St. Peters Aldermans Position has Growing Pains

Four, not three, to vie for seat on board




By Latreecia Wade
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 1:37 PM CDT


St. Peters officials said Monday that four candidates are eligible to fill a Ward 3 seat on the Board of Aldermen - contrary to a statement made during a recent board meeting.

Officials said Tommy Roberts Jr., an operating engineer for Local 513, meets all requirements to be considered as a candidate for the Ward 3 seat.

Mayor Len Pagano said during Thursday night's board meeting that only three candidates were eligible for the seat.
"I got all the information back from the (St. Charles) County Executive's office and three candidates were qualified and one was not," Pagano said.

Candidates Patrick Houlahan, Ed Remillard and Lonnie Nasalroad had met the qualifications to apply for an appointment to the seat, Pagano said Thursday.

Former Alderman Bruce Holt resigned from his Ward 3 seat in July after accepting a job with Gov. Matt Blunt. Blunt appointed Holt to serve as a special adviser for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

To be considered as a candidate, each person needed the signatures of at least 150 registered Ward 3 voters, Pagano said.

Previously, Pagano said Roberts was not eligible because voters who signed his petition had also signed other candidates' petitions.

On Monday, Roberts said it was not explained that having duplicate signatures disqualified a candidate.

"That wasn't a part of the rules," Roberts said.

Pagano said on Monday that duplicate signatures do not disqualify a candidate.

The confusion stemmed from St. Charles County and St. Charles appointment methods where a registered voter's signature can only be credited on one candidate petition. Any subsequent petitions turned in by other candidates with the same signatures on it would not go into the total, according to a St. Peters news release.

Roberts said when he was told he was disqualified, he discussed the matter with Rich Chrismer, director of elections with the St. Charles County Election Authority.

"Rich Chrismer assured me that St. Peters was responsible for me not qualifying, so I went to talk to (City Clerk) Rhonda Shaw," Roberts said.

Shaw sat down with Roberts and went through his petition with him, he said.

"She was very helpful and that's where I found those discrepancies," Roberts said.

Pagano said Monday that the petition requirement was new for the city.

"It's something new for us," he said. "(Roberts) qualifies for an interview."

The next step in the process will be candidate interviews, which will take place Sept. 18 during an executive session, with Pagano and the Board of Aldermen.