In their first of two debates this week, the two major-party candidates for St. Louis County executive — Republican Rick Stream and Democrat Steve Stenger — each portrayed himself as the true leader that the county needs at a time of job loss and social unrest.
Each also accused the other of being too close to the current county executive, Democrat Charlie Dooley.
Stream repeated the line of attack in his TV ad, accusing Stenger of advancing many of the same policies as Dooley. He also attempted to tie Stenger to the controversies and FBI probes plaguing Dooley’s administration. Stream said only he could lead the county in a new direction.
Stenger countered by accusing Stream of being the real clone of Dooley because many of Dooley's top aides are assisting Stream’s campaign. Stenger then cited his history of disputes with Dooley, especially over taxes and budgets. Stenger defeated Dooley in the Aug. 5 primary.
Such sparring peppered the hour-long debate Monday morning on radio station KTRS, 550 AM, with host McGraw Millhaven as the moderator.
Stenger and Stream will meet again on Tuesday for a noon debate hosted by St. Louis Public Radio, 90.7 FM. The event will be held in the University of Missouri’s Touhill Performing Arts Center’s Lee Theater. It is open to the public, with doors opening at 11:20 a.m. No campaign signs will be allowed.
Don Marsh, host of St. Louis On the Air, will moderate the debate. Reporters Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies will pose some of the questions.
Stream, Stenger reaffirm basic themes
Monday’s debate mirrored many of the campaign themes that both candidates have been promoting for weeks:
- Stream repeatedly said his experience in the Navy, as a federal defense employee, Kirkwood School Board member and state legislator, especially as chairman of the House Budget Committee, all prepared him to be county executive.
- Stenger said his experience as a six-year member of the County Council made him more familiar with the county’s needs. He repeatedly attacked Stream’s votes in the state House against the minimum wage and against Medicaid expansion.
Stenger also attacked Stream’s record on education, emphasizing that the state’s school aid is below the amount called for under the state’s “foundation formula,’’ used to allocate money to each school district.
Stream said the General Assembly has increased spending on public education every year and blamed Gov. Jay Nixon, who is a Democrat, for withholding some of that money. Stream acknowledged that legislators have not met the spending targets in the foundation formula and blamed the economic downturn.
Stream said he opposed expanding Medicaid because he opposed expanding welfare or increasing government spending.
Both candidates repeated their promises to conduct thorough audits of county government spending. Stream has called for lower county spending, and Stenger pressed him to identify what services would be cut. Stream said he can trim county spending by targeting "waste, fraud and abuse."
Stream emphasized his opposition to any merger of St. Louis with St. Louis County. Stenger said he wanted to wait until some firm proposals were put forward.
Focus on Ferguson
The first half of the debate focused primarily on the unrest in Ferguson, which now has spread to south St. Louis because of a second fatal police shooting.
The fallout from the nightly protests has dramatically affected the county executive’s race, in part by overshadowing many of the contest's other issues.
Stenger, in particular, has been under attack from some African-American officials and civic leaders because of his support from County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who is overseeing the grand jury investigation into the Ferguson shooting. Many of those officials have endorsed Stream.
Stenger reaffirmed his support of McCulloch, despite the calls of many African-American officials who want McCulloch replaced by a special prosecutor. Stenger said there was “no legal reason to recuse’’ McCulloch, who has held his elective office since 1991.
Stream, in turn, portrayed himself as a more effective peacemaker, and cited the support he’s received from many of those African-American officials critical of Stenger, including state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University, who appears in a Stream campaign ad.
Stream reaffirmed his earlier suggestion that McCulloch consider stepping down from the case, and cited his support for a proposed state law requiring a special prosecutor for cases involving fatal police shootings.
Stenger blasted Chappelle-Nadal’s public comments, especially her prediction of heightened protests if the grand jury fails to charge the Ferguson police office, Darren Wilson. Stenger accused Chappelle-Nadal of inciting violence.
Stenger and Stream both decried the looting and vandalism that accompanied some protests, and both pledged to do more to protect businesses.
Both called for more dialogue, and both promised to focus on economic development and job creation throughout the county, including low-income areas — notably in north St. Louis County.
