Last-minute blitz upends GOP leader
Foust
St. Charles County delivered big for John McCain and most other Republican candidates on Tuesday. But a big exception was in the County Council’s 6th District - where 12-year Republican incumbent Dan Foust lost, 55-45 percent, to Democrat Jerry Daugherty.
Daugherty, a Portage des Sioux alderman, says he surprised Foust with a blitz of cable TV commercials, mailings, yard signs and literature drops timed for the last four or so days before the election. “Oust Foust” was a slogan on some items. After a low-key effort up until then, Daugherty said, “we just caught him off-guard.”
Daugherty and Foust - the council chairman - both cited the support Daugherty got from labor unions, especially firefighters’ groups. The blunt-spoken Foust for years has clashed with firefighter unions, alleging they have too much influence in fire district boards’ and the St. Charles City Council’s decisions on pay and other issues.
Daugherty also got help from another political force that Foust tangled with over the years - brewery scion Adolphus Busch IV, who founded an environmental group opposed to flood-plain development. About half of the $27,000 raised by Daugherty’s campaign came from Busch. Foust raised about $9,000 overall.
County GOP Chairman Tom Kuypers said Daugherty simply outworked Foust, who didn’t go door to door or mail any brochures this time around. “Quite frankly, he just didn’t campaign, and people in this county expect you to show up at their door,” Kuypers said.
Foust, of St. Charles, acknowledged being “a very casual politician” who relied on his years of council service to make his case. “If they like me, they keep me,” he said of voters. “It just says they were tired of me and they wanted something new.”
The council district overlaps much of the House district won Tuesday by Democrat Kenny Biermann. Biermann edged Republican Rep. Vicki Schneider of O’Fallon in a rematch of their 2006 race. GOP candidates won all other council, House and Senate races in the county.
And isn’t it interesting that they had more voter fraud in St Charles county than any other local area. But the conservatives seemed to be obsessed with squirrel food instead. HHMMM….
Voter fraud in St. Charles County? Facts? Allegations? The voters did a good turn in picking Biermann over Schneider. He is a genuinely good-hearted person who will serve his consituents well. Schneider just stood on the porch of her glass house and threw stones. Not much of a platform. Foust got what was coming to him. He is more than blunt spoken. His is condescending, and by Kuypers’ own account, lazy. The voters of the 16th took a pass on Kristy Manning, whose vision for investing to secure Missouri’s (and St. Peters’) prominence in the national shift to an alternative energy economy would have been a smart move. Sally Faith’s mindless obsession with illegals, in the state farthest from any borders, and equally mindless devotion to keeping women of child-bearing age in breeder status make her a regressive throwback, so the voters of the 15th also took a pass on progress. With a consistently conservative and stagnating ideology remaining the apparent big winner in St. Charles County, we are risking political and economic irrelevance. And for what? What is so great about the status quo?
St Charles County needs leadership and vision, not a “casual politician”. Is it a surprise that county government is struggling financially with a guy like Foust at the helm? The voters did the right thing by giving him the boot. The same with Vicki Schneider–what has she done? She must think she’s awfully cute to have plastered her picture all over her campaign signs. Did she think this was a beauty contest? Both Foust and Schneider seemed to be very arrogant, I’m glad to be rid of them both!
Jefferson City was party town for Schneider. It’s the only reason she could stand being a Rep because she never really cared about any issues unless they would benefit her earnings potential. Now the 17th will have someone representing them who is genuine and really cares about the difference he/she can make for all Missourians and not just his/her buddies.
Voter fraud in St. Charles? Since when? Things have ran smoothly in St. Charles for as long as I can remember, and I haven’t heard anything about voter fraud, from anyone, anywhere, except for you right now. Where are you getting this?
By the way, the 50 ATTEMPTED fraudulent voter registrations were taken care of in St. Charles. So unless you can point to some actual fraud occurring, 50 stopped attempts is nothing compared to issues that have been found all over the state and nation this election.
Josh is right: the massive voter registration fraud that was alleged to have been willfully and intentionally perpetuated by the Republican firm Lincoln Strategies Group would far outweigh the 50 attempts at voter registration fraud in St. Charles county if proven true. We’ll have to wait and see what law enforcement determines.
Ms. Schneider got what she deserved. She was NEVER a real Repbulican in the first place. She has stated, on past occasions, how proud she was that her family was Democratic and proud of it. That is why I, even a conservative, voted for Biermann.
As to the previous comment about St. Charles becoming stagnant, what other area of the country has a higher standard of living, 3 communities in Money Magazine’s Top 100 places to live and so on and so on………..
May I suggest that you either move back to STL County or west and north to Lincoln or Warren. You won’t find one of the Top 100 places to live there anytime soon!