It would be easy to lie to you and list a bunch of goals I have for Bridgeton if elected. Truth be told though, the first year I think I am going to spend learning the system and not deviating too far from our current course. “Why?” you might ask. I feel like we are on a great track for improving our city. In fact, I do not think I would be running if Scott Zimmer was seeking reelection. I feel both Bob Saettele and Scott Zimmer have done a fantastic job and while I might not agree with each and every decision and vote they have made, I truly respect both of them and feel like they continue to make moves that prove they have Bridgeton’s best interests at heart.
There are some people who live in Bridgeton that love to paint our city in a bad light. I am by no means saying this is the perfect area without problems, however, I think it is easy to ignore many of the positives and focus on the negatives. I wanted to take a minute to list some of the positive improvements we have see over the past couple years.
- We have built numerous new neighborhoods to help expand our population.
- We have brought new businesses into the city.
- The city was able to bring back free* recycling, trash, and yard waste pickup service. I put an asterisk here because we pay for this with taxes.
- We have torn down many of the old abandoned hotels. The old Capitol Inn on Pennridge being the most recent.
- We have passed ordinances to help with roadside soliciting.
- There have been numerous improvements to how stormwater is handled.
- BMAC is adding Pickleball courts.
- We have repainted the fire hydrants. – It should be noted that this was not an action performed by the Bridgeton City Council, but an action performed by Missouri American Water.
While walking door to door collecting signatures from my neighbors I heard quite a few suggestions for things that we could improve in our community. Many people have asked about a dog park. I had a few ask about the playground equipment at Hellebusch Park and Matthews Park. I had over 10 people ask about Pickleball Courts. I even had two people talk to me about how steep the incline is on the walking path that connects Westhaven subdivision to Matthews Park. It would be irresponsible of me to make any promises around these topics, however, I think these are all great opportunities for improvement and I have already asked questions about these topics. For the people who asked about Pickleball Courts you’ll be getting them soon!
I have said numerous times I am going to run a positive campaign. I feel like any political campaign I have seen the past few years has been negative. Because of this, I do not want to focus on the bad in my postings. I do think it is important to include in this post though, that the Bridgeton Police department is continuing to add new police officers to their staff to help combat crime numbers. Unfortunately, crime is an issue across the country currently. I had a call last week with a coworker of mine that lives in Hartford, Connecticut. He told me about numerous catalytic converters being stolen from their condo complex overnight. We also have issues where many of the people committing these crimes are minors, and therefore, harder to prosecute as they fall under the Saint Louis County Juvenile System. I have had many great conversations with the Bridgeton Chief of Police, Mark Mossotti, and I feel like Bridgeton is doing everything they can to keep our area as safe as possible. If you have concerns about safety in your area, I urge you to reach out to Chief Mossotti. If you are uncomfortable doing so and would like me to introduce you two, please let me know.