Vote Irene J. Smith Mayor March 3, 2009!

Biggest Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Irene wants to thank all of her supporters for the time, effort, and money put into this campaign. This run for office would not have been possible without everyone that helped, stayed up, held meetings, passed out literature, did canvassing, donated, prayed, and stopped by the office just to say kind words.

The goal to help make St. Louis a City for All can never be given up. The general election will be April 7th. We must continue to work to for our City.

Today is Election Day. VOTE!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:42:00 +0000

Today is the day to elect Irene J. Smith Mayor of the City of St. Louis. All you have to do is get out and vote!

If you need a ride to the polls, please call 314-381-2430. We will make sure to have a ride.

Polls are open until 7pm this evening. Do your civic duty.

Vote Irene J. Smith for Mayor!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Our Time for Change is Now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:21:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the most consequential day in St. Louis City's storied history. Tomorrow marks the first election since Francis Slay lost his way and began working toward the benefit of a few at the expense of the many. Tomorrow is our City's opportunity to overcome Francis Slay's politics of fear and division sown by money and opacity.

A vote for Irene J. Smith in the Democratic Primary Election is a vote for accountability, transparency, and inclusion. The Smith Administration will move our City forward with full-service schools, responsible development, and accountability in government.

Please tell your friends and neighbors that tomorrow's March 3, 2009 Democratic Primary Election matters. Each vote will make a difference. Our time for change is now.

Vote Irene J. Smith and help to make St. Louis, A City for All.

A Message from Board of Education President Peter Downs | St. Louis Board of Education

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:12:00 +0000

A Message from Board of Education President Peter Downs St. Louis Board of Education

Posted using ShareThis

2009 Mayoral Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 10:37:00 +0000

Thursday night at Harris Stowe University was the 2009 Mayoral Debate hosted by the Mound City Bar Association. All mayoral candidates were there except for the current mayor, Francis Slay. About 150 people were in the audience from all over the City. It is very encouraging to see so many citizens involved and interested in this election.

When asked how the candidates felt about term limits, Irene stated, "I'll take personal responsibility for retiring the current mayor." Her statement was met with a cheer and applause from the audience. When asked about local control, which Irene has been a strong supporter of, she discussed looking at bringing a lawsuit against the state of Missouri if it was necessary to do so. Keep checking for video of the debate.

The debate highlighted the differences between the candidates. It showed who had the answers and who did not. It also showed who were the serious candidates & who attended to attempt to bring comic relief.

The City of St. Louis is looking at serious problems. Despite the candidates who noticeably took the debate lightly in nature, it only highlighted the professionalism of the ones seriously running for office.

Pictures from Mr. Lee "The Rose Man" Nixon Street Naming Dedication

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:25:00 +0000

Excuse us for the delay in posting the pictures (running a campaign involves multitasking, priorties, quick manuervariung, and lots of details), but on February 14th, 2009, Irene J. Smith attended the honorary street naming dedication ceremony to rename 5300 Wells Avenue to Mr Lee "The Rose Man" Nixon Way.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Mr. Nixon had a gift of touching many people throughout the community.

We will not give up on our children!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:26:00 +0000

After hearing our President speak about education, we must not give up on the future of the SLPS. Our children need us to find solutions to the problems we are facing. This City is filled with young boys and girls that want us to save their schools. We must not quit working for a stable education system. No city can be a thriving metropolitan area without a stable school system. It is essential!!!

In these economic times, parents sending their children to private schools are having difficulty making tuition payments. If children have to be pulled out of private schools, and there aren't any available spaces in the charter schools, public school will be a real option. We must fix our public schools and offer the services that our children need in the schools.

To help our nation, we must start with our City. The work will be hard but rewarding. St. Louis is filled with dedicated citizens who understand how important the task is in front of us.

We are not quitters in St. Louis, either!!!

Vote Irene J. Smith on March 3rd. She will do the hard work that needs to be done in St. Louis!

