Historical April–May 2019 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
This is an exciting time to serve on the Board of Aldermen in the City of St. Louis. Whether people are talking about the pros and the cons of the Better Together plan or what the city will look like with 14 wards instead of 28, we are on the cusp of change.
Some of the things I look forward to working with my colleagues on are the ward reduction advisory committee, energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives, and short-term rental legislation.
In the last election for president of the Board of Aldermen, voter turnout was just 17%.
We need to look at reforms that make voting more accessible and generate higher participation in elections.
The Better Together plan will be up for a vote in November 2020 but this is not the time to sit on our hands and wait for change to come to us.
We know where we need to do better and if we prepare now we can leverage any reform for the benefit of our entire community. No one measure or initiative is going to address the disparity in our city or solve all our problems. It’s important that we are proactive and looking everywhere for opportunities. One of the areas for progress I see is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy options that will decrease our dependence on coal, save energy, improve the air, and make us a more sustainable city.
We are already making great gains in benchmarking our energy usage and we have the tools to be a leader in addressing climate change.
The Board goes back in session in mid-April and you can follow the legislative agenda at stlouis-mo.gov.
Original photograph caption
Group photograph accompanying Heather Navarro column; no individual caption supplied.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April–May 2019.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2019_04.pdf, printed page(s) 6; PDF page(s) 6.
