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School Board president Veronica O'Brien was denied a restraining order today against fired Vashon basketball coach Floyd Irons and his friend and supporter, Demetrius Johnson.
O'Brien had alleged that the two -- along with several other protestors -- threatened her and her 11 year-old child at one of many recent protests at her home in the Central West End.
But Judge Michael Stelzer, son of 8th Ward Committeeman Jack Stelzer, today denied O'Brien's petition after hearing testimony from witnesses including city police officers and even former Superintendent Creg Williams, who came back to town to testify on behalf of his friend, Irons.
Mike McMillan, the newly elected License Collector of the City of St. Louis, along with Gregory F.X. Daly, the newly elected Collector of Revenue, held a joint victory party Tuesday night at Steinberg Skating Rink in Forest Park.
In their victory speeches that night, both thanked thanked each other for being a part of a successful north/south-black/white partnership.
"This is the first time in a long time that both sides of town have come together with a coalition that works," said Daly.
Jeff Smith raised $231,024.01 and received 6,755 votes, costing him $34.20 each.
Derio Gambaro raised $180,409.77 and received 4,261 votes, costing him $42.34 each.
Yaphett El-Amin raised $161,051.16 and received 4,618 votes, costing her $34.87 each.
Amber Boykins raised $102,705.04 and received 2,360 votes, costing her $43.52 each.
Kenny Jones raised just $4,570 and received 558 votes, costing him $8.19 each.
The four campaigns spent a total of $679,759.98 to get just 18,552 people to vote. That's an average of $36.64 per vote.
Note: The above numbers are based on the last campaign finance reports submitted by each campaign and assumes that every dollar raised was indeed spent.
Calculate other races and share the results in the comments section...
Not usually our topic here, but it is interesting that tonight's Rams game against the Colts won't be seen on television because not enough tickets were sold in time.
NFL rules state that if a game isn't sold out 72 hours before kickoff, the game will be "blacked out." The Rams were even given an extra two days to sell the rest of the tickets, but with no success.
The effort to recall 3rd Ward Ald. Freeman Bosley, Sr. is on hold as the recallers and election officials wait for a judge to decide the legality of an Election Board practice of allowing aldermen to get signatures removed from a recall petition by way of signed affidavits.
On June 30, Citizens to Recall Aldermen Bosley turned in approximately 1,100 signatures to the Board. Bosley was subsequently successful in getting 339 people who had originally signed the recall petition to then sign an affidavit asking for their names to be removed.
The recallers claim that since such an allowance for removal is nowhere in the City's charter -- which outlines the recall procedure -- that the Election Board "exceeded the scope of power delegated to it" by allowing it and therefore violated the civil rights of the recallers.
A lawsuit has been filed seeking to have those signatures put back onto the petition -- without which the petition will fall short of the required number of signatures. A temporary restraining order was issued last week preventing the St. Louis Board of Elections from certifying or removing any more signatures from the petition to recall Bosley.
A hearing in this matter has been set for August 21.
In the petition for a temporary restraining order filed yesterday by then-State Senate candidate Yaphett El-Amin, she alleged that one of her opponents, Amber Boykins, and State Rep candidates Joe Palm (who was running against her husband) and Shaun Simms (who was running against her political ally, Jamilah Nasheed) were distributing sample ballots in the 1st, 4th, 18th and 27th wards that were "false, misleading, and illegal."
Her complaint held that by using the terms "Democratic Sample Ballot" those campaigns were misleading voters into thinking that they had been endorsed by the respective Democratic ward organizations, which they had not.
Judge Lisa Van Amburg agreed with El-Amin and at 3:25 p.m. she issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting them from being further distributed.
Election Board officials say they instructed their roaming judges to inform the campaigns' poll workers to stop passing out the illegal ballots.
A hearing in this matter has been set for Friday, August 18, at 9:00 a.m. -- long after the polls have closed and winners have been decided in the affected races.
