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BY CAROL ARNETT

The race for mayor of Florissant pits experience against a new face in Florissant politics. Mayor Robert Lowery is being challenged by Andrew Podleski. Both have several ideas, many of them different, about the city and the direction that it should be heading. This is the only race of significance in The Independent News area on the April 3rd ballot. All the incumbents in the City of Hazelwood and Black Jack are running unopposed. There are no tax levies or bond issues on ballot. In the Hazelwood School District, incumbents Joseph Donahue and Carol Stroker are on ballot along with Ephraim Woods. Two will be elected for three-year terms.

Lowery has been mayor for six years having first been elected in 2001 following the death of Mayor James Eagan. Lowery completed the two remaining years of Eagan’s term and then was re-elected without opposition.

Podleski, who grew up in Old Town Florissant, works for a defense software company. This is his first venture into the political ring.

LOWERY CITES HIS RECORD THAT ‘SPEAKS FOR
ITSELF’ AND FLORISSANT’S RENAISSANCE

—–BY CAROL ARNETT
Robert Lowery, long-time Florissant police chief, has been the mayor of Florissant since 2001, when he was elected following the death of the Mayor Jim Eagan.

When asked why voters should choose him this election, Lowery said that his record speaks for itself. “This administration has had tremendous achievements,” he said. “The renaissance in Florissant is continuing.”

Lowery said he sees several issues facing the city in the coming years. “I’m concerned about safety, housing stock, and code violations,” he said. He said that his administration has redeveloped both community centers and Bangert Park, and has installed new equipment in all parks. “We have more programs for seniors, youth, and people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s,” he said.

Lowery has implemented a task force composed of a police officer, health officer, and building inspector. “They have the responsibility of making certain the city is kept clean and everyone is abiding by the codes,” Lowery said. “It’s very important that we keep the beautification of the city going.”

“I’m absolutely convinced that we’re very fiscally stable,” Lowery said. “There should be no tax increase in the future.” He said the city is becoming fiscally stable enough that he will recommend a pay raise for all employees in the next budget.

In the future, Lowery said he would like to see the city grow–in both size and population. The current city population is just over 50,000. “I want about 75,000,”
Lowery said. New residents would come mostly from annexations and some new housing developments in the city, he said.

Lowery said he has a “hands-on and open-door” policy. “We have accountability here,” he said. He said the city’s financial statements would be made available in upcoming issues of the Florissant Focus, the city’s newsletter to residents.

Lowery said the biggest challenge the city will face in the future is continuing on the “path of progress” it has been on. “We need to get everybody together and work together to keep the city on this path.”

“I want to maintain great services to people and add on more,” Lowery said. He cited the increases in programs offered by the parks and recreation department. “We have something for all ages now,” he said.

“Economic development continues on,” Lowery said. “We need to continue to make our city vibrant and to have beautiful places to shop and eat.”

“I think regionally,” Lowery said. “The challenges that Florissant faces are shared by all of North County.” He said, for example, that the city is trying to help the owners of Jamestown Mall revitalize the mall. He is a co-chair on the committee of metropolitan mayors trying to get a new bridge built over the Mississippi River.
Lowery said that 145 families have recently moved back to Florissant from St. Charles County. “I want that trend to continue,” he said. “There has been perception in the metropolitan area that we have crime, that we’re not a good place to be, and we’ve changed that for the most part.”

NON-POLITIAN PODLESKI SEEKS A
NEW VIEW FOR FLORISSANT’S FUTURE

—–BY CAROL ARNETT
Challenger Andrew Podleski says he is the “everyman candidate.” When asked why voters should vote for him for mayor of Florissant, Andrew Podleski said he is offering a new view of the Florissant in the future. “I’m offering a new way of operating the city. I want to allow the city to be run by citizens.” Podleski says he is not a career politician and will offer a new direction for the city.

If elected, Podleski said he wanted to get the city on better financial footing. He also would like to see changes in the police department. “There needs to be better morale in the police department, and for that to happen, there are issues in the department that need to be addressed,” he said.

Podleski said the police department pay has slid down the scale of police departments in the area. “It used to be near the top, and it has fallen in the last few years,” he said. He also said the city has not added the police it needs to after recent annexations.

Podleski said that one of his first acts if elected would be to audit the various city departments. “The city has 240 employees,” he said. “I want to make sure they are all being used in best way.” He said he would look to see if any work would be better moved from one department to another, and if there were any other measures that could lead to some cost savings.

“We need to know where we are to find out where we’re going,” Podleski said. He said that past financial statements have shown more expenditures than income. “We can’t keep dipping into the reserves,” he said.

He would also like to make city hall more “user-friendly.” He said he would set up one central desk or person that would take calls from residents and help them to the right city department. In addition, he would like to offer additional hours for permits and other city business. “Many cities keep their city hall open late one night per week or Saturday mornings,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to take time off work to get a deck permit.”

“I’m not against development,” Podleski said, “but I think that we need to be careful about what kinds of development we have.” He said the city needs to ask citizens what they want. “We also need to ask ‘what are we doing for businesses that are already here?’” he said.

Podleski said he would work with the school districts to see what the city could do to help the districts. “People looking for an area to live are always going to look at the safety and the school districts,” he said.

He also said he would instruct the city’s housing director to speak to the human resources departments of new businesses in the area. He cited Express Scripts, which is building a new building near the University of Missouri – St. Louis. “We have great housing for the employees that are going to work there, and we need to get the word out,” he said.

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