Citizen's Moderated Discussion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:47:00 +0000

This evening at The Royale, located at 3132 S. Kingshighway, there will be a moderated discussion on the primary. It starts at 8:30pm. We encourage all citizens to come out and discuss issues relevant to them. The event is co-sponsored by The St. Louis Beacon.

If you haven't been to The Royale, this will be a good time to go.

http://www.theroyale.com/

The resturant is smoke-free. It is locally owned. The owner is very involved in the community throughout the entire City.

Additionally, The Royale is hosting a resume clinic tomorrow. Check out the Website for more information under events.

A Victory for Accountability.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:29:00 +0000

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Police Board President Chris Goodson will resign at the end of this month. This is a victory for St. Louisans who care about accountability for the Police Department. Goodson strongly supported disgraced Chief Mokwa and consistently opposed Chief Isom's initiatives.

Irene called for Governor Nixon to accept Goodson's resignation on Nixon's inauguration day; it appears that the Governor is listening.

Only one member of the Police Board is elected, however, and that member is Francis Slay. Vote Irene J. Smith on March 3, 2009 in the Democratic Primary to ensure accountability and transparency for the Police Department.

KWMU - Yesterday's Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:58:00 +0000

If you missed Irene's interview yesterday, click the link below to listen.

http://www.kwmu.org/programs/slota/archivedetail.php?showid=3458

Irene will be on KMWU 90.7 FM at 11am

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Be sure to listen to KWMU 90.7FM from 11 - noon this morning. Irene will be on discussing the City and her plans to make St. Louis a City for All. You can also listen online at http://www.kwmu.org/listen.php You will also be able to get twitter updates from the studio if you are unable to listen by radio or online.

Her platform is solid and so are her skills! Be sure to vote on Tuesday March 3, 2009. The day to vote will never change and neither should your desire to make Irene the next Mayor of the City of St. Louis!

Irene Ready to Debate, Slay Missing in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:15:00 +0000

The Mound City Bar Association is hosting a debate among the mayoral candidates on Thursday, February 26 at 7PM at Harris-Stowe State University's Emerson Performance Center. Please mark your calendars and attend. Harris-Stowe is located at 3026 Laclede.

Irene is ready for the debate. Francis Slay has not yet confirmed his attendance.

http://www.archcitychronicle.com/files/MCBA%20Mayoral%20Debate%202009%20Press%20Release.pdf

St. Louis Teachers Endorse Irene J. Smith for Mayor!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:53:00 +0000

The American Federation of Teachers, Local 420 website reports that the organization has endorsed Irene J. Smith for Mayor of St. Louis.

http://mo.aft.org/local420/

When our Mayor, Francis Slay, has lost his way by accepting $239,000 in campaign contributions from Rex Sinquefield, an anti-public education zealot, we need to stand up on March 3, 2009 to say that enough is enough. Irene J. Smith has a comprehensive plan to prevent school closures and to strengthen neighborhoods by improving the delivery of social services.

St. Louis City's teachers agree-- Irene has the vision to make St. Louis, A City for All.

Latest Interview on RiverCity Examiner

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:23:00 +0000

Please check out Irene discussing some of the issues in this race on the RiverCity Examiner on-line media newspaper. http://www.rivercityexaminer.com/irene.html

Irene J. Smith at the 15th Ward's Mayoral Candidate Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:30:00 +0000

Please watch this youtube video to hear Irene J. Smith's platform and plan to make St. Louis, A City for All.

Awaiting News from Governor Nixon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:22:00 +0000

The residents of St. Louis are awaiting word from Governor Nixon about his replacement for Chris Goodson, who served on the St. Louis City Board of Police Commissioners until his term expired three days ago on January 31. We cannot afford to wait any longer for accountability and local control. We need Irene in the Mayor's Office to protect our taxpayer dollars and to support Chief Isom!

Irene J. Smith is web social savvy!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:13:00 +0000

If you weren't aware Irene is on Twitter and Myspace. Please check us out and connect!

