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By Jane Banaszek

As many expected,  Mayor Robert Lowery has announced his intention to seek a third term  in April 2011. Lowery said at his announcement that there is a stark difference between himself and his likely opponents and that is a positive record of accomplishment. He also said the race was about nothing less than who can best preserve the quality of life for Florissant residents and lead Florissant forward in a positive direction.

Although names have been speculated, thus far no one else has announced intentions to challenge Mayor Lowery in the race for mayor.

“Anyone can sit on the sidelines and throw insults, but it takes leadership and experience to get results,” said Lowery. “I believe if you don’t have something positive to point to that you have done, and your campaign is just personal attacks, then you don’t have much to offer the voters. I get up every day thinking how can I make life better for the residents of Florissant, not what can I say bad about someone.”

Lowery contends that while many older communities in St. Louis County have withered, Florissant has experienced a renaissance. “Growth is the number one way to measure the success of our city,” the mayor said in a statement announcing his re-election campaign. Lowery said the city has grown and added 4,045 new residents and over 400 acres since he took office. “Those voters spoke and said they wanted to be a part of the exciting things that are happening in our community,” said Lowery.

Lowery said that when he took office new business development was stagnant. “During my administration there has been approximately $600 million in new commercial and residential developments brought to Florissant. In the past four years alone, 387 new businesses have opened here,” he said.  That is at a rate of nearly 100 new businesses per year, he noted.

To address the need for even more job creation, the mayor stated that he recently appointed an Economic Development Commission and charged them with developing an economic development plan, to give the city a roadmap for even greater growth.

“We have kept our community clean and beautiful. We have paved over 28 miles of streets since I took office.

“We have kept up our parks and recreation centers, including finishing major renovations and expansions to the community  centers. In fact, we have done $9,189,000 worth of renovations and upgrades to our parks and recreation facilities, including $1, 987,000 in grants. We undertook the building of a beautiful Nature Lodge at Sunset Park and did so with private dollars and grants.”

“We put together a neighborhood preservation team consisting of a police officer, a health inspector and building inspector. We are making sure that the property values of Florissant homeowners don’t suffer like they have in some other communities who have been less vigilant and have seen their housing stock deteriorate and property values plummet.”

Safety is another issue where the mayor says that his administration has accomplished much.

“When I took office we worked to have our police department accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, and have been re-accredited every year since. Eight additional officers have been added to the police department since 2002. We upgraded communications which included GPS technology and can dispatch the nearest vehicle at a moment’s notice. We continue to remain one of the safest communities of our size.”

Lowery is also proud that a major audit by the State Auditor’s Office found no accounting irregularities. “We have been guardians of the people’s money and the State Audit proved that not one dime of money was missing. Compared with other communities the recommendations  made were minor.”

” If the worst they can say is that we allowed some civic, charitable, non-profit organizations and churches to hold events in buildings, that weren’t being rented by anyone else at the time, for free, then there really wasn’t much to talk about.”

“We all know the devastating impact the economy has had on families, working people and seniors. It has been hard on local and state governments as well, as tax revenues dwindled and we fought to maintain balanced budgets. I am proud that we have been able to maintain all basic city services and balance the budget year after year. Sometimes I have had to make tough decisions for the good of the entire community and maintaining public safety. It was hard cutting salaries by three percent, including my own, but it helped us keep the men and women who protect our safety, clean our street, plow away the snow, maintain our parks, and keep our property values up from being laid off. We had to put the interests of the public, your interests, first.”

Mayor Lowery summed up his reasons for running for another term, saying, “This is a critical time for Florissant. If we lose the will to innovate, to promote, to grow and just wallow in political pettiness then we will cease to be the shining jewel of North County and go the way of some other failed communities with high crime rates, a lost economic base, declining property values, no jobs, and no hope. I won’t let that happen. I believe our best days are ahead and I have the experience and vision to get us there.”

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