Clayton Missouri – January 2022 - Anyone paying attention to politics over the last few years should be very concerned about the direction our democracy is headed. The level of animus, acrimony and partisanship are all rising.

We need to lower the temperature, restore civility and demand productivity with our public process.

Democracy is supposed to be a substitute for violence not a vehicle to stoke it.

Our Democratic Republic was designed as way for us to peacefully govern ourselves, dealing with a whole variety of policy issues that can be thorny by themselves.

George Washington was right . Adding partisan non-sense to the mix of our self-governance is problematic.

Early in the pandemic, I found myself getting so angry reading news headlines that I had to disengage. How a global health crisis was turned into a partisan shit show will be studied by social and political scientists for years.

Only here can we elevate selfish and stupid to such a high art. A crisis that should have brought us together has become a vehicle for division that has resulted in unnecessary deaths. Our inability to function as a team when it really matters the most is discouraging. It is a wonder that the US is even able to field a rowing team.

I realize that one value I hold above most others is the idea that we are all equal and are entitled to participate in self-governance. Inclusion and belonging are inherent values underlying our system of governance. Functionally that should show up as full participation. We can't exclude voters from selecting the leaders they want.

Anything short of full inclusion subverts our system. Today that is more evident than ever.

Some are actively working to take the vote away from others. It is un-American and will push us toward violence. I've always had respect for the two major political parties, but that has diminished a great deal in the last few years.

The GOP has become a perverted personality cult. Today, it could easily be rebranded as the Grow Our Pandemic party. Winning a GOP primary has become a contest the rewards the most right-wing candidates. Reasonable candidates that seek compromise need not apply.

A Democratic primary isn’t much better. It pushes to the other extreme.

It is time to reject nonsense and embrace common sense.

Our partisan process pushes us further apart from one another. Partisanship undermines our ability to protect and promote our community.

That is why St. Louis County voters should demand that we amend the county charter to require non-partisan elections.

We should have a runoff process with an open primary that ensures the top two vote getters in a non-partisan primary face each other in the general election. When there is a vacancy in an office, we should hold an election and let candidates file for office.

The current system that empowers partisan insiders to select candidates when there is a vacancy is simply wrong. It is the least inclusive and most partisan process of all. Under the existing county charter, when there is a vacancy on the county council – like when Sam Page was selected by the council to replace Steve Stenger – it is a group of democratic and republican committee people that select the candidates. It ensures a partisan result.

That is so stupid. Why not let any candidate interested in serving on the county council file to run in the election? Why have partisan insiders select the candidates?

For that matter, when there is a vacancy with the County Executive office like when Buzz Westfall died or when Steve Stenger went to jail the St. Louis County Council must pick someone from the same political party. I don't think that is ideal.

The reason I support non-partisan elections in St. Louis County is the same reason I want the congress to pass a voting rights bill.

We should all be treated as equal and have a voice in our government. Efforts to the contrary undermine our very system.

Before we go any further on the county issue, I will say I would absolutely support making our state elections non-partisan as well. The effort to create ranked choice voting makes a lot of sense to me. We would end up with better office holders who reflect the overall state, not some niche group. I would also support efforts at a national level to eliminate the electoral college that diminishes the one person one vote value everyone says they support. But enough about the state and federal government. This post is about St. Louis County.

I have a unique perspective to offer as someone who worked as a partisan.

I worked in county government for the St. Louis County Executive Buzz Westfall. He was the first Democrat to win that office in 28 years when he was elected in 1990. He was supported by both Republicans and Democrats. He would be that rare unicorn today within Democratic circles. A tough on crime, pro-union, pro-development pragmatist who liked to bring people together (usually for a fun party, but I digress). Buzz tried to govern in a non-partisan and regional way. His approach influenced my perspective a great deal. It stands in contrast to what we see today.

Local politics needn't be partisan. In St. Louis County, most of the municipalities have a non-partisan system in place. It works. Sure people fight amongst themselves, but it is personality and not partisanship that drives those conflicts. We are always going to have conflicts, I just want to remove one reason to fight that we don't need.

Local politics is mostly land use driven. You have pro development and anti-development forces at play. There really is not a partisan way of deciding to install a stop light at an intersection or allowing a developer to build a subdivision. Building playgrounds at a park, deciding what roads to repave, how much we should invest in restaurant or milk inspections shouldn’t be partisan either.

The last few years has taught us that it doesn’t matter what the issue is, partisans will make it partisan. It is time to reject that non-sense and inject some common-sense to our community self-governance.

I saw a recent story about the County Prosecuting Attorney coming out against a move toward non-partisan elections. Of course he did because he benefited from the current process. Wesley Bell was able to become the elected prosecutor in a low turnout democratic primary.

He wasn’t actually selected by the entire electorate in a practical way because there wasn’t a real challenge in the General Election. That isn’t right any more than it was right that I ended up with a new county council person selected in the same low turnout primary.

The prosecuting attorney position is a great example to use as it shouldn’t be a partisan office. This person is essentially the chief law enforcement officer of the jurisdiction deciding what cases to pursue and putting criminals behind bars.

To be the elected prosecutor in any community you must first be an attorney. The universe of eligible candidates is small to begin with. Then the voters will likely want you to have some experience as a prosecutor. The universe just got smaller. The big endorsements are the fraternal order of police and lawyer groups. It is very specialized role in a sense.

Today, if want to be St. Louis County Prosecutor you better file as a Democrat. The race will be decided in a low turnout primary.

Well, what if the top two vote getters in a non-partisan primary ran against each other in the general election?

The candidates who are most appealing to the largest number of voters run against each other. My belief is that a system like that will yield office holders that better reflect the voters because everyone is involved and has an equal voice. I don’t think we should get too caught up in the existing people we see in office when deciding what system is the most fair and equitable.

I don’t mean to pick on Wesley Bell. He might very well have won with a more inclusive and participatory voting process .

I would ask you to look at all county elected officials right now and ask yourself would they be in that role if the process was more inclusive and participatory?

Pick any office holder right now in St. Louis County.

Would Steve Stenger have beat Mark Montavani in a general election?

Would Kelli Dunaway have replaced Sam Page?

Would Rita Days have replaced Hazel Erby?

Would Lisa Clancy, Ernie Trakas, Tim Fitch, Shalonda Webb or Mark Harder won their seats in a truly competitive process that included all voters?

My guess is some would still have gotten elected and others not.

What the candidates focused on in terms of messaging and policy might be different. Just look at how our process plays out now. If you want to win a Republican primary, move way to the right. If you want to win a Democratic primary, move to the left. If you want to win a general election, move to the center and appeal to more people.

My Democratic friends were really pissed off at me for pushing for non-partisan elections when I served for a nanosecond on the County Charter Commission. I think my service was sabotaged by some democratic operatives because of my beliefs. I will never really know.

In hindsight, I wish I wouldn’t have resigned when Stenger's political consultants asked me to do so. Something didn't seem right. Little did I know that the county executive would be resigning a few months later. It has been sad to watch what has happened to St. Louis County government.

The bottom line is this. As voters, we get what we demand. My instinct tells me the most average folks would agree with my position, but political insiders will fight any effort to make it a reality because they are benefiting from the status quo.

I believe the status quo in St. Louis County sucks. We can do better. We should demand we have non-partisan elections in St. Louis County.