St. Louis County Councilman Ernie Trakas is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he spoke to St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Rachel Lippmann about his reelection bid.
The Republican represents the 6th District on the council, which takes in much of unincorporated south St. Louis County. He’s running against state Rep. Bob Burns, who recorded an episode of Politically Speaking last week.
Here’s what Trakas had to say during the show:
- He talked about some of the upcoming budgetary issues for the county. Like many other areas of the state and nation, St. Louis County is looking at a large budgetary shortfall because of the economic impact of COVID-19.
- Trakas broke down his mentality when it comes to development in south St. Louis County. Since most of that area is unincorporated, the 6th District county councilman has a big say over residential and commercial development.
- He discussed whether County Executive Sam Page could have to deal with a more adversarial council after 2021, especially since one of Page’s allies, Rochelle Walton Gray, lost her reelection bid.
An attorney, Trakas had never run for public office before 2016. He ran in an open race for the 6th District against former state Rep. Patricia Yaeger, a Democrat who had support from elected officials and labor unions. Trakas ended up winning by a small margin, and he became the first Republican to represent the district since 2008.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann
Follow Ernie Trakas on Twitter: @ErnieTrakas
Music: “I Won’t Back Down” by Johnny Cash
