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RFT Asks: How Would Stephen Webber Fight Missouri’s ‘Extremism’? | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

January 13, 2023

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click to enlarge Courtesy Stephen Webber Former State Representative Stephen Webber speaks at a Planned Parenthood rally in Columbia.

Former Democratic state representative Stephen Webber’s newly announced race for Boone County’s Missouri Senate seat will be closely watched in 2024. Redistricting removed the more rural parts of District 19 — giving Democrats like Webber a rare shot at flipping a historically Republican seat from red to blue.

Boone County, with Columbia right in its center, now makes up the whole of District 19. Webber will be a familiar face for voters there; he served eight years in the Missouri House representing Columbia before he reached term limits in 2016. He also lost a race for the same senate seat to Republican Caleb Rowden in 2016.

Webber is the former chair of the Missouri Democratic Party and current political director for Missouri AFL-CIO, the state’s largest federation of labor unions.

The RFT caught up with Webber this week to talk about his campaign, and why Democrats winning seats is important for eliminating “extremism” in Missouri.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why are you running for state senate again?

We have an extremism problem in this state. It’s getting worse and it’s not going to go away until we stop it. We need to do is win back seats and keep extremists out of the Missouri legislature.

You said something similar when you announced your campaign. You said in a statement: “With an extremist legislature that is taking power away from us… We need leadership that will fight back.” What do you mean by that exactly? What is this “extremism problem?”

It’s the MAGA moment, the idea of no real values, that nothing matters except owning the “libs” or your opponent. Hating whole groups of people. When I first came into politics in 2008, there were a lot of Republicans that were trying to take away women’s right to choose. That’s not a new thing. But now we’ve evolved to extreme measures like bounty bills, where the state would pay you money to turn someone in. Republicans in 2008 would’ve been like, “Whoa, that’s a little too far.” It’s like that on so many levels. Like gun issues — folks are not only advocating for possessing weapons but arming teachers. Everything has gotten so much more extreme in a way that would have been unrecognizable a few years ago.

You mentioned MAGA earlier. Do you think this extremism is a direct result of Donald Trump? Or did you notice this in Missouri before his administration?

Missouri Republicans have always been the leaders in terms of crazy… I think Donald Trump has emboldened the worst instincts that were already there for a lot of these folks. He’s moved the Overton window of what is acceptable.

You unsuccessfully tried to flip the 19th district senate seat in 2016. So did Judy Baker in 2020. What makes you think things will be different in 2024?

Our district is different. In previous elections, Republicans have always lost Boone County but won the rural counties. Now the district is just Boone County.

I think there are a lot of people who were taken aback by the extremism, too. They were voting Republican a few years ago, and now they’re voting Democrat.

Why do you think it’s important for Republican seats to flip in Missouri?

Two reasons. We haven’t won a senate district outside of the St. Louis or Kansas City areas since 2006. There’s no way we can be a competitive statewide party if we can’t win select senate seats. Also, these MAGA extremists are not going to stop. They overturned Roe. They’re not done. They’re looking at banning birth control, charging people [with] murder for getting an abortion. They’re never going to quit, and we have to have people in the legislature who can fight back against this agenda and try to stop it.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

9 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

9 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

9 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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