Catching up on some reading today, we’ve come across a couple of articles that accurately and impartially (not always easy to come by in the local media) sum up this election and why Jim (in my humble opinion) is the right guy for the job.
From the West End Word:
He is currently sponsoring legislation, along with Alderman Fred Wessels, that would require new city buildings - be that a new office building or a parking structure - to conform to green building guidelines. He is also in talks with St. Louis Public Schools about a daytime curfew for school-aged children that would help the school district with its truancy problems and neighborhoods that have issues with crime and anti-social behavior.
In previous years he has sponsored bills that have put aside funds to help victims of domestic violence and tightened gun safety laws in the city. These bills may not seem to have much in common but Shrewsbury begs to differ.
“Those are not the kinds of bills that raise you a lot of campaign dollars but they do improve the quality of life,” he said. After years of decline, the city’s population is stabilizing and may even be increasing, and new housing developments are popping up across the city: “The city is making progress,” he said.
And from the Post-Dispatch:
After a teenager brandishing a BB gun was shot by police, Shrewsbury passed a law prohibiting the sale of realistic-looking toy guns to minors. He's also sponsored bills abolishing the city auto sticker and requiring all restaurant workers to be vaccinated for hepatitis A.
Even while steadily accumulating more political power over his long career, Shrewsbury can hardly be described as glamorous. He buys dark suits off the rack, and would sooner chat about the history of the Democratic Party than call a news conference.
"He is not prone to being ostentatious or flashy or showy," says a supporter, former State Senator Pat Dougherty. "He believes in professionalism."
I guess sometimes the press does get it right!
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