Benton Park: 3rd Party Hotbed?

I love how the Missouri Secretary of State's candidate listing includes mailing addresses. Although most well-funded candidates list a campaign office or PO Box, many third-party candidates list home addresses.

The up-and-coming, relatively progressive South St. Louis neighborhood of Benton Park is home to three state-level candidates this November:

David Fry - Constitution Party candidate for Missouri Attorney General
32xx block of Missouri

Kevin Babcock - Libertarian Party candiate for US Congress, 3rd District
19xx block of Withnell

Jeanette Mott Oxford - Democratic Party candidate for State Representative, 59th District
29xx block of Lemp

While Jeanette is of course not a 3rd-party candidate, her election (she faces a Libertarian named Robert Christophel from Mount Pleasant in the far south end of the 59th) is very important since she is openly a lesbian and a tremendous left-wing community activist. If third-parties were actually viable in the United States, no doubt she'd be a Green or even a Democratic Socialist.

The other two Benton Parkers are from less-than-leftist third parties, but maybe voting for either Fry or Babcock would send a message in support of the concept of multiparty democracy. And since both Jay Nixon and Russ Carnahan seem to be pretty safe in their elections, it wouldn't really hurt them.

Every Five Years...

Every five years, the City of St. Louis is required to send to HUD a strategic plan of sorts, called the Consolidated Plan Five-Year Strategy, for how to spend about $30 million a year in four formula grant programs: Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership, Emergency Shelter Grant, and Housing Opportunities for People with HIV/AIDS.

At 3:00 PM today there is a public meeting at 1015 Locust, Ste. 1200 to discuss amendments to the current plan, and the plan for the next five years. Here's your chance to get your opinion on record about how CDBG and these related grant funds are spent.

If you can't make it to the meeting, take their online survey.

More information here.

By the way, I was one of the authors of the 1999 plan, but I'm not involved this time around.

Closing Up - For Now

The Commonspace will close its doors at 615 N. Grand Blvd. for good at the end of September after a two-year run. The web 'zine will continue to exist and be published more regularly again, and there are plans for 'real life' events to continue at other venues. Keeping up with the rent and utilities of the former Crown Optical space became very difficult once People's Coffee moved out, focusing on its more profitable operation at the Mel Carnahan Courthouse 7th floor.

From an email to members by Brian Marston and Amanda Doyle on Monday:

"It has been an incredible two years on North Grand: we've held many
events that brought thousands of people together to experience
grassroots civics and culture at The Commonspace...and that's not even including
the countless meetings, book groups, Meetups and other informal gatherings
that it's been our pleasure to host. We've been lucky to get connected
to some amazing groups doing amazing work for our city and our community,
and to spend time getting to know many of you....

It has been our privilege to offer two years of our time and energy, on a
completely volunteer basis, as our gift to St. Louis. However, the character flaw
known as "lack of moderation" has meant that we've been single-mindedly
focused on this project and have put some important personal priorities
on indefinite hold during that time; now we're feeling the need to
return some of them to the top of the life list."

Several events will be held between now and the end of the month.