Jim's Message
Every day I'm out talking to people in St. Louis and I'm noticing more and more citizens getting involved in their neighborhoods. It's great to see and I think it's due to a couple of really important changes.
First of all, more people are moving back into the city of St. Louis. I recently met a man who is building a new house over in the North Hampton neighborhood and he told me that he is moving here from Chesterfield. From Chesterfield! For those of us who were born and raised in the city and have lived here our entire lives, you know how significant this is.
There was a time when the exact opposite was happening — when people were leaving the city to build homes in Chesterfield and St. Charles and Hillsboro. Personally, I never understood why anyone would do that. I like my car but I don't want to spend all day in it. But for a long time this was the story in St. Louis. People thought they could find a better life outside the city limits. That has changed.
Across the country, traffic congestion, gasoline prices, putting in longer hours at work — it's all making people realize the benefits of city living; where you can walk to the neighborhood market and you don't have to mortgage your children's future to build a house.
I think the second thing that's happening is that people are taking more of an interest in what's going on in the city. When the newspapers and TV were only talking about the bad things, population loss or some scandal at City Hall, it was hard for some people to get excited and energized about their own neighborhoods.
The city has taken a 180-degree turn from those days, to the point now that even the national media is writing about the changes going on here in St. Louis. Brad Fratello, the head of the Downtown Resident's Association, was recently interviewed by USA Today for a story on the changes and the rebirth underway in St. Louis and there's no telling how many millions of people across America saw that story.
These changes haven't happened by accident. I can tell you that there has been a definite difference these last few years at City Hall. When I'm talking with Francis Slay or Darlene Green or the aldermen or police officers, we all have the same feeling — that the city is on the right track and that continuing to cooperate and share information and just plain talking to one another is the only way to keep this momentum going.
At the Board of Aldermen I've been working very closely with Pat Connaghan. He's the clerk of the Board and having to report to 28 different aldermen I can tell you he's got one of the toughest jobs in government, but Pat does an outstanding job and the two of us think alike. When I became president it was important to both of us that we stepped up the effort and made some improvements down there. We have a staff now that is probably the best, hardest working and most qualified that it has ever been, and for the first time we're online.
Every bill that gets introduced at City Hall hits the Internet before our Friday meeting and it's a searchable database. If you want to know how your alderman voted on a certain issue, it's in there. If you're not sure who your alderman is or what ward you live in, you can now find that information very quickly too.
What I love most about this job is that being president of the Board gives you a chance to work on the bigger picture — to focus on issues outside your own particular slice of the city. It's a big responsibility and it's not for everyone but I love it.
Our new schools superintendent (talk about a tough job) recently called me because they're having a persistent problem with truancy. Since the school district stretches across the entire city and truancy is a problem bigger than any one ward or one alderman, she asked if I could help her find a solution to the number of kids skipping school. My office is now working on a bill to address truancy and it's being looked at by Chief Mokwa and the chairman of our public safety committee and I think because of this we're going to have a real useful tool for dealing with truancy and getting more kids back into the classroom.
Alderman Fred Wessels and I also worked this year on a landmark bill in St. Louis. Whether you embrace it or not the fact is the "green revolution" is coming.
Recycling, renewable resources, energy consumption, global warming — these all going to become major, major issues in the decades ahead. In some cities private developers have already committed to only constructing buildings that are environmentally friendly — large windows that naturally heat the building, light fixtures that use less electricity, plumbing that uses less water — and what Fred and I are doing is requiring that from now on public buildings that we the City of St. Louis build with taxpayer money will meet those same kind of environmental guidelines.
My family has recycled for years and I think a bill like this is a responsible way of addressing future problems and I just flat out think it's the right thing to do. Green buildings also spin off an entire cottage industry of businesses that service and manufacture materials for the buildings, meaning more job creation for the city. It's a win-win proposition.
Being a city-wide elected official means I look after the interest of the 7,200 employees who keep this city running day in and day out. If you log on to my website, www.presidentshrewsbury.com, my staff and I have written a lot about the hard work they do but what you may not know is that we have men and women working for the City who are in the Reserves and it was truly an honor for me a couple of years ago to pass a bill that reimburses our City workers who have been sent to fight in the Middle East.
A lot of times the pay they get from the military is far less than what they make back home and I think it is unacceptable that anyone should be asked to put their life on the line over there and take a pay cut to do it!
It's not right and I wanted to make sure they knew that the City — their employer — cared enough about them and their families to see that they were taken care of financially.
Something else I'm really proud of is a bill I did to address hepatitis. You probably remember a few years ago that a lot of people got sick after eating at a Downtown deli. Hepatitis is an extremely serious virus that can quickly cause liver failure and even death and some of those people who ate there got very, very sick. One of the most common ways to spread the virus is through infected food workers who haven't washed their hands and pass it on to the customer. Public health is an extremely important function in city government. It is literally life and death and it's a responsibility that has to be taken seriously.
Because of that bill we passed everyone who handles food in this city — whether it's a restaurant, a deli, the meat counter at the grocery store — must now be vaccinated against hepatitis and as a result we have not had another outbreak in the city since.
I was 27 when I first got elected 16th Ward alderman and because of some of the legislation I was writing and the toes I was stepping on the newspapers were writing about me and using words like "reformer." I think one of them even called me "a maverick." I was never really sure what they were talking about because I was just addressing the issues that my friends and I were talking about in the city. But when I look back on it now I can see that City Hall was a much different place than it is today. I've gone from a somewhat brash newcomer to a seasoned veteran and without those experiences along the way I wouldn't have half the skills necessary to do this job.
The number of people who are taking the time now to attend neighborhood meetings and get involved in the community is a clear sign to me that St. Louis is improving and City Hall is running the way it's supposed to.
As an alderman I dealt with the day-to-day neighborhood issues that affected my ward — stop signs, trash dumpsters, potholes, development projects — but as President of the Board of Aldermen the stakes are a little higher. My constituency is now the entire city of St. Louis and it's an important responsibility.
Of all the things I've mentioned here what I am most proud of is my reputation for service. "Mr. Dependable" I think is what they're now writing about me. If you ever need to reach me, I'm a phone call away. My home number is 353-5690 and I will call you back.
I'm proud of the improvements underway in St. Louis, I'm proud of the people who are moving back here and telling anyone who will listen how great St. Louis is and I'm really proud of all of us who stuck it out and are around today to see what's happening.
Thanks again for your time and let me just say that the best way you can stay involved in your community is to vote. Not enough people do it, so please vote on Tuesday, March 6th.
— Jim
Shrewsbury for Aldermanic President
300 N Tucker Blvd, Ste 301
Saint Louis, MO 63101
(314) 436-2520
info@jimshrewsbury.com