To the editor:

As a 30-year resident and taxpayer living in the Mehlville Fire Protection District, I write to ask my fellow citizens to vote for the re-election of Bonnie Stegman on April 6 to the Board of Directors of the MFPD. 

In the 1990s the former board was a blank check and rubber stamp to the wishes of the firefighters’ union. Since the era of Stegman, Aaron Hilmer and Ed Ryan began, we have seen transparency, fiscal constraint and reduced response times throughout our district — not to mention the construction of multiple state-of-the-art firehouses without any tax increases.

By contrast, Bonnie’s opponent signed a consent decree with the Missouri Ethics Commission in October 2019 for violations of Missouri Revised Statutes 105.961.5 pertaining to campaign-finance reporting violations while seeking a seat on the Board of Directors of the MFPD in in 2018.

To me and hopefully to you, the choice is clear: The continuation of good governance with the re-election of Ms. Stegman or the potential return to the cronyism of yesteryear.

Robert Butler
Concord

Editor’s note: Dr. Butler is a member of the St. Louis County Port Authority board.