February 2024: New mayor, Kudos to DPW

 As many of you know, I was elected mayor last November, and my term began on Jan. 1.


Also joining city council is Farés “Ferris” Azzam, a friend of mine who ran as a write-in candidate and received 33 votes. Bill Leonard won a second term in the same election with 259 votes. (I got 245 votes.)


Choosing not to run last year were Mayor Tom Reed and Councilman Roger Collison. Reed was a councilman for eight years and mayor for two. Collison served a single four-year term. I thank them both for their service to St. Louis and wish them well. 


Ferris and I are newcomers to city council. Neither of us has held office before. But I learned a lot about city government over the last six years writing for the St. Louis Sentinel. And Ferris is enthusiastic about the opportunity. Hopefully we will be up to speed soon.


Ferris and I want to work as a team with fellow council members Bill Leonard, Liz Upton and Kevin Palmer. My philosophy is that we all have different abilities, life experiences and ways of looking at things. None of us individually has all the answers, but collectively we might have 90 percent of them. It’s just a matter of realizing that everyone brings something to the table and we all want what’s best for St. Louis.

Kudos to Department of Public Works

I’d like to praise DPW and Water Department personnel who put in 213 collective hours of overtime to clear upwards of 16 inches of snow from St. Louis streets between Tuesday, Jan. 9 and Sunday, Jan. 13. 


If it weren’t for the efforts of Calvin Martyn, Chad Pratt, Alex Velasco, Shawn Felker, Ryan Roehrs, Chip Volz, Isaak Felker, Brian Henderson and Gregg Austin we’d all still be digging out. 


Public Services Director Keith Risdon reports that the guys got a head start on the Friday/Saturday storm by removing the snow piles in various locations that were built up after Tuesday’s storm.


Snow started falling at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12. Two DPW men started their plows and worked through the night and into the next day. Three more men reported for work at 2 a.m. Saturday. Water Department workers Austin and Henderson joined in an hour later. Most of the crew went home for a break around mid-day on Saturday. However, cleanup continued through the weekend.


All that is standard procedure during major snow events, and I’m not sure the guys who operate the plows all night long can get enough credit. Thanks, guys. I appreciate everything you do.

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