ST. LOUIS – Streets and highways in St. Louis are in much better shape now than after the big winter storm in January. However, it may not matter when it comes to electing the city’s next mayor.
Snow removal may be a decisive issue in the March 4 primary, which is just 13 days away.
When a Dogtown neighborhood resident was ice skating on his ice-covered street 9 days after the January storm, FOX 2’s “Hancock and Kelley” political team certainly took note.
“I think this election may be ‘baked,’” said Democrat consultant Michael Kelley. “That snowstorm (in January) was really problematic.”
Republican consultant John Hancock expressed that the campaign’s top issue surrounds the delivery of essential city services to St. Louisans.
“You can’t clean the snow and can’t pick up the trash and can’t fill the potholes,” Hancock said.
While this week’s winter blast is not as extreme, it may serve as a reminder with early voting underway right now for the March 4 primary.
FOX 2 had in-depth interviews with the four mayoral candidates, in which all of them stated that providing city services is a top issue, especially snow removal now.
One candidate is committed to doing something St. Louis routinely never has done: plowing residential side streets like most of the cities surrounding the St. Louis area.
“If I’m mayor, I would salt and plow residential and side streets,” Michael Butler, mayoral candidate, said. “It just seems like the city is not interested in plowing the side streets—not that we can’t do it. We’re just not interested in doing it at this time.”
Cara Spencer, mayoral candidate and current St. Louis alderwoman, said the city must be prepared when unexpected events occur.
“We’ve got to be able to pivot when unexpected weather happens, when unexpected events take place and that is just what any large organization that is going to be successful or survive has to do,” Spencer said.
Andrew Jones, another mayoral candidate who is also a retired St. Louis business executive, said that encouraging others to vote is essential, as well as building trust.
“What we can do is motivate people to get out, work hard, and pay them an adequate salary and people will do so, but you have to be able to communicate it,” Jones said. “More than anything else, they have to trust you, that you are a person of your word, that you mean what you say and say what you mean.”
The incumbent mayor, Tishaura Jones, who is seeking reelection, suggested changes to the city’s snow removal policy.
“We are going to change the snow removal policy,” Jones said. “We accept the criticism. We hear people. We’re also reaching out to our sister cities to see what they’re removal policies are. Then, we’re going to come back and let people know what our removal policies will be in the future.”
In-depth interviews with all four candidates can be found on Hancock and Kelley at 8:30 a.m. Sunday on FOX 2 and on Fox2now.com.