On December 10th, in reaction to proposed stadium financing, St. Louis Alderwoman Megan Green made the following statement:
“The deal cutting, bribery, and [corruption] at City Hall will never cease to amaze me", she later referred to the situation as “legalized bribery,” and stated, “And just because something is legal in MO doesn’t mean it’s ethical”.
See the article: St. Louis alderman alleges 'bribery' and 'corruption' in stadium vote.
I was not very familiar with Megan Green, so I did some light research; including searching news reports about her, reading her personal website, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter accounts. Some news articles about Ms. Green are listed below:
- Ferguson Protests and "Outside Agitators" Factor in Race for 15th Ward Alderman
- Green's Party-Crashing Victory Raises Questions About Value Of Partisan Elections
- Alderwoman introduces bill to require public vote on stadium funding
- Tower Grove South neighborhood holds town hall meeting to address recent crime
Below is a video of her explaining her background, last year, when she was a running for office.
Below is another video of Ms. Green responding last year to crime and the Ferguson protests.
My research didn't reveal any thing I could cite as negative. Megan Green appears to be intelligent, committed and open minded. So far, I like what I see and Ms. Green seems sincere and genuine.
Today the post dispatch reports, Lewis Reed considering reprimand of St. Louis alderman over stadium flap.
The Post article mentions that neither the St. Louis Police or FBI have substantiated the allegations. Unsubstantiated allegations do not mean that corruption did not occur. One of the primary reason for the existence of Court.rchp.com is St. Louis' Culture of Corruption.
Reed reportedly stated, "She clearly has lied about this," …. "Something needs to happen. The board, universally, is really upset about it". However, without proof that she lied, statements about her lying are equally unsubstantiated. The irony is that Lewis Reed endorsed Megan Green during her candidacy.
Is it really unreasonable to believe that corruption surrounds a billion dollar project? Unless this alderwoman has a history of lying; which I find no evidence of, I see no reason not to take her at her word.
I don't personally know Mr. Reed, he seems to have integrity and I have mostly liked what I have seen and heard about him publicly and I have voted for him in the past. Although, he may honestly believe everything is being done ethically and legally, I'm not ready to totally dismiss Ms. Green's statements.
Corruption may not always be obvious and can come in many forms including:
- Outright monetary bribes
- Campaign financial support
- Employment opportunities
- Travel or other perks
- Book deals with large advances
- Hugh public speaking fees
- Appointment to higher office or corporate boards
- The list could go on and on
Maybe I'm biased, I don't believe it is smart or in the public interest to spend hundreds of millions of dollars of public money on a private stadium, especially when a perfectly good stadium already exists. St. Louis has infrastructure in disrepair, crime, homelessness, and variety of other issues public money would be better be spent on.
