November 28, 2007

Green backs, green spaces and Mai Tais

I ran across a great article in the O'Fallon Community News titled "Green backs replacing green space." The author, Joe Morice, writes about the control the developers and builders have over St. Charles County politicians and the effect this control has on the environment and our tax money. Morice writes:
  • After reading about the St. Charles Council President vacationing with TR Hughes, one can see how most of it’s happening. I’m sure TR builds nice homes, but it also shows the realities of politics,considering how much money he allegedly spent to defeat council candidates that opposed his attempt to become richer than Donald Trump. It seems that throughout this County and several others, he and others like him are an omnipresent force in the backrooms of city council chambers.

Morice goes on to write:

  • This is not to grouse about TR Hughes and the rest of the developers in particular. If it were not them, it would be others hanging around city hall looking for a hungry politician to throw money at. To get elected costs plenty. However,the greatest cost, besides political integrity, is to the taxpayers that eventually get the bill for the increased infrastructure costs involving everything from road repairs, schools and city personnel to sewage disposal and flood control.

Morice ends his column by noting the need of citizens to get involved:

  • Does this make it our fault? It does if we don’t look at local government with a wary eye and vote out the developer’s pets. That means voting in local elections. The fact that will stand glaringly clear is the badly needed campaign finance reform that’s anathema to special interests, including developers and their political pets sipping Mai Tai’s on south sea beaches. I don’t worry about developers buying landed estates for themselves. Good for them. I worry about them buying votes. Bad for us.

Well said Mr. Morice.

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