A few days ago, an article appeared in a local newspaper dealing with the power-mongering antics of the majority of the St Peters Board of Alderman. If these gentlemen paid as much attention to city problems, such as the traffic "mess" they have allowed to be created in various locations instead of conjuring up ways to keep people from engaging in free speech, they might have more confidence among their citizens and they wouldn't be risking lawsuits from some who feel their constitutional rights have been trampled.
The exercise of power and teaching citizens who is boss have been a near obsession with them (...read more)
and it's long past the time when they should have returned to
common sense. We advise them to read the State's Sunshine Laws,
Constitution and in accord with the spirit of those documents admit
they were way off base in devising various ways to shut off free
speech. By this action they will restore the confidence of citizens in
their city government.
Maybe the Mayor's election coming up in a few months will result in
more mature leadership that will hear citizen's comments without
reacting like bullies in a schoolyard. The city of St Peters does not
need a Mayor and Aldermen who spend their time devising ways to deny
people their basic rights when they should be spending their time
listening to citizens about the need for various city improvements and
other vital subjects.
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For our national readers, we apologize for writing occasionally about
events on the local scene. We mention this with the assumption that
what happens locally, down the road here, is of little interest to you
but, then again, from conversations we have with friends, the same
"types" of problems seem to be common in many towns and cities around
the country. In short, we comment from time to time on local politics
but absent the local personalities, you may recognize these as similar
to something close to home. Even though we may not live in your neck of
the woods, we are interested in seeing how you view what's going on.
So, drop us a line.
