Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green Nov. 3rd Voter Guide

There are a lot of important ballot issues on the November 3rd ballot (sample ballot). Below are explanations of the various amendments and propositions and my personal recommendations for how to vote.

Constitutional Amendment 1 — No

Constitutional Amendment 1 seeks to seeks to apply the two-term, eight year term-limits, that currently apply to the Governor and Treasurer to the Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, and Attorney General. While term-limits are often sold as a good government measure, in actuality they often exacerbate already existing issues within our government. Term-limits mean less institutional knowledge and create an environment where lobbyists run the show, something Missouri has experienced first hand after we implemented legislative term-limits. We already have term-limits. They are called elections. Lets stick with them.

Vote NO.

Constitutional Amendment 3 — No

Dubbed “Dirty Missouri” this is probably the most important measure on the ballot and it deserves a HELL NO. In 2018, 62% of Missouri voters and 80% of voters in the City of St. Louis voted for CLEAN Missouri. As I wrote in my 2018 voter guide, CLEAN Missouri “enacts good government ethics reforms — to clean up Missouri politics — that are necessary to take steps toward ending the corruptive influence that special interests have in our political system.”

Amendment 3 seeks to make marginal changes to what voters approved in terms of caps on lobbyist gifts and campaign contribution limits, while undoing the anti-gerrymandering provisions voters approved and enacting some of the most extreme gerrymandering measures in the country. Amendment 3 repeals the nonpartisan demographer position created under CLEAN Missouri and relegates “partisan fairness” and “competitiveness” to the bottom of the criteria list behind such things as compact districts that keep communities intact. Instead, it allows politicians to make backroom deals to protect favored politicians.

It also includes a radical proposal to not count kids or non-citizens in population for redistricting, thus decreasing representation for communities like St. Louis City that high concentrations of kids and immigrants and increasing racial inequity, as detailed in a report published by the Brennan Center for Justice. Additionally, it would dilute minority representation by creating weakened protections for voters of color with the elimination of protections for the influence of districts, and it would eliminate the language for protecting minority populations.

Long story short, if you voted for CLEAN Missouri in 2018, vote NO on Amendment 3.

Vote NO.

Proposition D — Yes

Proposition D are democracy reforms that would apply to municipal elections in the City of St. Louis. Proposition D creates an approval voting system, (this is different from Rank Choice Voting) where voters in the March municipal election can vote for all of the candidates of which the voter approves. The top two vote getters from the March election would then participate in a runoff election in April. The proposition also eliminates partisan primaries.

Approval voting can eliminate the spoiler effect and incentivize candidates to run more positive campaigns to encourage more voters to “approve” of them. Our current system allows candidates with only marginal support from the community, sometimes less than 30%, to be elected into office. Prop D ensures that elected officials can only be elected with broad support from the community.

Most major American cities already have non-partisan municipal elections. Non-partisan primaries can incentivize candidates to run on issues and vision rather than the a party label. In a one party town, where what it means to be a Democrat in practice is a very large spectrum, I think this is a good thing.

It is important to note that even though Prop D eliminates partisan primaries, it does not eliminate the Democratic Party, or any party. Rather Prop D has the potential to strengthen parties, giving them the power to endorse candidates through both the primaries and general elections and making them an even more meaningful voice to Democrats who want to vote for candidates supported by their party. Nonpartisan primaries are utilized in 80% of municipalities nationwide, including many major cities — including Chicago, Kansas City, Nashville, and Memphis. The Democratic party is still incredibly strong in each of those cities (arguably stronger), and the vast majority, if not all, of their elected officials are Democrats.

While this measure is not perfect, and I do have concerns about grassroots candidates who win a March election being able to compete financially in an April election against big money backed candidates, I hope that Prop D is just the start of democracy reforms for our City.

Vote YES.

Proposition 1 — No

Proposition 1 would change the charter of the City of St. Louis to eliminate the requirement that city employees, including police, have to live in St. Louis City. Right now we have local and national protests against police brutality demanding, among other things, that we have police who are more connected to our community. Lifting the residency requirement goes in the exact opposite direction. In fact, since the murder of George Floyd, after finding that without a residency requirement 94% of Minneapolis police reside outside of the City, Minneapolis is working to implement a residency requirement. Minneapolis is not alone in the low percentages of officers residing within the communities they serve.

But Megan didn’t the General Assembly already lift the residency requirement? While it is true that the Republican Missouri General Assembly, with the help of or Democratic Mayor, recently bypassed voters in the City by passing legislation to lift the residency requirement for police, this piece of legislation sunsets on Sept. 1, 2023. A change to the City charter would make this change permanent and would be applied to all city employees, not just the first responders included in the bill passed by the Missouri General Assembly.

But Megan isn’t our police department understaffed? In 2017, voters approved a sales tax, that raised our sales taxes to the third highest in the nation, because proponents argued it was necessary to fill officer vacancies. Three years later, proponents are now saying that we must lift the residency requirement to fill vacancies because the last proposal did not work. As I detailed back then, our police department remains one of the highest-staffed departments per capita in the country. In fact, we have been defunding health and human services and affordable housing for many years in order to fund an arrest/incarcerate model of public safety that is not working. In 2020, only .5% of our City budget went to health and human services while 55% of our budget was spent on public safety. Of those public safety dollars, 49% ($177 million) was spent on policing, some of the highest per capita spending on policing in the country.

We are in a time of the largest civil rights protests in our nation’s history with calls for us to create a different public safety system that invests in meeting the needs of people. With tensions already strained between police and our community its essential that police understand, and are representative of, the communities they serve.