Responsible Urban Development - From the Desk of the Next Mayor

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:27:00 +0000

Responsible Development: How to Make St. Louis, A City for All

As our City continues to confront the Nation’s steepest economic downturn in decades, it will be tempting to absolve our present political leaders of responsibility for a litany of stalled and failed development projects. From the Bottle District to the relocated Shriner’s Hospital, progress on major new developments in St. Louis City is approaching a standstill. Indeed, Monday’s impending foreclosure sale of the St. Louis convention center hotel is yet another illustration of broader failures in City development policy over the past eight years to identify, anticipate, and tackle necessary community development needs. Although many will quibble about the causes of each project’s failure, we must not allow our disagreements to overshadow the need to plan collaboratively and effectively for our City’s future. Looking ahead to the next four years, residents of our community must reject as false the contention that the number of private dollars invested is the sole measure of social value. In the Smith administration, job creation will define our agenda for Responsible Development and serve as a measure of its progress.

Responsible development retains and grows jobs. On any given day in St. Louis City, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 10,000 residents look for work and are unable to find it. Despite city government’s expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies for private developments, St. Louis City retains one of the highest rates of unemployment for any county in Missouri. Compounding our problems with chronic unemployment, in the past year corporate consolidation saw the elimination of 585 jobs with the closure of Macy’s Midwest and the loss of more than 600 jobs with the merger of Anheuser Busch and InBev. With continuing uncertainty for employees of the former Wachovia Securities during its transition to ownership by Wells Fargo, it is imperative that St. Louis City recommits its development agencies to responsible collaboration with major employers to ensure job retention. Development plans under a Smith administration will encompass green and solar technology that will create jobs for City residents. Concurrent with this work, the City must also foster an environment for entrepreneurial small businesses to grow on a level playing field with the region’s larger corporations.

Responsible development is mixed-income development. Prior to our Nation’s economic downturn between 2005 and 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that nearly 50% of the approximately 70,000 renters in St. Louis City paid more than 30% of their incomes for housing; in addition, more than 22,000 of the city’s 71,000 homeowners spent in excess of 30% of their incomes on housing. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, individuals paying in excess of 30% of their income for housing have difficulty meeting necessary expenditures for food, clothing, transportation, and medical care. To ensure that we develop our City responsibly, we must resist the temptation to subsidize housing developments that fail to provide an adequate supply of affordable units. Our crisis of affordability will not end through housing construction alone. Our region must also address chronic underfunding of the Metro transit agency and a lack of healthcare access to finally achieve affordability for our residents.

Responsible development meets practical concrete measures of accountability. Under the Smith administration, any development accepting City subsidies including but not limited to tax abatement, Tax Increment Financing, and infrastructure improvements will adhere to the highest standards of sustainable design and construction. Binding timetables for construction will be a mandatory component of any development incentives package, because the City must act diligently to protect the public’s interest. A Smith administration will ensure that we have construction timetables that foster the City’s best interest as well as the developer’s. If a developer who has received a City subsidy package fails to begin construction within a specified period after due consideration of economic factors, the subsidies will be revoked and we will seek other development partners to move projects forward. We cannot afford to allow the embarrassing false starts of Ballpark Village, the Ford, the Bottle District, the Mississippi Bluff, and Kiel Opera House to distract from the reality that St. Louis City is a prime location for residential, commercial, and institutional development. As Mayor, I will strengthen and enhance our City’s strong foundation of dynamic diverse neighborhoods through targeted, intelligent, collaborative, and responsible development. I invite you to join me in making St. Louis, A City for All.

Irene J. Smith
Democratic Candidate for Mayor of St. Louis

Signage Is In!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:21:00 +0000

We have yard signs and posters. The campaign office is at 4919 Union. The election is March 3. Come show your support and elect a mayor that will listen to all citizens!

Silence can be costly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:31:00 +0000

Quoted from the blog of Mayor Slay on the January 23rd posting:

"One voice can change a room. And if a voice can change a room, it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world."

Irene is that voice! St. Louis is that city! We can and will make the changes neccessary on March 3rd.

