{"id":5003,"date":"2011-02-10T13:52:39","date_gmt":"2011-02-10T19:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=5003"},"modified":"2011-02-10T13:52:39","modified_gmt":"2011-02-10T19:52:39","slug":"6-candidates-officially-on-april-ballot-for-mayor-of-florissant-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=5003","title":{"rendered":"6 Candidates Officially On April Ballot For Mayor of Florissant"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carol Arnett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Six candidates are officially on the ballot for the April election for Florissant mayor. One potential candidate, Virgil Wiles, turned in signatures, but did not have the 500 valid signatures required, said City Clerk Karen Goodwin.<\/p>\n

All six candidates have some experience in elective office. Two, Tom Schneider and Andrew Podleski, are current councilmen. Two others, Bob Garrett and Susan Geerling, previously served on the council. Mark Behlmann is on the Hazelwood School Board, and Michael Spreng is a former state representative.<\/p>\n

Interviews with four of the candidates have run in previous editions of this paper. This week, the focus is on Bob Garrett and Susan Geerling.<\/p>\n

Bob Garrett Candidacy<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why is Garrett running? \u201cBecause I want to get back into politics and working for the city,\u201d he said. \u201cI was on the council for 18 years, then took a break and recharged, and now I want to get back and contribute to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garrett contends one of the biggest challenges facing the city is the economy and the city\u2019s financial situation. \u201cWhen I was on the council, we had a large amount in our reserve account. A large portion of those funds have been depleted to balance the budget and fund other projects,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like to refine the budget process to prevent problems in the future.<\/p>\n

Garrett said he would work to draw more businesses to the area. \u201cThe city did a good job with Cross Keys, which I backed,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an ongoing problem we\u2019re having where we are in competition with other cities to attract retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another challenge is maintaining the city\u2019s infrastructure, Garrett said. He said that when he was on the council, the city completed several street improvement projects, many with funds from the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD). He said he would like to look into partnering with MSD again. \u201cEven if we only do a small amount of streets yearly, we should try to continue and make it an ongoing project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s strengths include a stable population and many willing volunteers, Garrett believes. \u201cThe city has a strong tradition of working with residents,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are people who have spent much of their lives making the city better.\u201d In addition to the boards and commissions, Garrett cited groups such as the Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, the Florissant Valley Historical Society, Kiwanis, and Rotary. \u201cThere are a number of groups that put both money and time into the city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the best qualifications for helping the city look forward to the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Susan Geerling Candidacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Susan Geerling, who has lived in Florissant since she was eleven years old, is a former councilwoman. When asked why she is running for office, she replied, \u201cThe people of Florissant are ready for a new kind of leadership.\u00a0 They work hard and want city leadership that truly works for them. I am running because I believe that I can offer that leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geerling said that she thinks the mayor sets the tone for the community. \u201cAs a former member of the Florissant City Council, and as a citizen active in my community, I’ve worked with almost all of Florissant’s city government department heads. \u00a0I respect their work and appreciate what they do for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geerling said that the major problem facing Florissant is the economy. \u201cIn recent years, a tough economy has challenged all local governments to address budget realities, and Florissant is no exception. Now more than ever, city funds must be used wisely and hard budget decisions must be made in a proactive way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geerling said the budget process must be transparent. She also said she would work with the city\u2019s economic development director to ensure that we are identifying and pursuing opportunities to bring businesses to the city.<\/p>\n

Geerling also said that attracting and engaging new residents is also important.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorissant\u2019s best strength, and most important opportunity, is its people and their strong sense of community,\u201d Geerling said. \u00a0\u201cWe have a powerful sense of place here, and a real identity. That sense of place positively differentiates Florissant from some newer communities with whom we might compete for residents, and we can leverage that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geerling also cited the city\u2019s plentiful shopping, a strong and large base of service businesses, many churches, and city-available activities as strength.\u00a0 She said that showing potential residents the powerful aspects of the city is something she would do as mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will work with city staff and other elected officials to create a process that is positive, proactive, and effective for Florissant residents and business owners,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carol Arnett Six candidates are officially on the ballot for the April election for Florissant mayor. One potential candidate, Virgil Wiles, turned in signatures, but did not have the 500 valid signatures required, said City Clerk Karen Goodwin. All six candidates have some experience in elective office. Two, Tom Schneider and Andrew Podleski, are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florissant","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n6 Candidates Officially On April Ballot For Mayor of Florissant - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=5003\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Candidates Officially On April Ballot For Mayor of Florissant - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Carol Arnett Six candidates are officially on the ballot for the April election for Florissant mayor. 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