St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Julie O’Donoghue about the titanic changes in county government.
Harder represents the council’s 7th District, which includes Ballwin, Chesterfield, Ellisville and Wildwood. With recent departures of council members, the Ballwin Republican is now the most senior member of the council.
Here’s what Harder talked about on the show:
- Harder discussed how he and other council members dealt with the rapid demise of former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, who resigned when he was hit with corruption charges. Stenger developed a sour relationship with the council — so much so that in his final months in office he had no reliable allies within the legislative body.
- He also talked about his impressions of Stenger’s replacement, Sam Page. Harder and Page served on the council from 2015 to the middle of 2019.
- One of the issues that the council will deal with soon are Page’s appointments to what’s known as the Board of Freeholders. That body can come up with a proposal to merge St. Louis and St. Louis County. The Municipal League of Metro St. Louis is expected to turn in the necessary signatures in the coming weeks.
- Harder also provided details on how the POWERplex facility in Hazelwood came to fruition. The youth sports complex was originally supposed to be in Chesterfield, but those plans fell through.
Harder was first elected to the council in 2014, succeeding longtime Republican Councilman Greg Quinn. Before entering county politics, Harder was a member of the Ballwin Board of Aldermen.
In 2016, Harder was the only member of the council to vote against a proposal that moved county services to the Crossings At Northwest — which was known as Northwest Plaza. The developers of the former St. Ann mall have been under increased scrutiny from members of the council — especially since they donated more than $300,000 to Stenger’s campaign. David and Robert Glarner are currently challenging a subpoena to appear before the council’s ethics committee.
Harder said he hasn’t made a decision yet about whether he’ll run for county executive during next year’s election. He did say it would be beneficial for Republicans to field a strong campaign, so that county residents would have a choice on who will be county executive.
The podcast is sponsored by the St. Louis-based law firm of Capes Sokol.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Julie O’Donoghue on Twitter: @jsodonoghue
Music: “34 Ghosts IV” by Nine Inch Nails
