Maplewood Mayor Barry Greenberg, for the first time in his 16 years serving as a city official, has endorsed candidates for the Maplewood City Council.Mayor Greenberg’s letter of endorsement:
In my 16 years in Maplewood city government I have never publicly endorsed candidates for City Council, until now. These are challenging times as Better Together threatens the existence of Maplewood as an independent city and we are making preparations to replace our City Manager, Marty Corcoran, who is retiring after 35 years of serving our city in that role. The role of the council has never been more important than now. We are also losing Tim Dunn, who has served as a council member for the last 25 years.
In my tenure on the Council, I have had the opportunity to work with many committed citizens who have invested a great deal of time and effort to help make Maplewood the community it is today. Karen Wood was first elected in 2003, the same year as me, and will be the longest serving council member. During her tenure, I have seen Karen listen to and engage with her constituents, analyze the issues in front of the Council and vote in a conscientious manner. Karen and I haven’t always voted the same way and there have been instances where new information or changing circumstances resulted in a change in her perspective, but I have never questioned that she had the best interests of our city in mind. With three relatively recent additions to the council and one pending addition, I feel that the institutional memory that she provides is a valuable resource going forward. Karen is the deputy mayor not because she has been here the longest, but because she works hard, shows up at events, takes advantage of educational opportunities, listens and discusses matters with other council members and has committed so much time in not only living in Maplewood, but making it a better place to live.
Jenny Schmidt came to council in a special election within the last two years when I became mayor. In that time, Jenny has demonstrated a remarkable attention to detail, a propensity to ask pertinent questions and a willingness to debate any topic. These are qualities that make the Council more effective, proficient and responsible to our citizens. Due to her experience as an attorney, her enthusiasm for justice and dedication to procedure add to the competencies of the council and make her an invaluable member of our council and an asset to the community.
For these reasons, I urge the residents of Maplewood to vote for Karen Wood and Jenny Schmidt in their respective wards on April 2nd, 2019.
See also: Maplewood mayor addresses facts of city’s nuisance ordinance prior to election
Thank you to Barry for two very solid endorsements. Jenny has been amazing in the 3rd Ward, and keeping Karen in her seat is very important this go-around
Maplewood being a Municipal District in a greater more cooperative region ins’t threatening. Better Together may not be the solution, maybe we need a better option. But the rhetoric of those who oppose it leans towards the lack of realization that the region that Maplewood is a part of is completely dysfunctional and at risk to neighboring cities and regions. I wish the rhetoric was more along the lines of “Let’s think of something better” rather than “everything is fine.”
The issues with Better Together are more than just the elitist people who want to keep their city budgets safe from any other municipality. Better Together also will privatize our water system, which is terrifying not only because then it will need to be made profitable for stockholders but also because that is what happened in Flint before their water supply became toxic. There are big issues with Better Together that need to be addressed. I am all for a city/suburb merger, but it needs to be one that is good for everyone and not just a few privileged individuals
First of all, our water supply already is privatized (assuming you’re in the County). Missouri American Water is a division of American Water Works, which operates all over the US and Canada, and is publically traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Second of all, in no way, shape, or form can the Flint Water Crisis be blamed on any private company. Flint’s water was under the complete control of their elected officials and their state-appointed emergency manager. Their problems arose when they IGNORED the warnings about existing lead service lines from the private companies they consulted before they made cost-saving measures that changed the chemical balance in the water.
While I agree that there are big issues with Better Together, please do some basic research before making fake, inaccurate, and fear-mongering claims.
You’re right about county water, I should have been more clear, it will be city water that is privatized. That is still a problem. One of many problems with the way that Better Together is designed.
Also, a side note. Have you ever notice that the people who do not use their real names are the rudest people on 40 South?
I agree that the city and country should merge. I just think it should be designed in a way that benefits the entire area.
I certainly wasn’t trying to come off as rude or disrespectful, however, especially in a world where “fake news” is more prevalent than ever, I take a serious issue with inaccurate claims being used to sway voters’ opinions.
I must ask, though, if the County’s water supply has been privatized for decades without issues, why would it be a problem for the City to privatize their water supply?
You and they have my support as well. Thank you for the informed and conscientious service of you all!