By Tom Weber, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A few of communities are holding elections today (Tuesday).
There's a run-off election between in the race for St. Charles City mayor; the top two vote-getters advance to the April election.
There's also a tax question in the Washington School District in St. Charles County and a city council seat to be filled in Florissant's Fourth Ward.
ST. CHARLES MAYOR
The St. Charles race pits current mayor Patti York against former mayor Grace Nichols and councilman John Gieseke.
York says infighting that has marred city government in recent years has been between council members, but she says she has stayed above the fray.
"I've always been civil," she noted, in an interview. "I've not gotten down in the dirt, so to speak, and people appreciate that and have noticed that and feel I've represented the city well through all of that."
Gieseke is in his second term as councilman; he says people might consider that the disagreements as "infighting," but he doesn't: "Having disagreements in the public discourse is a positive thing for any government.
"If everybody agreed with one another and it was just a bunch of yes' men, it would actually be dysfunctional."
Nichols was mayor from 1987-1995 and is also a former judge.
She says she ran because she was embarrassed with way leaders were conducting themselves. "People in the community were coming up to me and saying can't you do something about this?'" Nichols said. "And no one else seemed to be doing that, so I decided to run myself."
Both Nichols and Gieseke are Democrats, while York is a Republican. But today's election is not a primary; voters should still pick one candidate from the entire field of three.
WASHINGTON SCHOOLS
In the Washington School District, voters are being asked to raise their property taxes to cover general costs within the district, which lies in Franklin and St. Charles Counties. A simple majority is needed to pass.
FLORISSANT CITY COUNCIL - WARD 4
Voters in Florissant's fourth ward will fill a city council seat that became vacant when Geri Debo moved out of the city. The candidates are Keith English, Michael E. Barry, and Matt Mueller.