Elections

Kirkwood Election Guide

The candidates, incumbents and issues that will affect Kirkwood, Des Peres, Glendale, Oakland and St. Louis County.

By Gregg Palermo and Owen Skoler
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November 2, 2012

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As we close in on November’s elections, Kirkwood Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race in town.

In addition to our own coverage, we will be inviting candidates in every race to upload information about their campaigns directly to this site. You will definitely want to bookmark this page for updates.

U.S. SENATE

Claire McCaskill's bid for re-election will be closely watched by the entire nation in part because of her close ties to President Obama's 2008 campaign.

The fiercely-fought GOP primary saw U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood), emerge victorious, only to be under fire a few weeks later because of comments he made in a television interview regarding pregnancy and rape.

A September 25 deadline for candidates to petition their removal from the November ballot has come and gone, meaning Akin will be the party's nominee despite calls from state and national leaders in the Repubican Party to drop out.

National media attention turned to the Kirkwood Train Station Sept. 24 when former House Speaker and 2012 Presidential told reporters that he expected Mitt Romney and other Republicans will back Akin during a press conference before a fundraiser at Trattoria Branica. During the press conference and fundraiser protestors denounced Akin for his stance on women's health issues.

U.S. CONGRESS

Missouri's new Second district is guaranteed to see someone new elected, with Rep. Akin's decision to run for the Senate. Former RNC Co-Chair and U.S. Ambassador Ann Wagner used deep financial support and considerable backing from party leaders to nudge Ed Martin out of a primary contest, and then defeated former Webster Groves city councilman Dr. Randy Jotte in August.

Wagner will face South County Democrat Glenn Koenen, who ran in the party primary against former Kirkwood City councilor and municipal judge Harold Whitfield, and which required a recount to confim a margin of just under 50 votes.

ISSUES

Voters in the St. Louis County Public Library system will be asked to vote on a measure which would call for a 6 cent tax increase to fund improvements at facilities system-wide.

Voters throughout St. Louis County will also be asked to decide on Proposition S, which would allow the Special School District of St. Louis County to increase the operating tax levy by $0.19 per $100.00 assessed valuation to fund education prorams, higher teacher salaries and school repairs.

STATEWIDE BALLOT ISSUES

Proposition A, which if passed, would put the City of St. Louis Police Department under local control.

Constitutional Amendment 3, would reform the judicial selection process in Missouri at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals level. Proponents of the amendment have abandoned their campaign for the measure, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing bias in the ballot language approved by Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnhan.

Proposition B, would increase tobacco taxes $0.0365 per cigarette and 25% of the manufacturer's invoice price for roll-your-own tobacco and 15% for other tobacco products, according to the ballot language. Estimated revenues of at least $283 million would fund public education in Missouri along with smoking prevention programs.

Proposition E would prohibit the Governor or any state agency, from establishing or operating state-based health insurance exchanges unless authorized by a vote of the people or by the legislature.

THE CANDIDATES

As we mentioned above, candidates from every race impacting Kirkwood have been invited to load their campaign's profile on Patch.

In some cases, campaigns did not respond and the information has been gathered by a Patch editor. It is not too late to upload your campaign's data here. Campaigns have 24 hours to check their submissions before they are published on Patch. Email Gregg.Palermo@patch.com once you upload your campaign's information.