On the latest edition of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome back Councilwoman Hazel Erby to the program.
The University City Democrat represents the council’s 1st District, which takes in a number of municipalities in central and north St. Louis County. Erby represents most of Ferguson, and she was a key figure in the aftermath of the shooting death Michael Brown in that city in 2014.
Erby has seen a dramatic reversal of fortune in her political prospects in the last four years. After 2014, Erby was politically isolated — and was the only council member for a time to not be an ally of St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger. But after Rochelle Walton Gray and Ernie Trakas won election to the council, Erby has been a part of a four-person coalition, including Sam Page, that has bedeviled Stenger for months.
Recently, Erby may have experienced her greatest policy triumph: Passage of minority participation requirements for county-based projects. Her attempts to pass such legislation in 2014 faltered, primarily due to pressure from councilmen aligned with organized labor. This time around, her bill passed without opposition.
Erby also supports a number of amendments to the county Charter, including instituting campaign donation limits. That became necessary after voters approved a constitutional amendment installing limits on state-based office, but not county or municipal ones.
Here’s what Erby had to say during the show:
- A change in members of the County Council helped gain the passage of minority participation legislation. Erby said this will be a big boost for minority-owned businesses throughout the region.
- Erby said it’s best for the voters to decide whether to raise the county’s sales tax to help the St. Louis Zoo. Some of the proceeds from the proposed 1/8th of one cent sales tax increase would go toward a breeding facility and possible adventure park in north St. Louis County.
- She will not endorse Stenger’s bid for a second term. While she spoke highly of Democrat Mark Mantovani, Erby added she wasn’t ready to officially endorse his candidacy against Stenger in the August primary election.
- Erby is unopposed for re-election this year. She said that she wouldn’t say that her next four-year term would be her last, because she wants to keep her options open. Erby will still be in a prime position to influence county policy regardless of how the Mantovani-Stenger election shakes out.
Follow Jo Mannies on Twitter: @jmannies
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Hazel Erby on Twitter: @No1Councilwoman
Music: “Good” by Better than Ezra
