Saint Louis, Mo. — The treasurer in charge of Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal’s election committee will officially resign tomorrow in protest of Chappelle-Nadal’s support of Republican St. Louis County Executive Candidate Rick Stream.
Vogt wrote a letter earlier today condemning Chappelle-Nadal’s support of Stream. In a recent ad, the Democrat state senator calls Stream a “godsend” for his bi-partisan efforts on the budget, fully endorsing him. Chappelle-Nadal is one of a group of elected black Democrats in St. Louis promising to support Stream over Democratic candidate Steve Stenger.
“I can no longer be connected with a Committee that will possibly use resources to support the beliefs of Stream,” Vogt wrote in his letter.
Vogt writes that he is a “mainstream member of the Democratic Party,” and refuses to continue to work in a capacity that might help Stream. In the letter, Vogt rips Stream as a member of the Republican Party for his votes on guns, photo ID laws, and tax cut programs.
Chappelle-Nadal called the resignation a “political stunt,” and said that she respected Vogt’s right to support anyone he chose.
“That’s his right to support whatever candidate he likes, just as it is my right to support any candidate I choose and do anything in my power to help them be successful,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “But I haven’t even seen [the letter] and I didn’t even know about it from him. I wish he would have called me, I think it’s a political stunt.”
A major part of Stream’s campaign is the narrative of Stream as a consensus-builder with few partisan rocks to throw. Stenger’s camp has worked hard in a series of ads labeling Stream as “too XStream,” as an out-of-touch Republican radical.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