At the same time, unemployment is increasing in St. Louis City. The City has the ability to put people to work through filling vacant positions throughout City government with people who live in our City, keeping much needed tax dollars within City limits.

Vote No.

Proposition R — Yes

Prop R is an effort to increase public dedicated funding for early childhood development services and childcare for 0-5 year olds via an increase in the Mental Health Board's (MHB) current property tax assessment. The increase would equate to about $11.40 for a home valued at $100k.

Fiscal mapping done in partnership with UMSL's Community Innovation and Action Center (CIAC) showed an enormous lack of investment in early childhood before the pandemic, reports have shown dire access gaps in St. Louis with only 19% of children eligible for state subsidies able to access seats at licensed EC programs, (a proxy for quality since Missouri is one of the few states without a quality rating system). Now, providers-- particularly in-home and community based providers who serve the majority of low-income families-- are struggling to make ends meet as the state ends pandemic relief for child care, many have been shuttered.

Nobel prize winning economist James Heckman's research has shown each dollar invested in birth-to-five early childhood development programs and services yields a 13% return on investment. Mountains of research spanning many decades shows that quality early childhood care and experiences result in lower crime rates, and better lifelong academic, professional and social emotional outcomes. Shorter term benefits include increased workforce productivity and better health outcomes thanks to early screenings and interventions.

The funds would be administered by the Mental Health Board who would distribute the estimated $2.3 million via an accessible grantmaking process. Using MHB, an existing allocating body with grantmaking experience, will significantly reduce the need for administrative costs, meaning more money goes directly to services for kids. While public and charter schools would not be able to access these funds due to strictures set by the state statute that enables MHB to collect and distribute tax revenue, the funds can be used in a variety of specific ways prioritizing efforts that would increase the quality of early childhood experiences for lower-income 0-5 year olds including but not limited to:

• Professional development for the early childhood workforce.
• Training or consulting to help providers meet or exceed quality standards.
• Community outreach and recruitment.
• Health and developmental screenings as well as supports for babies and children with special needs.
• In-home and community-based support for social emotional development.
• Investment in programs' family well-being resources and their efforts to help parents, guardians, and pregnant women maximize said resources.
• Efforts to ensure effectiveness and accountability including data collection, evaluation and quality improvement.

Investment in early childhood education is one of the best investments our community can make if we want to reduce our crime rates and build a more prosperous future for our City.

Vote YES.

Proposition T — Yes

This would replace the city’s $2.20 per linear feet right-of-way fee that network providers pay before giving service, with a gross receipt tax of 7.5 percent. If passed, customers will pay the same tax as they do for telephone service. The right-of-way fee is currently rolled into internet charges. Some parts of the city, particularly north of Delmar, are getting poor service, and if the right-of-way fee is eliminated, providers will have a strong incentive to move into new neighborhoods, competitors will enter the market, and all parts of the city will get better service. Providers will not have to pay high fees up front. They can collect the tax after gaining customers. Other cities who have moved to this system have improved their service, particularly in underserved neighborhoods, and consumer costs have tended to decrease. With more and more kids needing to be educated at home and people working from home due to COVID, it is becoming more and more evident that internet is an essential part of educational and economic equity.

VOTE YES.

Voting Information:

The deadline to register to vote, or to update your registration if you have moved, is October 7th. You may check your registration or register here.

In addition to voting at your polling place on November 3rd. There are ways to safely vote in advance, either through mail-in or absentee voting options that can help us to reduce polling place congestion while also increasing voter turn out. See Below:

Which application should I use?

• Absentee ballot application: Voters with an excuse (such as confinement due to illness/at risk for COVID-19, including ALL voters over age 65).
• Mail-in ballot application: All others not qualifying for an absentee ballot.
• In-person absentee: Vote at the St. Louis Board of Elections at 300 N Tucker Blvd beginning September 22.
• Additional, in-person absentee voting locations are being added starting October 12th at the following St. Louis Public Library Locations: Buder, Schlafly, Central, Julia Davis. ( Note only electronic, not paper ballots, are available at these locations.)
• Ballot applications can be downloaded here

When does my mail-in ballot application or absentee ballot application need to be received?

• Ballot applications must be received by Wednesday, Oct. 21. You can submit your application in the following ways:
• Mail your completed absentee or mail-in application to the Board of Elections at 300 N Tucker Blvd, 63101. Please note, mail-in ballot applications can only be mailed.
• Email your completed absentee application to the Board of Elections at stlcityabsentee@stlouis-mo.gov.
• Fax your completed absentee application to the Board of Elections at 314–622–3378.

Does my ballot need to be notarized?

If you are staying away from the polls to avoid COVID-19 and you can in good faith answer “yes” to [absentee reason 2], you can vote absentee and do not need a notary. All absentee ballots cast for other excuses and all mail-in ballots must be notarized.

When does my ballot need to be received?

• Your ballot must be received by the Board of Elections by 7pm on Election Day, Tuesday Nov 3rd. Due to mail delays, it is recommended that ballots be mailed by Tuesday, October 20th.
• Absentee ballots can be dropped off in person at the St. Louis Board of Elections.
• Mail-in ballots can only be submitted by US mail. For fastest processing, mail-in ballots can be dropped off at the St. Louis Downtown Post Office at 1720 Market St.

How do I make sure my ballot application or ballot was received and accepted?

Contact the St. Louis Board of Elections at 314–622–4336.

Please get your ballot requests in ASAP and return your ballot as soon as you get them.

Thank you for exercising your constitutional right to vote