This opinion piece critiques the contradictory positions of St. Louis County politicians regarding a potential merger with the city of St. Louis. It highlights the hypocrisy of politicians who claim to want no part in the city's problems while simultaneously seeking control over city functions like the police department. The author argues that this behavior undermines regional progress and perpetuates the harmful separation of city and county. The letter specifically mentions Rep. Brad Christ's statements as an example of this inconsistency, pointing out his opposition to the merger while simultaneously advocating for state intervention in city policing. The author also suggests that politicians in wealthier suburbs fear losing power in a unified government. The conclusion emphasizes that the city of St. Louis remains the heart of the region, and failure to support reunification will continue to fragment the area.
Regarding “A merger of St. Louis and St. Louis County gets a fresh look, and plenty of opposition" (May 5): The insistence of St. Louis County lawmakers to repeatedly oppose any measure to roll back the pre-civil war mistake of separating St. Louis city and county will only continue to destroy our region for the sake of short-sighted politicking and maintaining local fiefdoms.
Rep. Brad Christ, alumnus of St. Louis University High School — which is in the city, by the way — was quoted “I don’t want to be a part of those (the city’s) problems.” However, Rep. Christ, when championing the state takeover of the city police department, was also quoted as saying: “This is not the cure all, but it can help ensure that one key piece of the puzzle is in place, funding, staffing and supporting our police department to common sense, adequate levels.”
While it is not uncommon for politicians to make inconsistent statements, it is appalling to those of us in the city that politicians such as Rep. Christ like to take ownership for running the city’s function when it means more power, while at the same time "othering" us city folk for our problems, which apparently don’t exist in South St. Louis County.
As to the commentary from the esteemed politicians of Brentwood, Webster Groves and Chesterfield, I fear that they fear that they would simply lose their integral duplicative roles in local government rather than see the region succeed. The heart of St. Louis remains in the city of St. Louis and failing to support reunification will only continue to silo us.
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