Our Video Page has moved to a new address. Just click the video camera icon on the left side of the page. There you can subscribe to our free iTunes video podcast and view most of our latest videos in QuickTime format (helpful for those people having problems viewing our YouTube videos).
We've also updated our post from Monday in which we made predictions about Tuesday's races. Click here to check out how we did.
According to former 1st Ward Ald. Irene J. Smith, defeated State Senate candidate Yaphett El-Amin filed a lawsuit yesterday against the campaigns of her opponent Amber Boykins, and Joe Palm and Karla May, both opponents of her husband, seeking to have those campaigns' sample ballots from being distributed in several wards.
According to Smith, who was speaking on Lizz Brown's "Wake-Up Call" radio show this morning, a temporary restraining order was issued around 3:00 yesterday to collect the "misleading" (El-Amin's word, not Smith's) sample ballots. According to Brown, some ballots were taken by election officials and Sheriff deputies.
Republican Leslie Farr has lost his bid to get his party's nomination for a second run against Congressman Lacy Clay in the 1st District. Mark J. Byrne easily defeated Farr, who had recently become at odds with several leaders of his party, with 73% of the vote to Farr's 15%.
State Rep. Sherman Parker, who had been the State House's sole black Republican, has lost his bid against incumbent Congressman Todd Akin in the 2nd District. Parker's candidacy was always considered a longshot at best, but an arrest just a week before the election made his victory nearly impossible. Parker got just 12% of the vote yesterday.
For the first time in longer than most political watchers can remember, the St. Louis City Board of Elections got the final unofficial totals out before midnight and beat the St. Louis County Board by hours (they still aren't done).
Board Chairman Ed Martin vacates his post to take over the Governor's Office on a high note as he, his fellow board members, the Republican and Democratic directors, and all of the Board's employees and E-Day workers have made the impossible possible.
At one point the results were popping out so fast reporters were begging them to slow down. "Bring the Democrats back," one joked. "I can't keep up!"
With 23 of 24 Precincts Reporting, State Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal has again defeated Councilwoman Sandi Colquitt. The count so far: 2,100 (62%) for Nadal, 1,277 (38%) for Colquitt.
Congrats to Maria and all the other winners tonight. I think the lesson here is that I should keep to predicting City politics and leave County races to County folks.
The St. Louis City Board of Elections has set up a pretty nice "media room" with a wireless Internet connection, veggie snacks, and "live" election results projected on the wall from a laptop.
The board should have some election results posted here on www.stlelections.com.
After months of campaigning, hundreds of thousands of dollars raised and spent, countless candidate debates, and dozens of mailers and robo calls, it comes down to this.
We sit numb and wait...
Stay with PUB DEF for results from today's elections...
E-DAY UPDATE... Election Board officials tell PUB DEF that only about 10% of St. Louis' registered voters have gone to the polls so far. Look for a final turnout around 23%.
E-DAY UPDATE... Polls close in less than seven hours. No reports of any craziness yet, but several people have told PUB DEF about some confusion involving the optical scan ballots. Some election judges are failing to remind voters that there are ballot issues on the second page. As a result many folks are undervoting.
As always, if you've got a tip call (314) 518-2364.
People are near polling places this morning gathering signatures on a petition that would require a public vote before any public park land (such as Forest Park) could be sold to a private interest.
State Rep Candidate Talibdin El-Amin got hit this morning by a full on assault from the disgruntled mother of his two oldest children.
Antonnia Washington, her mother and her sister all called into Lizz Brown's "Wake Up Call" radio show this morning to slam El-Amin. For more than an hour, Brown has carried on the attacks on Talibdin and his wife, state senate candidate Yaphett El-Amin.
State Senator Maida Coleman told PUB DEF today that she still feels disrespected by Mayor Francis Slay and would have a tough time forgiving her former ally even if he did apologize for his recent behavior -- which he has not.
As we reported over the weekend, Coleman was taken aback by a call on her cell phone from an angry and loud Slay last week. The mayor yelled at the senator about a letter she recently wrote to Gov. Matt Blunt defending the recent actions of the St. Louis City School Board.
