At the end of the League of Women Voters Brentwood mayoral candidate forum, with Patrick Toohey, Mark Wilson and Chris Thornton, Wilson said a Brentwood business changed yard signs from his to Chris Thornton’s at Mayor Pat Kelly’s insistence.
About a week later, Thornton released an affidavit by Brentwood Allstate insurance agent Steve Johnson that he changed signs from Wilson to Thornton with no outside influence; after that Johnson stated he signed the affidavit of his own accord.
Several days after that, Wilson made a statement in 40 South News, declaring, “I stand behind the truth of the statements that I made at the Mayor’s Forum.” His statement didn’t directly address the affidavit. Wilson has said he won’t say if Johnson’s business is the one he referred to in the forum.
Mayor Pat Kelly agreed to make a statement on the topic in 40 South News if it ran without editing or paraphrasing. Mayor Kelly’s statement:
Dear Brentwood Residents,
Over the past few weeks there have been accusations made about me with respect to the placement and removal of mayoral candidate signs The affidavit that was submitted by Steve Johnson was truthful and 100% accurate. I had no knowledge that signs for either candidates had been placed on Mr. Johnson’s property until the day after the debate. Furthermore, I have not asked any business, property owner or resident to place candidate signs on their property or to remove signs they may have.
Actions speak louder than words. I find it ironic that for most of the campaign and during the debate we have heard all three candidates talk about working together, stopping the infighting and bickering on the board, and improving the perception of the elected officials of the City of Brentwood. And yet, a candidate makes a calculated and timely statement implying that a property and business owner in the City of Brentwood did something wrong by changing his mind and exercising his constitutional right to free speech and expression. I believe it is inappropriate to bring residents, business and property owners into political campaigns. If this is how they are treated during the campaign, how will non-supporters be treated in the future?
It was also stated that Chris Thornton was Mayor Kelly’s handpicked candidate to fill his seat as mayor. This statement is simply not true. I did not know Chris Thornton was considering running for mayor until three days before the closing of filing.
I hope this clears up the statements made at the debate, and I encourage everyone to vote on April 7.
I also want to thank you again for the opportunity to represent you as Alderman and Mayor of the City of Brentwood.
Sincerely,
Pat Kelly
There’s still at least one case of multiple commenters using one email address. I’m sorry if it’s inconvenient, but 40 South News does not allow this. Thanks
The timing of the Mayor’s statement is interesting. The need for it is telling.
If you go to a Thornton event, and make any valid criticism about the way the city is currently run, you’ll come across a surprise: A defense of the Mayor and how the city is currently run. This whole signage thing, and who did what, when, stinks! It stinks to high heaven. Those who’ve ever gone to meetings at city hall, read the state audit or had any dealing with Brentwood, know the Mayor currently ‘runs the city’. He runs it exactly to his liking, and has run ‘roughshod’ over all in his way for some time. With Thornton, there is an absence of recognizing that very problem. The problem of the fox guarding the hen house. Is he connected? I hope we don’t see that. Everything starts at the top, and for a candidate not to create distance from a time (or a man) not only destructive, but more than embarrassing for the hard working residents of this city, is an issue. Why would any candidate appear to defend a man responsible for a litany of bad choices that only a psuedo-autocrat can perpetuate? Kelly states he wanted to continue being Mayor to finish the Drury project. Hogwash. In actuality, he was lucky that no one of substance ran against him last time. But, now, the residents have finally had enough, and there is someone of substance who can lead the city forward… The same thing happened with Dooley.
Of the other two candidates, the handful of patrons giving Toohey high-fives with every shot at Brentwood’s local watering hole are not those who are serious about what the future of Brentwood needs. They just want to have a good time. Maybe New Orleans is a good spot for that. Indeed, a candidate who takes money from a local contractor who’s reportedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars on cost overruns with the Mayor’s Fire Department and Police Department, is just a glaring red flag that should stir the ire in any sober voter.
I have personally spent time inside a Mark Wilson event. It is different. The man is genuine, and has no ‘agenda’ or ‘axe to grind’ from what I can tell. And, clearly has no connection with what got us into this mess. His answers to resident questions are refreshing. From what I can tell, he just loves the city, wants to make it better and it shows.
I guess I don’t understand the”timing” issue. Why would you wait until after the election to tell your side. Sometimes it seems like everyone wants transparency unless it flys in the face of their agenda.
Mayor Kelly,
Thank you for dedicating 22 years of your life serving the City of Brentwood. Many of the Brentwood “haters” continue to highlight the negatives that occurred during your years of service, and there are several. However, there are also numerous positives. I would like an example of a municipality the size of Brentwood that has not faced its own scandals over a 20+ year period.
Thank you for working with the citizens, the businesses, and all the other government officials for the past decades, helping to cut through the red tape in order to ensure a vibrant community. We have wonderful neighborhoods, top notch schools, a solid and growing base of small and large businesses, an exellent police department, an excellent fire department, beautiful parks, an inviting library, etc. How did we get there? It has been a collaborative effort between active citizens and the government. I do not agree with everything you have done, but you do deserve some credit. Anyone who says otherwise should look in the mirror and ask, “Why didn’t I run for Mayor and could I have done better?”
