Historical September 1984 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Although I have served as your Alderman for over three years, I only recently passed a significant, albeit dubious, political milestone … protesters picketed my home.
The stated reason for the protest was my refusal to immediately remove the experimental Operation SafeStreet barricade on Des Peres just south of Delmar.
The underlying reason for the protest and concomitant kick-off of a petition drive to recall me as your Alderman is mayoral politics.
The protest organizers were Lee Jacobs—defeated candidate for 28th Ward Democratic Committeeman, Mike MaGrath, Willis Lloyd, and Washington Heights Neighbors Association (WHN) officers Ed Jones, Clarice Haynes, Linda Holtzman, and Don Fitz.
They were assisted by several 8th Ward residents who were successful in their petition efforts to place a recall vote of 8th Ward Alderman John Koch on the ballot at the November General Election.
The temporary barricade in question was installed in mid-April of this year as part of Operation SafeStreet’s Project Quiet Street.
The experiment was explained at several meetings of WHN before and after the installation, at a Rosedale Neighbors meeting, at the Mayor’s neighborhood town hall meeting, and in our daily and neighborhood newspapers.
The original plan was to maintain the barricade for six months and then assess its effectiveness and desirability with the help of neighborhood residents.
The Board of Aldermen believed that a six month trial period was necessary to allow residents time to adjust to the new traffic pattern, and provide the time required to statistically evaluate changes in traffic volume and crime.
But those opposed to the Des Peres barricade began a petition drive demanding its removal immediately after installation; even though I was not presented with this petition until July 10. I suppose the delay was to give the impression that after a reasonable time, the signers still did not want the barricade.
While 829 people signed the petition, I noticed that many did not live in our neighborhood, and that some didn’t even live in the city, so I asked the SafeStreet staff to verify the number of petitioners who actually live in the Washington Heights and Rosedale Neighborhoods. Upon review, 342 were registered voters in the area.
Since this is still quite a large number of unhappy people (at least when they signed the petition some months before), I wrote WHN President Ed Jones on August 2 and said that we would speed up the evaluation process.
In early September, we will mail a questionnaire on the barricade to the registered voters of the Skinker-DeBaliviere SafeStreet area. I am certainly aware that many people who I personally respect a great deal do not approve of the barricade.
But I am equally aware that many other people are just as committed to making the barricade permanent.
No one can argue that Des Peres is not a quieter and cleaner street without the previously high volume of thru traffic, but I realize that the closing has inconvenienced some residents. I do not know of any more fair way to determine what the neighborhood wants than to ask all of the people effected.
The most efficient way to do this is by polling the registered voters.
This is a neighborhood experiment and as originally planned the final resolution will take into account the wishes of neighborhood residents, not of people who do not live here. What is certain is that I will not be bullied by the chanting of a small rump group political faction.
When I first moved here in 1971, WHN was a strong, broad-based community organization successfully serving the interests of the people residing in the area bounded by Des Peres, Delmar, Pershing, and DeBaliviere.
We were a neighborhood in transition and some difficult and controversial decisions had to be made.
Without question, our neighborhood is a better place to live in now than it was then. Unfortunately, as an organization, WHN has degenerated over the years.
A small but vocal radical group gained control of the leadership of the organization as it lost its broad base of support within the community.
As a result, several years ago the homeowners on the three blocks of DeGiverville, which comprise the heart of the Washington Heights community, formed a new neighborhood organization, DeGiverville, Inc.
At the insistence of WHN, DeGiverville, Inc. was not recognized by the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council, although it is still quite active.
A year later WHN withdrew from SDCC.
Since that time the WHN leadership began to disregard its own bylaws and has been increasingly active in partisan politics, culminating in organizing a petition drive for my recall as your Alderman. Shortly after the Des Peres barricade was erected, I was invited to a WHN meeting at 6170 Delmar.
While I thought it strange that the location was not in the Washington Heights neighborhood, I was shocked when I arrived to find that it was the political headquarters and office of Lee Jacobs and Iva Allen, candidates for the Ward’s Democratic Committee.
After waiting for an hour to allow about 15 people to assemble, Ed Jones convened the meeting and announced that the two political candidates had been appointed Secretary, and Assistant Secretary of WHN.
When it was pointed out from the floor that besides being candidates for party office neither of the individuals lived in the Washington Heights neighborhood as required by the bylaws, Jones responded that since he was having quite a problem filling positions on his board that they were welcome anyway.
On the day before the August Primary Election, fliers were distributed in selected areas of the Ward asking residents not to vote for Committeeman Kim Tucci and Committeewoman Dee Suda and inviting everyone to come to a meeting of WHN on August 14 to help initiate a recall petition against me. I attended this meeting at the Grace & Peace Fellowship (which is also not in the Washington Heights neighborhood) with about 100 other concerned residents, most of whom were outraged over the unsigned flier and other campaign tactics.
When asked who distributed the flier, President Ed Jones said he did not know.
When asked who prepared the written agenda for the meeting (which had my recall as the first order of business), he again said he did not know.
A motion by a Washington Heights resident to support the original trial period for the Des Peres barricade was ruled out of order by President Jones. Treasurer Don Fitz then announced that only dues paying members of WHN could vote at the meeting, contrary to the WHN bylaws which state that all residents of Washington Heights may vote on any issue at any meeting, not just those that pay dues.
After answering questions from the group for about an hour, I stated that it was my opinion that WHN has forfeited its status as a “neighborhood organization” and was in reality a political club.
While this is certainly their right, I informed those assembled that I could no longer support or assist WHN or its activities. I then left the meeting followed by most of those present.
My home was picketed the following Saturday. I firmly believe that I have done a good job as your Alderman here in the 28th Ward.
I know that my actions have not always pleased everyone but I have tried to be fair and responsive to the needs of all my neighbors.
While I am confident that I will retain my office if I am challenged with a recall election, I have a very full legislative agenda and would prefer to expend any extra time and energy not on my recall campaign but to help re-elect Mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl, Jr.
In fact, I truly believe that the main reason behind this effort to recall me, as well as the unsuccessful challenge to Committeeman Kim Tucci and Committeewoman Dee-Suda, is primarily to drain our resources away from the Mayor’s re-election campaign.
There is no secret as to who helped finance and organize the unsuccessful Jacobs/Allen campaign.
This does not mean that we do not have real problems to solve here in the Ward … but together we will solve them. Nor does this statement mean that I believe that anyone not wanting the Des Peres barricade has other motives. I do respect sincere opinions on this issue.
But the future disposition of the barricade will be resolved within the month in an orderly manner with maximum input from the residents of the Skinker-DeBaliviere SafeStreet area.
We will then evaluate the barricades in the Cathedral Square area.
This is what was promised when we began and this is what will be done! I enjoy serving as your Alderman. I believe I have earned your respect and trust and respectfully ask that you do not sign the recall petition. I think we have better things to do! I hope you agree.
Original photograph caption
Audience at the neighborhood meeting accompanying the alderman’s barricade report. The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 1984, page 7. Photographer not credited.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September 1984.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1984_09.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