"The only instability that you talk about in your press release that has occurred happened under the old majority school board, which the Mayor of St. Louis helped elect," wrote Coleman.
Slay ended his tirade with a thinly veiled threat: "Good luck with any future political plans you may have."
Coleman, who asserts that she never yelled back at the mayor, told PUB DEF today that even if Slay did offer to patch things up with her, she doesn't know if she can forgive him for speaking to her in such a disrespectful and bullying manner.
"I'll make my peace with God. I'll have to think twice about Francis Slay," she said.
Talent and McCaskill to debate on 'Meet the Press' in October
By Antonio D. French
U.S. Senator Jim Talent and his Democratic challenger, State Auditor Claire McCaskill, today accepted an offer by NBC’s "Meet the Press" to debate on the program on Sunday, October 8.
Predictions are always dangerous. More often than not, you usually wish you just kept your mouth shut and looked smarter than you actually were. Oh well.
Before we get started, let's remember one thing: these are predictions about who I think will win tomorrow's elections, not endorsements or statements about who I want to win these races.
Okay, let's get into it.
In the 57th State Rep District: Joe Palm -- 35% (29.53%) Talibdin El-Amin -- 42% (43.79%) Karla May -- 23% (26.68%) The winner will be Talibdin El-Amin (Correct)
In the 58th State Rep District: Rodney Hubbard -- 60% (73.3%) Bill Haas -- 40% (26.7%) The winner will be Rodney Hubbard (Correct)
In the 59th State Rep District: Jeanette Mott Oxford -- 75% (81.03%) Mark Rice -- 25% (18.97%) The winner will be Jeanette Mott Oxford (Correct)
In the 60th State Rep District: Bob Bartlett -- 5% (5.75%) Shaun Simms -- 20% (12.53%) Jamilah Nasheed -- 40% (43.92%) Sharon Tyus -- 35% (37.8%) The winner will be Jamilah Nasheed (Correct)
In the 72nd State Rep District: Maria Chappelle Nadal -- 49% (64%) Sandi Colquitt -- 51% (36%) The winner will be Sandi Colquitt (Wrong)
In the 4th State Senate District: Yaphett El-Amin -- 27% (24.89%) Derio Gambaro -- 21% (22.97%) Amber Boykins -- 18% (12.72%) Jeff Smith -- 31% (36.41%) Kenny Jones -- 3% (3.01%) The winner will be Jeff Smith(Correct)
So there it is. And now we wait....
I would be remiss if I didn't direct you politicos to my consulting firm's website. Find A D French & Associates LLC at www.adfrench.com.
I'll be a guest on "Collateral Damage" tonight discussing Tuesday's elections with hosts D.J. Wilson and Fred Hessel. The show starts at 7:00 and can be heard on KDHX 88.1 FM or online at www.kdhx.org.
IN THE 4TH - More mysterious automated calls are being placed around the district. After calls were made telling voters to vote for anyone but Jeff Smith, the finger was quickly pointed at Derio Gambaro's campaign, mostly due to the exchange of negative mailers he and Smith engaged in recent days.
But now calls are going north attacking Amber Boykins' legislative record and closing with "so vote for Jeff Smith." Both Smith and Gambaro have denied having anything to do with these calls. And considering who they attack and who they may effectively help, fingers are now pointing at the campaign of Yaphett El-Amin. She has also denied involvement.
We also have unconfirmed reports of pro-El-Amin robo calls being made with personal messages from former Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr. (which makes sense seeing as he is a vocal supporter of El-Amin) and another one with the voice of former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan (which is harder to believe, but then again maybe she saw Jeff Smith's movie in which her son is basically characterized as a lazy mama's boy).
[UPDATE: Congressman Russ Carnahan has issued a statement on his website which says that neither he nor any member of his family is supporting any candidate in this race. Click here to read the full statement.]
