What muni election results mean for St. Charles County Democrats

Melissa Duson sees herself as a “blue dot” in a historically red area of the St. Louis region.

Duson lives in St. Charles County, one of the fastest-growing parts of the state that’s elected Republicans up and down the ballot for years. So when voters once again rejected self-identified conservative candidates to the Francis Howell School Board and defeated a property tax freeze, Duson said it came as a bit of a surprise and also evidence that St. Charles County is changing.

“I don’t necessarily think that the demographics have changed too much, at least not from my perspective,” Duson said. “But attitudes are definitely shifting. People are just tired.”

For long-suffering progressives in St. Charles County, the municipal election results showcase the value of running candidates who are supported with disciplined political campaigns. It’s giving Democrats some hope that they can elect members of their party to the state legislature during a midterm election that could be bad for Republicans.

“Hopefully we’ll have some really competitive general elections in November and some balance in the representation,” said Ted House, the most recent Democrat elected to countywide office in St. Charles County, as a judge in 2014. “Because when you have a county council that’s all Republican, or every single legislator from the county be Republican or Democrat, it’s very unhealthy, and you get bad government.”

But even some progressives who were excited about the April municipal results say that Democrats should be cautious. Not only will the turnout be different, but it’s not likely that frustrations with national politics will prompt longtime conservatives to suddenly vote for Democrats.

“I really don’t believe that we’re going through a blue wave. I believe we’re going through a seriousness wave of ‘I want actual candidates, and I don’t care what their label is, at least for the school board election,’” said Harvester resident Erin Shetler.

Tapping dissatisfaction

Republicans exclusively represent St. Charles County on the county, state and federal level. Voters there also backed President Donald Trump in all three of his elections with at least 57% of the vote.

But county residents also approved ballot initiatives to legalize abortion, expand Medicaid, repeal “right-to-work” laws, raise the minimum wage and authorize recreational marijuana. And even though nearby Jefferson and Franklin counties backed their own property tax freeze propositions, St. Charles County voters defeated theirs by a nearly 60-40 margin.

Even people working against what was known as Proposition RT, such as John Greifzu of the St. Charles City-County Library, were taken aback by the ballot measure’s resounding defeat.

“Hopefully it’s an indication that the community recognizes the importance of the services that are paid for through that bill,” Greifzu said.

House, who served in the Missouri General Assembly and as an elected judge in St. Charles County, said opponents were able to clearly articulate how the tax freeze would hurt basic governmental services. That, he said, is indicative of how Democrats and progressive-minded groups are able to effectively convey a message to an electorate that may not always agree with them.

“Once they had the facts, they’re saying: ‘Hey, this is bad for schools. It’s bad for fire. It’s bad for ambulance. It’s bad for the disability services community in St. Charles County. It’s terrible for libraries,’” House said. “And yes, nobody likes paying property tax. But that’s how you build a strong community.”

Jamie Martin is with Francis Howell Forward, who supported the three candidates – Sara Dillard, Jason Adams and Kevin McGuire – who won this month’s school board election.

Martin said one of the reasons the three candidates who won were so appealing is they weren’t focused on helping a political party or ideology. By contrast, the three candidates who lost branded themselves as conservatives on yard signs and on social media.

“We’re not just getting new voters or new move-ins to the county, we’re bringing over their voters, and we’re doing that because we have a nonpartisan message,” said Martin, pointing out that the slate she supported gained ground in historically Republican parts of St. Charles County. “We’re doing that because we refuse to play party politics. We’re willing to hold anyone accountable that needs to be held accountable, and we’re willing to run anyone who’s friendly to public education.”

“We have tapped into the community sentiment that these divisive politics are not helping anyone. They’re certainly not helping our kids,” she added, alluding to recent debates over removing books or curtailing curriculum that examines America’s history with racism.

Brian Munoz

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St. Louis Public Radio

Possibilities for Democrats 

St. Charles County could provide hope for a chronically beleaguered Missouri Democratic Party that’s struggled to regain their statewide footing over the past decade.

If Democrats can make tangible gains there, it could be a step toward bringing enough suburban voters into the fold to be competitive in statewide elections. A more Democratic St. Charles County could also make the 3rd Congressional District, which as of now contains the entire county, more in play during general election cycles.

Carole Bannes, a Democratic committeewoman who lives in St. Charles’ New Town, said she’s noticed people more receptive to Democrats recently, especially when they’re frustrated with high gas prices or Trump’s chaotic administration.

“They’re being affected by things other than their gut response to one issue,” Bannes said.

Shetler, the Harvester resident who backed the three victorious school board candidates, said Democrats should be cautious about extrapolating too much from the April elections. She said just because somebody is willing to give school board candidates a chance doesn’t mean they’re going to completely forfeit their conservative values on other issues.

“This is Trump country. It is,” Shetler said. “We’re regular folks who just want to take care of their neighbors and have their kids go to a good school and be able to afford a yard and have our taxes spent in a good way.”

Carl Bearden, who served as a GOP state legislator and a Republican member of the county council, said Republicans in general are not particularly good at turning out for elections that occur outside of the August primary or the November general.

But he added it’s possible for Democrats to gain ground in St. Charles County state legislative elections, especially in districts on the eastern side of the county that are more evenly divided politically.

“If you get a good Democrat candidate who’s willing to work it, who connects with people, that makes it far more dangerous than if you just throw a D on the ballot,” Bearden said. “Because that doesn’t get it done.”