For some folks, tomorrow is Election Day, and these races are generally for alderman, mayors, school boards, and city/township-level races. But there is no other important race(s) that have a bigger impact than the Wisconsin Supreme Court vote to oust Scott Walker crony David Prosser. Closer to the St. Louis Metro Area, there is a big one in whether Jake Zimmerman wins the assessor's race, the vote to keep the Earnings Tax, and over in my home county across the Mississippi River, Madison, the 1-Cent Sales Tax increase. Sadly, these local-level "off-year" elections have low turnout rates, so EVERY VOTE COUNTS!
The all-important Wisconsin Supreme Court vote: Please vote for JoAnne Kloppenburg (D), because a vote for Walker buttkisser David Prosser (R) is a vote for Union-busting.
Judge Prosser called Shirley Abrahamson a "bitch."
Prosser covers up priest's sexual abuse of children:
Prosser = Walker ad.
These adds should convince sane-thinking people that people should vote for Kloppenburg.
Next up: the St. Louis County Assessor's race: Jake Zimmerman (D) vs. Tea Party-backed Chip Wood (R).
Chip Wood has a penchant for not paying his taxes:
So, if your job is to be in charge of property taxes, but you don't even pay your own, isn't that a pretty major problem?
So, if you live in St. Louis County, and you're voting for the guy who's in charge of property taxes, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you should go with the guy who actually pays his own. Or, as the Post-Dispatch puts it:
I back Zimmerman to win it, as does the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The St. Louis Tea Party, led by Bill Hennessy, Jim Hoft, and Dana Loesch may try to tamper with machines and cause mayhem if Wood somehow wins. They already did it when Jay Hoffman was ousted.
The Earnings Tax, aka Prop E:
Nothing is quite so anticlimactic as the municipal general elections held every second April in the city of St. Louis. Whatever political excitement exists tends to occur in the March Democratic primary.
This is particularly true in “off-year” elections, like this year’s, when the mayor and comptroller aren’t on the ballot. In 2007, the most recent off-year election, slightly less than 7 percent of the city’s registered voters bothered to turn out.
This year, the only citywide official on the April 5 ballot is Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who faces only token opposition. Eight of the 14 aldermen (half of the 28-member board runs every two years) on this year’s ballot are running unopposed. School board races used to spice up April elections, but since the state took control of St. Louis Public Schools in 2007, school board races have been pro forma.
This profoundly destructive idea is the work of one man, retired financier Rex Sinquefield. He paid to get it on the statewide ballot last November and paid for the campaign that got it passed. He foisted his $11.7 million ego trip onto the people of St. Louis and Kansas City, the only Missouri cities that levy earnings taxes.
I say, vote yes to Prop E.
Now, over to my home county, Madison County, Illinois-- where the One Cent Sales Tax for Schools is up for vote.where the One Cent Sales Tax for Schools is up for vote.
Should buying gasoline, clothing and liquor in Madison County cost 1 percent more to help fund cash-strapped schools? Or is this just another unnecessary tax increase?
Those are the questions at the heart of a proposal being put to voters on the April 5 ballot. At stake is an additional fee tacked onto many retail purchases. The idea is to generate more money for public schools districts, which may reduce how much they rely on property taxes.
The Pros and Cons of the proposition:
Pro
As business manager for Triad schools, Ken Miller helps run a school district with an annual budget of more than $26 million. But even with that kind of budget, the district is in trouble. There's not enough money coming from the state, which has one of the worst budget gaps in Illinois history. Miller said 12-year-old Triad High School is a good example.
"The parking lot is huge; it needs major repairs and we don't have the money to do it," he said.
Many districts are in similar shape.
Miller said the sales tax solves the problem by providing more revenue. He's treasurer of a group, Citizens for Property Tax Relief, that estimates the additional fee would provide about $20.2 million annually, which would be divided among Madison County's 13 school district.
The money could only go toward building and maintenance or reducing property taxes. Most of the county's school districts have pledged to use at least 51 percent for tax relief.
Here is the other side of the coin: the Nay.
Con
Main points for those opposing the sales tax include harsh economic conditions, uncertainty in some districts that the money will be used for property tax relief, and the potential for voters to lose control over funding construction plans.
Two groups, Madison County Citizens Acting for a Responsible Education and Madison County Citizens for Sustainable Education, oppose the measure.
"We just do not need a tax hike. The economy doesn't need a tax hike," said Terrence Peterson, of Alton, treasurer of Madison County Citizens Acting for Responsible Eduction.
Coming to a conclusion, I support yes to the One Cent Sales Tax For Schools proposition.
Now, to the Granite City School Board:
For the 2-year seat: Matt Jones
For the 4-year seats: Carolyn Yates, Justin Wingerter, and Kevin Buchanan.
Six Mile Library District Trustee: I endorse Jonathan Ferry and Christopher Hutchings (my former Spanish teacher, although primarily an English teacher).
The specimen ballot for reference.
Even though I do NOT live in the Granite City limits, I do endorse the following people for Alderman:
Ward 1: Brenda Whitaker
Ward 2: Jack Jenkins and Walmer W. Schmidtke
Ward 3: Dan McDowell and Virgil Kambarian, Jr.
Ward 4: Jerry Webb
Ward 5: Deborah Smith and Don Thompson
Pontoon Beach:
Mayor: William Carlos White (I)
Village Clerk: Harlon D. Keel (Village Independence Party)
Village Trustee (4 year Term): Ronnie Burton (I), Russ Saltsgaver (VIP), Brad Eavenson (Open Government Party)
Village Trustee (unexpired 2-year term): Monte Hopke (OGP)