Candidate filing closed Dec. 26 for municipal offices and school board positions across south St. Louis County for the April 2 election, including a competitive mayoral race in Sunset Hills, and competitive aldermanic races in Green Park.
School board seats on the Lindbergh and Mehlville school boards are also up for election and feature competitive races.
Crestwood
There are no competitive races in Crestwood.
Aldermanic seats held by Jesse Morrison of Ward 1, Justin Charboneau of Ward 2, Grant Mabie of Ward 3 and John Sebben of Ward 4 are up for election.
Morrison, Mabie and Sebben have filed for their respective seats, while Rebecca Now filed for Ward 2. Charboneau is term-limited. He has served as alderman since 2018.
The seats carry three-year terms.
While there will be no competitive aldermanic races in Crestwood this upcoming election, voters will determine the fate of “Proposition A,” a $33 million bond measure that would fund a new Crestwood community center, and various others parks and recreation-related projects throughout the city. Read more about Prop A on Page 12A in this issue.
Green Park
Aldermanic seats held by Michael Broughton of Ward 1, Ronald Slattery of Ward 2 and Martin Finn of Ward 3 are up for election.
Broughton, Slattery and Finn filed for their seats. Joshua Lang will challenge Broughton in Ward 1, and Kate McKay filed to challenge Slattery in Ward 2. Finn will run unopposed.
Sunset Hills
In Sunset Hills, Pat Fribis is seeking her fifth term as mayor, and will face a challenge by newcomer Richard Gestring. Fribis has served as mayor since 2016 and was reelected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. The mayoral term is two years. Aldermanic seats held by Ann McMunn of Ward 1, Casey Wong of Ward 2, Cathy Friedmann of Ward 3 and Lindsay Hof of Ward 4 are up for election.
McMunn, Wong, Friedmann and Hof filed for their respective seats. Former Ward 2 Alderman Christine Lieber also filed to run for the Ward 2 seat.
McMunn and Wong are in their third terms and were first elected in 2018 and re-elected unopposed in 2020. Friedmann was first elected in 2020. Hof was elected for the first time unopposed in 2022.
Lieber served as Ward 2 alderman from 2021-2023. She unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2022 and was defeated by current Ward 2 Alderman Marie Davis in the 2023 municipal elections.
The seats carry two-year terms.
Lindbergh Board of Education
Four candidates filed for two open seats on the Lindbergh Board of Education.
The seats of Mike Shamia and Secretary Megan Vedder are open. Vedder has served one term after being elected in 2021 and filed for reelection.
Rachel Braaf Koehler, David Randelman and David Kirschner also filed. Randelman previously ran unsuccessfully in 2022 and 2023.
In addition to director races, voters in Lindbergh Schools will also decide on Proposition R, a $150 million no-tax-rate-increase bond measure that will fund additional security and facility enhancements throughout the district. Read more about Prop R on Page 4A in this issue.
Mehlville Board of Education
Four seats on the Mehlville Board of Education are up for election – the seats held by President Peggy Hassler, Jean Pretto, Patrick McKelvey and Tori Behlke.
Hassler’s seat and Pretto’s seat carry two-year terms, while McKelvey’s seat and Behlke’s seat carry three-year terms.
Hassler and Pretto filed for their respective seats, as did Mike Moore, Bob Mahacek, Sasha Schmittgens and Venki Palamand. Mahacek previously ran unsuccessfully for the 92nd Missouri House District in 2022. Palamand previously served on the school board from 2007 to 2013, and from 2014 to 2017.
McKelvey and Behlke also filed for their positions, as did Amy Summers and James L. (Simo) Simokaitis.
In other election news
There will be seats on the Affton, Bayless and Hancock boards of education up for election.
The Lemay Fire Protection District will be asking voters for a 35-cent levy increase to fund improved fire services. That will appear on the ballot as “Proposition S.”
Countywide, the Metropolitan Sewer District is asking voters for the approval of two propositions. The first MSD proposition is “Proposition W,” which would allow the sewer district to issue “its sewer revenue bonds in the amount of Seven Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($750,000,000) for the purpose of designing, constructing, improving, renovating, repairing, replacing and equipping new and existing MSD sewer and drainage facilities and systems.” The second MSD proposition is a rate increase of “not more than” $0.0745 per $100 of assessed valuation. That proposition is called “Proposition S.”
No seats are open on the Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors. Those seats carry six-year terms. The next election in the fire district will be in April 2025, when the seat held by Director Ed Ryan will be open. By the end of his current term, Ryan will have served on the Board of Directors for 18 years.
Follow future election coverage in upcoming print editions of The Call and at www.callnewspapers.com.