Monday editorial: Crony island
Voters in the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District, previously called the Normandy Fire Protection District, will be asked in Tuesday’s primary to approve $10.7 million in bonds, ostensibly to build and equip a new fire house. In truth, there’s no way to tell how the money would be spent.
Transparency and open government are not guiding values for the district’s three-member board of directors, largely a wholly owned subsidiary of former state Rep. Elbert Walton Jr.’s law practice. Mr. Walton is the district’s high-billing attorney, and he says that until the bonds are authorized, it’s not possible to tell how they would be spent.
Voters said “no” to a similar proposal in April. They should vote “no” again on Proposition B on Tuesday and continue to do so until Mr. Walton and his cronies become accountable for the way they spend taxpayers’ money.
On a related note, John Walton seeks to spread the Walton crew’s corruption as Ferguson Township Committeeman. Democratic voters in Ferguson Township, which covers part of Ferguson and areas to the east and north, should nip this in the bud by electing Tom Sansevere. Despite the fact that Sansevere is a union official with whom I disagree on many things political, he’s still a much better choice than another Walton.
PS - Why is the Post cheering for a Metro tax increase, when Metro has squandered far more money than the Normandy FPD? Be consistent - oppose the Metro tax until they have a demonstrated record of responsible management and spending.
these people are the people that are supporting Chris Koster in St. Louis. The only person less ethical than Elbert Walton is Chris Koster.
The Post chose to not report that Koster bought off the Waltons.
Another layer of silliness has been added to this soap opera. The people who run this corrupt fire board forgot that the last day to file a proposition was August 26, so they had to have an emergency meeting in the middle of the day. The only problem with this is that you can put a bond issue on the ballot by special session only in the case of an emergency and none of the people involved see incompetence as an emergency. Hopefully this will be thrown off the ballot.