Rep. Rick Stream of Kirkwood filed today — March 24 — for the Republican nomination for county executive.
Stream joins Green Park Ward 1 Alderman Tony Pousosa and Ellisville District 1 City Councilman Matt Pirrello in seeking the GOP nod for county executive in the August primary.
Stream is the current budget chairman of the Missouri House and a former Department of Defense budget and project manager for the Army Aviation and Logistics Commands, according to a news release.
“My entire career has been devoted to budgeting and financial management,” Stream stated in the release. “St. Louis County needs a manager to focus relentlessly on accountability rather than politicians focusing on getting re-elected.”
Stream believes his candidacy will bring fresh ideas to the race and offer voters a new choice.
“The current debate is between two incumbents pointing fingers at each other of how the county got in such poor shape,” Stream stated. “It is time to end the blame game and restore accountability, manage better, deliver more, remove the impediments to job creation and restore integrity to our county. I am an outsider and a manager who is committed to bringing about those changes.”
Elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2006, Stream serves as chairman of the Budget Committee, overseeing a $26 billion state budget. He has served as vice chairman or chairman six of those years. He was also the chairman of the House Fiscal Review Committee.
“I have led the state budget process in the House and balanced our budget every year without raising taxes even when revenues were dropping. We are providing more money to education and key priorities than ever before because we made the hard, but right choices. With my record, I feel confident I can bring my experience and a lifetime of financial expertise to make dramatic changes in the way the county operates to do more with less,” Stream stated in the release.
Stream was raised in Kirkwood and attended Kirkwood public schools. He received an associate degree in business from St. Louis Community College-Meramec and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Missouri-St. Louis. Stream and his wife, Ellen, of 38 years have four children and three grandchildren.
In the Democratic primary, 6th District County Councilman Steve Stenger is challenging incumbent Charlie Dooley for the county executive’s post.
Stenger, of Affton, who is serving his second term on the County Council, is looking to unseat Dooley, of Northwoods, who has served as county executive since the October 2003 death of County Executive George R. “Buzz” Westfall.
Dooley was elected to serve the remaining two years of Westfall’s term in November 2004 and was elected to full four-year terms in November 2006 and November 2010.
Dooley is retired from Boeing, formerly McDonnell-Douglas. He is a former mayor of Northwoods and was elected in 1994 as the 1st District’s county councilman. He served in that post until the County Council voted unanimously to appoint him county executive after Westfall’s death.
Libertarian Theo “Ted” Brown Sr. also filed for the county executive’s post. Brown was a write-in candidate for Missouri governor in 2008, ran for county executive as a Libertarian in 2006 and 2010 and was a write-in candidate for county executive in 2002.