Government, Politics & Issues

Politically Speaking: Alderwoman Baringer on voter turnout and police oversight board

St. Louis Public Radio | By Jason Rosenbaum,

Published March 19, 2015 at 12:07 AM CDT

On this week’s edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio reporters Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Rachel Lippmann welcome St. Louis Alderwoman Donna Baringer to the show.

The 16^th Ward Democrat was first elected to her post in 2003, succeeding longtime Alderman Jim Shrewsbury. Before taking on her current job as the executive director of Lemay Development Corp. earlier this year, Baringer was the director of institutional advancement for United 4 Children. A native of Jefferson City, Baringer has a master’s degree in corporate communications from Lindenwood University and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Maryville University.

The ward is in southwest St. Louis and covers all or parts of the Lindenwood Park, Princeton Heights, Southhampton and St. Louis Hills neighborhoods.

Baringer is the chairman of the aldermanic legislation committee, which, in recent years, handled major bills on campaign finances and government transparency. In 2011, she successfully pushed legislation to curtail scrap metal theft within the city.

Baringer with St. Louis Public Radio reporter Jo Mannies

During the show, Baringer talked about:

The dismal turnout in this March’s Democratic primaries. Many have attributed the low participation — 9.5 percent — to Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed's lack of any credible opposition.
The need to deliver basic services. Voters are less concerned, she said, about a candidate’s political party than whether they can deliver basic governmental services. “Nobody cares if you’re a Republican or Democrat as long as the trash is picked up, the streets are cleaned, and the lights are on,” Baringer said.
How a proposed oversight board of the St. Louis Police Department might operate. Specifically, Baringer worried that potential board members may not be protected from lawsuits — which in turn may make people hesitant to serve on such a board.
Extending bonds for a football stadium on the city’s north riverfront without a vote of the people. “The one thing I told my constituents then is if they’re going to use your tax dollars to build a new stadium, then you have a right to vote on it because it’s your tax dollars,” she said.