To the editor:

I recognize that focusing on local issues can be difficult given the continuous stream of screaming idiocy coming from Washington, D.C., but focusing locally really is where the average person can be the most effective driver of change. The truth is the results of local elections really do matter in the lives of all of us. From municipalities like Ferguson and Festus, where town councils have ignored the will of the people in the debate on data centers, to our neighbor to the south, where the Springfield mayor had speakers jailed for having the audacity to question his town’s policy on Flock cameras. Apathy towards even the smallest races, such as for positions on local school boards, can have devastating effects for years to come, as exemplified by the City of St. Louis’ Board of Education. Our own County Council and Executive are a textbook example of fecklessness and tribalism wrapped up in ignorance and disregard. While the Aviator hotel on S. Lindbergh (whose owners still owe over $185,000 in unpaid property taxes) fills with squatters and is stripped of its copper wiring and HVAC units, Mike Archer is focused on “Aggressive Solicitation” ordinances and feasibility studies for the SoCo Mall. An ordinance which will guarantee that the county is sued again and a feasibility study for a piece of property the county doesn’t own and whose current owners appear to have zero interest in doing anything other than the status quo. We need to expect better from our elected representatives, but if we stay silent, ignore local issues, and choose not to insist on leadership that truly represents the people, we ultimately get the government we deserve both locally and nationally.

Brian Volansky

Mehlville