West End Word on October 18, 2006:
Fraser draws on experience in challenge to Odenwald
By Adam Aigner-Treworgy
Posted Wednesday, October 18, 2006
All government may be local, but according to Barbara Fraser, county government needs to become regional.
On Nov. 7, St. Louis County voters will have a choice between local and regional county government in the race for the 5th District seat on the St. Louis County Council. As the Democratic challenger, Fraser is putting her regional experience as a state representative for the 83rd District up against Republican Kurt Odenwald's 16-year tenure as a county councilman who has made local issues his priority.
"My Republican opponent represents the past and the old way of doing county government, which was focused only on roads and taxes," Fraser says. "Those two issues are important issues, but that is not the only thing that the county government does. I am making this a full-time job. I'm not trying to fit this into a law practice [like Odenwald]. I am trying to do this 100 percent. It's the way I work and it's the way I believe this job deserves to be taken."
Fraser says the experience she gained in her eight years representing Overland and Olivette in the Missouri House of Representatives and her four terms on the University City School Board will help bring a unique base of knowledge to the county council.
"I'm used to working on all levels [of government] and I can continue to do that," Fraser says. "I see my experience as a unique and useful aspect of the county government. I believe I would be the only person on the council who has served on the [state] legislature and on a school board."
It is this breadth of experience combined with a passion to protect stem cell research in St. Louis County that is at the center of Fraser's campaign. The question surrounding the protection of stem cell research will also be on this November's ballot as Amendment 2.
If ratified by voters, Amendment 2 would constitutionally bar the Missouri General Assembly from outlawing any form of stem cell research that is legal under federal law. This amendment would also prohibit and punish cloning to create a person and forbid the state from reducing government funding to organizations that conduct legal research.
"Our county government absolutely can make a strong case for encouraging biotech business [to move] into this county," Fraser says. "My opponent certainly has not taken a stand on that and he's quite evasive about his answers. I find it incredibly important to have a strong welcome mat out for this kind of business ... to say that we are open to this kind of research. That's what the [ballot] initiative is ultimately about."
Fraser says the growth of biotech business in St. Louis County would benefit education, health care and regional development - three key issues in her campaign.
Health care is listed first on Fraser's website, and although she has no track record in the county legislature, she points to her sponsorship of the Children's Health Insurance Program in the state legislature as one of her proudest achievements. The program provided more than 70,000 impoverished Missouri children with health insurance.
"Essentially it was a match program where the state and federal [governments] and the parents are all part of the assistance," Fraser says. "Recently in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, that program was cut, and St. Louis County has had to pick up the difference."
This economic burden lowers the county's quality of life, Fraser says, which hurts its ability to attract and retain residents.
"It won't do to stand and say, 'I want more people to come in [to the county],'" Fraser says. "We have to have jobs for these people to come here and we have to have jobs that are good jobs. We need open spaces to enjoy our lives; we need good jobs, and we need good housing. All three of those are together."
As a former teacher, Fraser puts much of the responsibility for preparing a competent workforce on the county¿s school systems, but she said she believes it is the job of the county government to facilitate collaboration and planning between school districts.
"We've already seen [in St. Louis city] that there is a disconnect when city government and the schools do not work together," Fraser says. "We have 23 different school districts [in this county] and one special school district, which makes 24. We need to plan how we can encourage these school districts to be involved in making sure that our kids stay here and that our kids have economic opportunities by virtue of quality education."
Fraser sees a close link between the county's economic development and its approach to education. Currently, almost 70 percent of county property taxes go to education, making land development an integral part of improving schools, and raising the bigger question of why the county is forced to use so much of its tax revenue for schools, Fraser says.
If elected, she would also like to unify the county against problems in the state's education funding formula.
The state's education funding formula uses district property values as a factor in determining how much money to give to certain school districts. Rural Missouri undervalues its property, which has a direct effect on the amount of funding St. Louis County and St. Louis city get for education, meaning that the county has to make up the difference through property taxes, Fraser says.
"Our people don't even know about [this problem]," Fraser says. "I don't think we as a county have spoken with one voice against this."
If elected, Fraser says she would like to enhance the county's emergency preparedness by implementing a television frequency to help inform county residents of emergency situations.
"That's where my Republican opponent is acting very Republican -- [he's] just about reaction rather than looking at the broader vision," Fraser says.
Odenwald has been publicly pursuing an indoor smoking ban for more than a year with little success. Though it was expected to pass through the council, last minute vote changes kept the legislation from passing.
"I believe that we have the opportunity to create a Clean Indoor Air Act that would not only be regional but [also] effective," Fraser says. "When you get people who disagree with one another at the same table ... you often find they are not opposed to one another, they [just] support different things. This is how my opponent and I differ. [Odenwald's] bill was presented without the stakeholders supporting it so the bill did not pass. Good legislation is created by working ahead of time."
Dooley has said that he is concerned an anti-smoking bill would have adverse effects on county businesses, but Fraser says there is a way to take care of businesses as well as people who want to curb indoor smoking.
"The people who do not want smoke-filled rooms are, I think, quite a large number of my constituency, but how do you accommodate the business interests? If [businesses] can show they have been harmed by anti-smoking legislation, then perhaps we can provide some kind of incentive or waiver so that they get [compensated for their losses]," she says.
This approach is an example of Fraser's desire to expand the scope of the council to incorporate regional concerns and statewide issues. She says that she would like to settle on an anti-smoking bill that could be acceptable to both St. Louis city and county. She also hopes to create seatbelt legislation that will set a standard for the rest of the state.
"I believe we're in a position right now where things in the 5th County Council District are going well," Fraser said. "However, there was a time in our collective history in which different parts of our area were equally vital and exciting and yet 30 or 40 years later they were not in good shape. I think with that knowledge we need to look ahead for St. Louis County and make sure that this inner core is part of a bigger picture. This is not the county of 16 years ago."