IN THE 60TH - Things are getting downright nasty in this state rep race. Sharon Tyus has dropped two attack pieces on Jamilah Nasheed contrasting, among other things, her Christian background with Nasheed's Islamic faith.
Nasheed is also drawing criticism from some for yard signs asking voters in the district to punch #38 Tuesday if they support livable wages. That is of course her punch number, but -- except for a tiny "paid for by" disclaimer -- her name is not visible on the sign.
Meanwhile, Shaun Simms dropped a piece listing U.S. Senate Candidate Claire McCaskill among his supporters. It even has a picture of Simms with McCaskill along with Sen. Barack Obama and Simms' wife, the current 60th Rep, Amber Boykins. The photo appears to have been taken when Obama was in town in support of McCaskill.
A quick call to McCaskill's headquarters confirms what most would expect, the State Auditor is staying as far out of these Democratic primary fights as possible. She has endorsed no one.
UPDATE 2:IN THE 72ND - The state rep rematch between incumbent Maria Chappelle Nadal and Sandra Colquitt is among the nastiest in the region. Count this one among the races mostly likely to get physical Tuesday. A mysterious and unaccredited website (www.colquittunfit.com) has popped up attacking Colquitt using clips from The Lizz Brown Show, The Arch City Chronicle and The Post-Dispatch.
SLAY'S "EYE" IS WATCHING THE POST Apparently Mayor Francis Slay -- or at least his blogger, Richard Callow -- has joined the ranks of people who think The Post-Dispatch sucks.
"The P-D's spotty and often inaccurate coverage of local, state, national, and international news has made opening the hometown newspaper a chore fewer and fewer St. Louisans are willing to face each morning," said MayorSlay.com on Wednesday.
"The paper's current struggling fiscal health and demoralized voice are drags on our own civic renaissance," it continued.
The Mayor lists the surnames of a few local bigwigs (Roberts, Koplar, Kent, Steward, Sherberg, Cohen, Suggs, Vittert, Franklin) that might be willing to takeover the paper should Lee Enterprises decide to sell their flagship.
"I will be watching this closely," the blog post ends mysteriously.
THE CASE OF SLAY V. MAIDA Maybe it's the new, tougher Francis Slay or maybe it's just frustration at his recent loss of power -- not electricity, but over St. Louis Public Schools -- but whatever it is, St. Francis is losing his cool.
A source tells PUB DEF that State Sen. Maida Coleman was taken aback by a recent phone call from an angry and loud Mayor Slay. He was furious with Coleman -- who on many occasions has carried water for the mayor and his southside allies -- because of a letter she recently wrote to Gov. Matt Blunt.
In the letter, Coleman blasted Blunt for putting his nose into the SLPS superintendent swap. "The School Board made an administrative decision based upon what they thought was in the best interest of the children of the St. Louis Public Schools and I support their authority, which is derived from the citizens who elected them," she wrote.
"The only instability that you talk about in your press release that has occurred happened under the old majority school board, which the Mayor of St. Louis helped elect," said Coleman.
Speaking truth to power -- go 'head, Maida.
BLUNT, ELECTION BOARD UPGRADES When Ed Martin prepares to step down as chairman of the City's Election Board to try to help salvage the last two years of Gov. Matt Blunt's first term, it looks like he might be leaving behind a significant legacy here in St. Louis.
Besides the big switch to electronic voting machines, which happened under his watch, Martin will also be leaving behind a couple of other techno upgrades.
The first arrives this week much to the delight of the city's political journalists. We're told that the Board has adopted one of the ideas PUB DEF dropped in the suggestion box back in March: Wi-Fi on Election Night. That's right, reporters and bloggers will be able to relay results as soon as they are made available via their laptops. But maybe we won't even have to thanks to the other upgrade: a new website with up-to-date election results.
What?! This can't be. We're talking about the St. Louis City Board of Elections, right?
The new STLElections.com is loaded with a bunch of bells and whistles, including "election alerts" to get reminded of upcoming elections and, best of all, to get election results automatically delivered to your inbox. Flippin' Sweet!
