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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited APRIL 14 – 20, 2016
Vol. 88 No. 2 COMPLIMENTARY
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Election debacle under scrutiny STL County election directors testify about ballot shortages in April 5 election By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Chris King
State Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) and state Rep. Courtney Curtis (D-Ferguson) co-chaired a hearing to investigate ballot shortages in the April 5 municipal elections in St. Louis County at the Missouri Capitol on Wed., April 13.
JEFFERSON CITY – What happened with the ballot shortages in 60 polling places and resulting disenfranchisement in St. Louis County in the April 5 municipal elections? Who is responsible? What should be the consequences? What can be done to make sure this never happens again? These were the main questions posed by Missouri state representatives during a hearing held jointly by the House Special Committee on Urban Issues, chaired by state Rep. Courtney Curtis (D-Ferguson), and a newly formed task force to investigate the ballot shortages, chaired by state Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin), on Wednesday, April 13.
n The problem, Fuhr and Fey testified, came with running the April 5 ballot matrix a second time when they were already running behind.
Called to testify: Gary Fuhr, the Republican director of elections in St. Louis County, and Eric Fey, the Democratic election director for the county. Both officials told the same story, with neither casting blame on the other. Their story: It was the tightest turnaround between
Slay won’t run
Hazelwood picks new leader Nettie Collins-Hart leaves small district in suburban Chicago
So-called ‘mayor for life’ won’t seek fifth term next year
By Mariah Stewart Of The St. Louis American
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Mayor Francis G. Slay, St. Louis’ longest-serving mayor, will not be running for a fifth term in 2017, he announced at an April 8 press conference held at City Hall. In 2013, Slay became the city’s first mayor elected to a fourth four-year term. “This is not a goodbye,” Slay said. “I will be mayor for another year. I will have a full and likely controversial agenda to pursue and complete. My health is fine.” He prefaced his announcement by saying how proud he was of city residents in the April 5 election for voting down Prop E, which would have begun a phase-out of the city’s 1 percent earnings tax which provides one-third of city revenues. Slay was particularly proud that the residents saw past the “most negative and expensive” campaign, led by wealthy investor Rex See SLAY, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Kathryn Hayden, a facilitator for Mind Full of Words and an education major at Webster University, builds a relationship with Kwame Smith (4), a student at the Julia Goldstein Childhood Center.
‘This is about fairness’ Gov. Nixon bans criminal record check box on state job applications By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American On Monday, January 11, Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order to “ban the box” that ex-offenders normally have to check on employment applications for state jobs,
See ELECTION, A6
in hopes of helping people with criminal histories re-enter the workforce. Executive Order 16-04 will do away with questions relating to criminal history on initial applications, though employers can request information about criminal backgrounds later in the hiring process.
“Ban the box” policies have been implemented in 21 states, and a number of corporations have adopted the policy, including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Koch Industries, Starbucks and Facebook. See NIXON, A7
After a six-month search process, the Hazelwood School District Board of Education appointed Nettie Collins-Hart as the new superintendent on Monday, April 11. She is currently the superintendent of Proviso School District 209 in Forest Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. She will replace interim superintendent Ingrid Clark-Jackson on July 1. The school district CollinsHart has led for eight years has approximately 5,000 students. Hazelwood School district, the second-largest in the region with 18,000 students, will be the largest n “The most student population she has ever led. important Kim Mckenzie, job in the communications director world is the for the district, said officials aren’t concerned about classroom Collins-Hart transferring teacher.” from a much smaller school district. – Nettie “Dr. Collins-Hart has Collinsan extensive background in Hart, new education.” McKenzie said. Hazelwood “During that time she has supermanaged upward of 12,500 intendent students and 10,500 in another area.” Collins-Hart served as assistant superintendent in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, servicing 12,500 students and also in Lawrence Public Schools in Kansas, serving 10,500 students. Collins-Hart has a doctorate degree in educational policy and leadership from University of Kansas – Lawrence. She has a master’s degree in educational administration and curriculum and instruction, and a master’s degree in English education, from East Carolina University. She also has a bachelor’s degree in English education from the University of North Carolina – Chapel See HART, A7