On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jo Mannies and Rachel Lippmann welcome former St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch – who’s jumping into the political arena.
Fitch often made headlines in his former job. He didn’t hesitate to go public with some of his concerns, even when it put him at odds with then-County Executive Charlie Dooley.
Now, Fitch is seeking the 3rd District County Council seat that has been held by fellow Republican Colleen Wasinger, who decided to step down after 12 years in the job. He is unopposed in the August primary. The 3rd District covers parts of South and West County, stretching from Chesterfield to Fenton.
Fitch candidly admits that his financial success in the private security industry is a key reason why he turned down previous GOP appeals that he run for county executive. But his personal fiscal cushion also allows him to self-fund his campaign; Fitch is not accepting any campaign contributions.
Among his observations on the podcast:
- Fitch has his beefs with current County Executive Steve Stenger, a Democrat, but he’s not taking sides in Stenger’s Democratic primary race against businessman Mark Mantovani. Nor is Fitch, for now, endorsing any of the GOP contenders.
- Fitch’s key issues include protecting the Proposition P money, produced by the sales-tax increase that county voters approved in 2017. In fact, he sides with Stenger when it comes to raising the pay for nurses caring for prisoners at the Justice Center. Fitch opposes the council’s plan to use Prop P to increase the nurses’ pay, saying that money should come from elsewhere.
- He promises to be an independent voice on the council. He supports the council’s effort to install campaign-donation limits for county candidates. But he’s critical of some council decisions, notably the hiring of county Auditor Mark Tucker. Fitch agrees with Stenger that Tucker isn’t right for the job.
Follow Jo on Twitter: @jmannies
Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rlippmann
Follow Tim Fitch on Twitter: @ChiefTimFitch
Music: "Voices in My Head,'' by The Police
