When he appeared on The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air in April, Alderman Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward was clear that although he had supported former Mayor Tishaura Jones, he could work with newly elected Mayor Cara Spencer.
Less than a month later, an EF3 tornado ripped through the city. The storm killed five people and caused at least $1 billion in damage. Three of Aldridge’s neighborhoods were among those hit.
“I think the tornado has actually also extended the honeymoon process for the Board of Aldermen and the mayor,” Aldridge said recently on an episode of the Politically Speaking podcast. “The activist side of me, there were some things I wish she could have done better. But she really impressed me with how she handled it.”
Although he was impressed with the mayor personally and her communication with the members of the board who represent affected wards, Aldridge acknowledged that the city’s response has been below average.
“City government was not prepared for a natural disaster like this to happen,” he said. “We did not have the funding, did not have the manpower, did not have the support.”
But while Aldridge acknowledged that the pace of recovery has been slower than people want or need, he hesitated to call it a failure of city government.
“I would say it’s the slow process of city government,” he said. “I think hopefully for us and others around the region, it kind of opened our eyes that we need to start to look at what it looks like to have a natural disaster plan. I think we need to also be having conversations of, how do we cut red tape? How do we make government faster? How do we make government more efficient?”
Aldridge helped shepherd the bill that directed $30 million of the interest from the Rams settlement toward costs such as housing, building stabilization and support for nonprofits. But the next phase of recovery, he said, will have to draw from the principal of that settlement – about $300 million.
Here is what else Aldridge discussed on the podcast:
- Whether it’s through a new Rams bill or another source of money, the city will have to find a way to incentivize residents to stay in the wards hit by the tornado. “And at the same time, our zoning needs to look a little bit more flexible in those areas that have been impacted,” he said.
- Although the opening of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency has the potential to drive development to Aldridge’s ward, he is adamant that developer Paul McKee does not deserve the opportunity to take advantage of it. While the head of NorthSide Regeneration deserves some credit for enabling the city to keep the NGA, Aldridge said, “with NGA coming in, you would think, ‘Oh, he would have put some things already in place.’ He just does not have a track record of touching anything that can be successful.”
- Aldridge plans to seek reelection to the 14th Ward seat in 2027. “Since being an alderman, I feel this sense of energy and purpose of being able to connect people to certain departments to get what they need,” he said. “I plan to run and continue to make some progress on what we have started in the 14th.”
