 85th District, is the best choice to represent her party in November’s general election.

The primary winner will face former Democratic state Rep. Vicki Lorenz Englund, whom Brown defeated two years ago.

Democrats Bob Burns and Joe Montecillo are vying for their party’s nomination in the newly redrawn 93rd District. The Call makes no endorsement in this race.

The winner will face Republican Tony Leech in the Nov. 6 election.

Sunset Hills

In Sunset Hills, voters will consider a permanent extension of the city’s half-cent, capital-improvement sales tax that initially was approved in 1994.

We endorsed Proposition 1 shortly after aldermen voted to place the issue on the ballot and urge voters to “Say Yes Again” and approve it.

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