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TWMP: Mayor Francis Slay, local elections and the state budget

On a special episode of This Week in Missouri Politics, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay visits the studio to discuss the upcoming elections in St. Louis, especially two propositions on the ballot in his city to expand MetroLink and assist funding for a new MLS soccer stadium. He’s urging voters to vote in favor of both initiatives.

“It’s about the future of our city and attracting a $255 million private investment which would bring soccer into St. Louis, and it’s really worth it,” Slay says. “If Proposition 1 passes there will automatically be a use tax, so what we’re asking voters to do is vote for this money to go into helping provide about a 39 percent investment in a stadium.”

He also talks about some of his accomplishments during his 16-year tenure in the mayor’s office, the current fight over the city’s minimum wage hike, and what advice he would give to people newly entering government.

On the opinion maker panel, Jeff Mazur of LaunchCode, Joe Lakin of Victory Enterprises, Joe Patterson with the St. Louis County Police Officers Union and Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis discuss local elections, including a tax proposal in the county to help fund law enforcement.

“I think we have an electorate that is still very angry, I don’t think that has subsided from November,” Lakin says. “These are the types of things we would have expected to sail through previously, but I do think one of the places that voters’ anger comes from is the treatment of police over the last few years.”

The panel also talks about the busy week in the General Assembly including the final budget negotiations in the House before they go to the floor, as well as the leadership from Budget Chair Scott Fitzpatrick. They also discuss the stalling of Sen. Ed Emery’s utilities legislation, and the passage of Rep. Holly Rehder’s prescription drug monitoring plan out of the House.

“We are the one state in the country that doesn’t have this program,” Merideth says. “It seems like a no-brainer when we’re dealing with an opioid epidemic and yet folks are apparently concerned about privacy with it.”

This episode of TWMP will air at 11:00 a.m. in the St. Louis area on ABC 30 KDNL, in the Kansas City area on 38 the Spot at 10:00 a.m. and in mid-Missouri on KRCG at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 19. The show is available online at 11:00 a.m. at twmp.tv.