Saint Louis, Mo. — Republican Rick Stream made a Democrat the star of his latest ad in his bid for St. Louis County Executive against Democrat Steve Stenger.
Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal — a black state senator who has gained new notoriety as an outspoken participant in the Ferguson protests — starred in a new ad today firing back at claims from the Stenger camp that Stream is a radical, “XStream” candidate.
“When the most vulnerable were threatened by massive state budget cuts Rick Stream as House Budget Chair didn’t let party lines get in the way of doing what was right,” Chapelle-Nadal says directly into the camera in the new ad. “Rick balanced the budget while working with us to protect our local schools, Head Start, Meals on Wheels, and more. Rick was a Godsend of common sense and compassion in a sea of disaster.”
Stenger’s camp has hammered Stream over the past few weeks for his record as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives. The Stream camp appears to be attempting to change the story and reinforce its own narrative of Stream as a consensus-building pragmatist.
“I’ll reach across party lines to build consensus to end the waste, fraud and abuse, improve our schools and start growing jobs again,” Stream says at the end of the ad.
Chappelle-Nadal is just one of a coalition of elected black democrats in the St. Louis region who have pledged to support Stream over their fellow party member. The backlash stems largely from Stenger’s close relationship with St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch — who protestors in Ferguson are demanding recuse himself from the investigation in the shooting of Michael Brown.
But neither McCulloch, Ferguson, Michael Brown, Officer Darren Wilson, or for that matter, Steve Stenger, are mentioned in the 30-second spot which began airing today.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
