Politics & Government

HELP for Voters with Guide to Tuesday's Election in Sunset Hills and Crestwood

Find out whether you are even registered to vote through a link in the story.

Election Day is Tuesday, April 5. The polls are open from 6 a.m. - 7 p.m. Use this link to the state website and find your polling place and whether you are still registered to vote.

County Assessor
Voters countywide will choose between a three-term state representative and Harvard Law grad  and , a 37-year veteran of a family real estate business. Both candidates said in a  that they believe that the new elective position means voters want the assessor to be accountable to them.

In 2010, voters approved a St. Louis County Charter amendment to eliminate the staff post and establish an  with a four-year term.

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The assessor heads the St. Louis County Assessment Division, which discovers, identifies, classifies and assesses all real and personal property in St. Louis County. Every two years, the state requires about 389,000 parcels be re-assessed in St. Louis County.

Lindbergh School District Board of Education 
Voters will choose three from among . Two are incumbents. A fourth seat was won outright by when no one opposed him for a 1-year term. He would have to run again next April in order to stay on the board.

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is a former state legislator with two young children in Lindbergh schools. She said her experience at the statehouse working with budgets and running her own internet business puts her on the cutting edge of determining what the district needs and how to pay for it. She is a lease administrator for Edward Jones. 

was former Sappington Elementary school principal for 15 years and now is assistant professor of education at Saint Louis University graduate studies. He's a Lindbergh grad, raises his own five kids plus fosters children. He looks for transparency in how the district operates and spends our tax dollars, and focusing on staff and student achievement now that the brick and mortar aspects are stabilized.

is a Fenton pediatrician with four children of his own going through the Lindbergh schools. He said it's all about the children, and wants to provide his 5-year-old with the same Lindbergh schools experiences that his college-age son enjoyed. He's looking to include more families in district leadership roles. He was formerly a pharmacist.

, an incumbent is looking for a second term. He graduated from Lindbergh and taught driver's ed and coached in the district. He wants to keep the quality of education high and taxes low. Interestingly, he observed every school board meeting for a full year, before running the first time in 2008. He has four grown children.

said she is most proud of leading (co-chaired) Prop L to victory in November and seeing through the successful boundary redrawing to create two middle schools. She was a middle school English teacher in Brentwood for several years and is most concerned about class size and keeping competitive with teachers' pay. For the past four years, she has volunteered for most major undertakings in the district. She is also a Sunday school teacher.

, an incumbent, is a Saint Louis University associate professor of radiation therapy. She said her knowledge of what students need to succeed in college gives her the edge on decision-making about what students need in the Lindbergh district. She would like to see a revision in state funding of schools to Lindbergh's advantage.

Crestwood Mayor

Incumbent Mayor : He said he has swept clean City Hall during his six years (2 terms) in office, reducing debt and spending and holding city staff accountable. He said he's cut city payroll through attrition while sales tax revenue is down—whether it's due to the economy or Crestwood Court's on-hold status. He said he won't tolerate trash talk about the board of aldermen during board meetings. Robinson, 68, is retired from security/intelligence work with the U.S. Dept. of Defense.

Alderman  running for mayor: He said he offers a new approach to running the city. He's concerned about civility at board meetings. He pledges to guide the city's gloomy economic status with outcome-based accounting. For his day job, Schlink, 41, leads compliance enforcement for Edward Jones—presumably in something related to investment. He wants to streamline the process for getting businesses into the city. First elected in 2009.

Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen
Three incumbents are unopposed while a fourth, Ward 1 incumbent Dee Baebler faces challenger Jim Rode. 

Incumbent was appointed a year ago by Mayor Bill Nolan and still enjoys his support. She has worked closely with Ward 1 survivors of the New Year's Eve tornado in an effort to help recover their lives, including a city tornado assistance fund of some $225,000 for 10-14 families. Baebler wants to see retail business grow the city's tax revenue. She serves on the city Business Development committee and started a "green" commission to encourage smart use of city resources. She does marketing and development for a law firm in Soulard.

finds support among a number of current city aldermen in his first run for public office. A retired chemical engineer who worked in nuclear energy, he believes his project management experience and 20 years as a plant manager of ABB Combustible provide skills the city could use. He looks to develop the city's commercial areas to build tax revenue and questions the wisdom of taking over responsibility for the city's private streets because of costs. He enjoys the support of former Mayor Mike Svoboda.

In Ward 2, incumbent Alderman Scott Haggerty is up for re-election for a second term, unopposed.
In Ward 3, incumbent Alderwoman Jan Hoffman is running for a third term, unopposed.
In Ward 4, incumbent Alderwoman Patricia Fribis is on the ballot for re-election, unopposed for a second full term. She served one year of former Mayor Mike Svoboda's alderman term in 2008.

Mehlville Fire Protection District
It's incumbent Fire District Board Chairman Aaron Hilmer versus Mike Klund, for a six-year term. The chairman oversees a 3-person board of directors, spending and operations of the multi-million dollar district. (Only the portion of Sunset Hills within the Mehlville fire district will vote in this race and on Proposition S.) 

 lifelong resident of the Mehlville Fire Protection District, he was elected in 2005. Hilmer said he ran then because he was concerned about unnecessary tax increases and wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. In his six years on the board, he has built three new firehouses and increased ambulance staff and equipment, all while lowering taxes. He reduced pension deals for employees and broke the union's grip on Mehlville's department. He's spent $10,000 on this race.

He's spent nearly $90,000 on this race, some of it raised out of state. He has lived in Mehlville his entire life and said he is running because he feels the spending of the current board is out of control. Klund is endorsed by the Local 1889 Firefighters Union. 

R.L.Praprotnik: Praprotnik filed to run for the board, but has since stopped campaigning in favor of supporting incumbent Hilmer. His name will still be on the ballot.

Fire District Proposition S asks voters whether to combine the taxes for ambulance service and fire protection service in order to streamline collection without any tax rate hikes. Firefighters cross-train as paramedics in Mehlville.

Sarah Flagg contributed to this article.


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