She will not be silenced. We will not stop listening.

Running this Race for Mayor!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:24:00 +0000

What a fantastic time to be alive! Last Monday we celebrated the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday with a National Day of Service. The next day the world watched as President Barrack Obama was sworn in as the next President of the United States.

Irene has been running a well oiled machine. This evening she spoke at Tandy Center regarding the closing of Sumner High School and addressing violence withing the community. Last weekend she attended a townhall meeting at Roosevelt High School to address the community and issues facing the youth. Through out the week she has been at countless events and she has strong supporters.

Sunday she campaigned hard at meet and greets, meetings, and spoke at a church functions. Her determination cannot be matched in the race.

She is the next mayor of the City of St. Louis.

Questions? We want to hear them.

From the Desk of Irene J. Smith

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:55:00 +0000

In Observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service – January 19, 2009

Today, Americans of all backgrounds and ideologies are coming together to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s lifetime of work for economic opportunity, social justice, and racial healing. As St. Louisans mark this solemn occasion on the eve of our Nation’s historic Presidential Inauguration, our feelings of optimism for the future and desires for reconciliation from the past encounter the painful reality of division and betrayal in the present.

One year ago at this observance, the Mayor of this City proved himself incapable of governing in the manner that our community so desperately needs. At a time of skyrocketing unemployment, a growing crisis of housing affordability, State control of our public education system, and heartbreaking challenges with crime, the City of St. Louis cannot afford to allow another Martin Luther King, Jr. observance to pass without addressing the division that exists between residents of this city and the present Mayor’s administration.

Prior to re-districting and the Mayor’s unconscionable decision to politicize operations at the Fire Department while failing to provide accountability for corruption in the Police Department, Francis Slay gave many in this community reason for hope. In 2000, he acknowledged, "Cities throughout the country that enjoy prosperity are those that have been able to deal with racism and work together as a community."[1] By the time that he first ran for Mayor, Slay observed, "This is a racially polarized city,” while recognizing that "[f]or us to be a strong city, we have to be one city, working together."[2] However, in the ensuing eight years since he assumed office in 2001, Francis Slay has lost his way.

Following his decision to undermine, second-guess, and ultimately demote Fire Chief Sherman George, Francis Slay forfeited his ability to speak as the voice of all St. Louisans who care about Public Safety. U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay said of the Mayor’s actions in 2007: "This misguided decision not only punishes a good man with four decades of experience, it deepens racial division."[3] License Collector Michael McMillan acknowledged the economic consequences of the Mayor’s action, contending: "A racially divided city is not appealing to professionals, black or white, who want to raise families."[4] In fact, the United States Census Bureau starkly illustrates this reality in figures that show a decline of 4,000 black residents from the City’s population between the 2000 Census and the 2005-2007 American Community Survey.[5]

We must do more than pay lip service to the goals of economic development for underserved neighborhoods for the City of St. Louis to realize its potential as a City for all. Too often, this Mayor and his Chief of Staff have spoken of race in terms of the race of Mayoral appointees and developments in Wards represented by African American Aldermen. The race of a Mayoral appointee and of an Alderman must never become a means for masking the reality of this Mayor’s failure to support public education, address crime, our unemployment crisis, our affordable housing crisis and to make sure all citizens receive their fair share of City resources and services.

To become A City for All, we must move beyond the interests of our individual Wards and work toward the day that the Board of Aldermen can partner with a Mayor whose interests lie with all residents of St. Louis City, not simply with its most powerful. To become A City for All , we need jobs for all through efforts that invest in our City’s existing base of human capital. To become A City for All, we need a public education system for all backed by the full support of our Mayor. To become A City for All, we need a Mayor who will work to restore oversight, accountability, and the public’s trust in the operations of our Police Department and Information Technology Department. In rising to meet these challenges, race must never cloud our judgment about the path that City Government must take to serve the best interest of citizens, not politicians.

