Political Briefs
Filed Monday, January 22, 2007 at 12:00 PM
SLAY SHARES WITH DEVLIN — The mayor and the man accused of kidnapping two boys have something (or someone) in common: Richard Callow. According to Jake Wagman, Mayor Francis Slay is allowing his number one P.R. man to moonlight as the media man for Michael Devlin. Either Francis thinks he’s so Teflon that even the stink of a kidnapper won’t stick or it’s becoming very obvious that he has no control over his aides. Makes you kind of wonder who’s running the show in Room 200.
FROM POPE TO BLUNT, BY WAY OF STL – We’re a little late in mentioning this, but for those that missed it, check out this link to a profile piece in the Columbia Missourian on the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Ed Martin.
Martin, the former chairman of the St. Louis City Election Board, said of his old job, “It was possibly as dysfunctional as any agency in the state when I came in… And I think by the time we were done, we oversaw maybe the best elections St. Louis has ever seen. I think the governor saw that and was impressed.”
The man that also once worked for Pope John Paul II ends with these words: “Pray for me.”
SHOW ME THE MONEY (We couldn’t resist) — The Show-Me Institute will release a new study this week on how to replace the much-maligned city earnings tax.
The new study is a follow-up to a March 2006 study which showed that large cities with earnings taxes experience lower growth. Total real income has fallen in St. Louis since the 1970’s. The groups says the new study describes how St. Louis can replace the earnings tax without affecting city services and spark an economic revival.
Prof. Joseph Haslag of the University of Missouri is the author of the study.