Aldermanic races begin to shape up
A hat tip to the Arch City Chronicle, which discovered that Joe Vaccaro — owner of a car wash on Hampton Avenue — has formed a committee to run for alderman in the 23rd Ward. 
Vaccaro has run three times before, including once as an Independent, when he lost to current Alderman Kathleen Hanrahan in 2004.
Whether Hanrahan will stick around to field the challenge, though, is unclear; the Chronicle suggests that Hanrahan might not seek re-election.
The 23rd Ward, which covers the leafy Lindenwood Park neighborhood, is always an interesting one to watch, if for no other reason than its political pedigree, which includes the Slay (as in the mayor) and Joyce (as in the city prosecutor) families.
Half of the aldermen — those in the odd-numbered wards — will be up for re-election next spring.
The Third Ward’s Jeffery Hardin has already announced he’ll once again take on nemesis Freeman Bosley Sr.
In the 5th Ward, the political fervor sparked by developer Paul McKee– the St. Charles County builder who has been hoarding land around Old North St. Louis — could spark someone to run against April Ford Griffin.
But the race to watch could be farther south, where it’s a good bet term-limited State Rep. Mike Daus will seek to unseat Jennifer Florida in the 15th.
Joe Vaccaro is the type of guy that would take action and get problems solved.
The only person who would have a remote shot at unseating April is Rodney, but I doubt he wants to play int he minor leagues
I hope Mike Daus does run, he would get my support.
At a Democratic caucus in the 15 ward attended by about 20 people Jennifer Florida was the only one supporting Hilary Clinton. She had to beg for a man to come support Hilary and be an alternate deleagate. Talk about knowing the pulse of your community…
I like Joe Vaccaro. If Joe runs for alderman in the 23rd, he can prove that he is “green” by painting over that huge Jeff Harris sign he had in front of his gas station before the primary, and recycle it for use in his own campaign. Harris sure doesn’t need it anymore.
On a more serious note, the 15th Ward would be very fortunate to have a man with Daus’ qualifications and experience run for the aldermanic seat. If Daus runs for 15th Ward alderman, he will have my full support, and the support of many others who care about good government.
Ward 3: Hardin should win this time. I wonder whether Bosley will even run.
Ward 5: Michael Allen (webmaster of Ecology of Absence and chief tormentor of Paul McKee) would be a credible challenger, subject to one practical problem: He’s white.
Ward 15: A Daus-Florida contest would be a re-match. Florida beat Daus by a handful of votes when the seat was open 8 years ago. Daus got Sen. Pat Dougherty’s rep seat as a consolation prize. The rematch will be more meaningful now that both of them have records to defend.
Ward 17: Joe Roddy held off changing racial demographics last time. It will be interesting to see whether he can still prevail.
Ward 21: It will be interesting to see if Antonio French’s victory in the committeeman’s contest this month (ousting veteran Chick Washington) will have an impact on who is alderman.