Dr. King wrote in 1967:

…imperative is the development of a strong voice that is heard in the smoke-filled rooms where party debating and bargaining proceed…. the ability to be independent, assertive and respected when the final decisions are made is indispensible for an authentic expression of power. [6]

On this National Day of Service in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let us come together in a spirit of renewed fellowship and work toward an authentic expression of unity that will transcend the division that holds our City back. While this Mayor continues his talk of race in the absence of his leadership, I will continue to elaborate upon my plans for making St. Louis, A City for All.

[1] Qtd. In Kee, Lorraine. “Protestors Hold Events To ‘Make Racism History.’” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 1, 2000.
[2] Qtd. In Mannies, Jo. “Candidates Promise They'll Make Efforts To Improve Race
Relations In City.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 26, 2001.
[3] Qtd. in Brown, Sylvester Jr. “With fire chief's demotion, racial tension kicks up a notch.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 2, 2007.
[4] Qtd. in ibid.
[5] http://factfinder.census.gov
[6] qtd. from Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? in Dawson, Michael. Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1994, p. 161.

Irene's Letter to Governor Nixon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:40:00 +0000

January 13, 2009

Dear Governor Nixon:

Congratulations on your inauguration. As you assume the office of the Governor of Missouri, you are inheriting many challenges and responsibilities for this great state. However, there is continued misconduct and mismanagement of our police department that is damaging our city. Our new Chief of Police, Colonel Daniel Isom, deserves the full support of St. Louis in order to do an outstanding job. He cannot turn around a department working under the shadows of a board that lacks accountability and oversight. Underreported rape statistics, money missing from police evidence vaults, misuse of seized evidence, a towing scandal and possible criminal behavior within the police department are only some of the reasons why I am advocating that local control be established. Additionally, more than a third of the City's annual budget is allocated to the police department, yet we do not have the powers of direct governance.

The year the Civil War began, 1861, is the same year that the current configuration of the Board was put in place. This country and the people of the City of St. Louis voted for change on November 4, 2008. This gubernatorial appointee system is not addressing the needs of the people in 2009 and is grossly outdated. We cannot continue to uphold outdated policies while the people have called for new leadership and change. This antiquated policy has contributed to cronyism, the abuse of power, and a lack of transparency within our police department.
Unfortunately, the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners doesn't represent the demographics of the city. Presently, there aren't any women members of the Board, yet 52% of the City's population is female. Additionally, none of the Police Commissioners live north of Delmar Boulevard. The Board should be representative of the entire city. Our men and women in blue work extremely hard and deserve the full support of the city. The future of this metropolitan area is at hand.

As asked in previous correspondence with other residents of this city, I urge you as the new Governor of Missouri to take a stand in favor of local control. Please request the resignation of the current Police Commissioners. We need local control that will give St. Louis the opportunity to structure our own police department. Every other governmental entity in the state of Missouri, except for St. Louis City and Kansas City, has local control of its police department.
Today, I am requesting that you ask for the resignation of the four members of the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners, all of whom were appointed to their present position by your predecessor, Governor Matt Blunt. The current members of the Board are Colonel Chris Goodson, Colonel Julius K. Hunter, Colonel Todd Epsten, and Colonel Vincent J. Bommarito. The citizens of St. Louis and I will take responsibility for removing the sole elected member, Mayor Francis G. Slay.

We look forward to you putting your campaign slogan, "Independent. Experienced. The Change We Need.", into effect. The change we need in St. Louis is local control of the Police Department and a Board of Police Commissioners that better represents the city that it serves. Once elected the new mayor of St. Louis, I will work with you to make St. Louis a city for all.
I thank you for your attention and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Irene J. Smith
Democratic Candidate for Mayor
St. Louis City

cc: St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners
News media

How does Irene inspire you?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:11:00 +0000

People always share with Irene how inspiring and encouraging she is. Supporters stop by the office, located at 4919 Union, all the time and discuss the great things Irene is doing and has done. They even stop by for her to solve their problems.

In April you'll be able to find her in City Hall on Market Street. Share your story.