Thank you for voting. You have this protected right. You are a citizen. Many people (including me in the past) refuse to exercise this right. As a “lame duck” mayor, what is the problem putting a sign in your yard? You aren’t actively campaigning for a candidate. You aren’t going door-to-door for any candidate. You aren’t sending letters to your constituents in a concerted effort to influence their votes like the sitting Alderwoman in Ward 1. You simply put a sign up and made a decision to defend yourself against the spread of clearly false accusations about an innocent small businessman, who has zero reason to lie.
To all the others,
I have lived in Brentwood for 10+ years and have not always exercised my right to vote. I foolishly did not recognize the importance. This year is different and I thank Mr. Wilson, Mr. Toohey and Mr. Thornton for getting in my ear and helping me better understand the issues we face and the importance of each and every vote. Only one of you will win, but each of you should be commended for all the time and sacrifices made–it not an easy decision to enter the race! I hope your efforts pay off and that the vote count is significant.
For me, the vote is an easy choice. Mr. Thornton and his team of supporters have run a positive campaign. The focus has been on the real issues, not the petty sideshows. What the community is asking for is POSITIVE COLLABORATION AND HARMONY within our city government. Many of the comments posted this morning (and over the past several weeks) bashing Thornton (and Plufka and Dimmitt) haven’t been made by Mr. Wilson. Wilson’s online supporters, however, continue to shine a negative light on this campaign season; making presumptious accusations without either knowing the facts or being party to the decision making process. It is in bad taste, reflects poorly on the community at large, and strays from the wants of our citizens. It is the opposite of what our community should demand. Mr. Wilson’s failure to publicly discuss the viral comments or ask the naysayers to cease using social media to spread false information reflects negatively on his candidacy.
Mr. Thornton’s plans and ideas are well thought out and comunicated to the citizens and the business leaders in Brentwood. His focus has not been on the current administration and past government mishaps. Instead, he has talked favorably about our city and what he would like to do to make Brentwood an even better place to live. He has an eye toward the future and sees no reason to stew about the past.
All the negativity has to stop. I would invite the Brentwood “bashers” who continue to post such vicious and presumptious remarks on 40 South and other media outlets to take a long walk, with their eyes and ears wide open. Perhaps they would start to recognize how lucky they are to live in Brentwood and how minor our problems are compared to other parts of the City of St. Louis and our state, in general. Woe is me to whomever thinks this is such a terrible place to live and raise a family.
Again, all candidates should be thanked for throwing thier respective hats in the ring. Best of luck to each of you. Finally, best of luck to Brentwood. Such a jewel of a community. We have had good days and there are even better days ahead, but only if we work together.
*I am sure this post will receive some negative responses. That is okay. As the teens say, “haters will hate.” I urge anyone supporting Mr. Thornton to ignore these responses. Take the high road and remove yourself from any petty bickering. The high road is where Chris walks and where he wants to bring the City of Brentwood (not that it is so bad just the way it is!).
With all due respect, you should look at all the Thornton supporters who bashed Wilson on Facebook for weeks now, not to mention the stories shared by neighbors about Thornton campaigners who trashtalked the other side. But I do agree with one thing. I hope we can get past this and look forward to a positive outcome for Brentwood.
Mayor Kellys credibility is shot. He failed to know of the embezzlement, the un earned overtime, the free health benifits, and now yard signs. So, what do you know?
That’s right. Mayor Kelly has lost all credibility with me and many others. He conveniently didn’t know anything about the wrongdoings that rocked our city on his watch. I don’t know whether Kelly asked Thornton and Plufka to run or not. It doesn’t really matter. Here’s what matters: Kelly likes Thornton and wants him to be our next mayor. And Kelly likes Plufka — likes him enough to have appointed him to his influential Planning & Zoning team. Because it’s critical that our city make a bold, clean break from the scandal-ridden Kelly Era, we cannot elect any of Kelly’s candidates next Tuesday. Kelly has demonstrated bad judgment on so many occasions, why on Earth would we support his choices in next Tuesday’s election?
Just so everyone knows:
Planning and Zoning Commission members are appointed to three year terms by the Mayor with approval by the Board of Aldermen. So while the mayor can make recommendations, the alderman have the final say, not the mayor. Checks and balances. I would encourage people to get all the facts before decisions are made.
Thank you Mike for that clarification . I would also add that P&Z has 12 members and all wards are represented plus they are just a reccomending body who spend several evenings per month reviewing applications made by business owners that want make changes to thier deveopments in our community. P&Z does not go out looking for developments to bring to Brentwood. In the end whatever P&Z forwards to the Board of Alderman, those Alderman have the final say and vote for approval. In a small community it is fortunate that we has a P&Z commission made up of respected professionals with such backgrounds as lawyers, real estate, architects,financial sevices, developers, property managers and nonprofits.
All, comments by first-time commenters now require approval of the editor, which would explain a delay in some cases.
Clear that the Thornton and Kelly camps don’t want to let this go. Since transparency has been a big theme throughout the campaign,I must say the timing and the message looks pretty transparent to me. IMO, anyone who thinks this isn’t more of the same better be prepared for what might happen if Thorton ends up winning. At least this article did convince me of who I am NOT voting for.
It’s not as if the Thornton campaign created the issue. Chris and the others that Mark implicated have simply provided their sides of the story. Who wouldn’t do that? You may not like the timing of the Kelly’s response, however wasn’t Wilson’s timing for making the comment during the “debate” a little questionable as well?
Couldn’t agree with Mayor Kelly anymore. Mr. Wilson is clearly talking out of one side of his mouth. Anyone who thinks he is the best candidate better be prepared for what might happen if he ends up winning.