Sturtz hopes to unite 'divided community'

New Councilman Paul Sturtz has to adjust to the 'steep learning curve.'

By Robby Lewis

Published April 29, 2008

New First Ward Councilman Paul Sturtz hasn’t had much time to celebrate his victory.

On Monday, Sturtz attended his first City Council meeting as First Ward councilman.

Sturtz was elected on April 8 when he defeated former First Ward councilwoman Almeta Crayton.

Sturtz said the meeting was exciting and made him realize that he was now a part of the council.

“It’s been a slow revelation,” Sturtz said. “Sitting in the Council Chambers for five hours made it sink in that it’s going to be part of my life for the next three years.”

Sturtz said a major goal of his is to make the people in the First Ward more united.

“It’s been a divided community for a long time,” Sturtz said. “Where people feel like they are competing for the same resources. There needs to be a lot of facilitating and mediating and working through bad blood between groups before the neighborhood can really flower.”

Sturtz said one of the biggest changes he hopes for is to have more housing and more jobs available in the First Ward, and for more participation from Columbia residents.

“In part, one of the missions is to get people more involved on a day-to-day basis,” Sturtz said. “Local government can make people feel that they are part of the change that they want. In a small town like Columbia you can make a huge difference. If you have interest in a particular issue or a particular project, you can share interests and get help to implement it.”

Sturtz said he is working on a Web site that would feature an interactive map and a resource guide to the First Ward, as well as ways to get involved in the community.

Sturtz began meeting with residents on April 19 when he held two sessions of office hours.

The first session was at Café Berlin and the other was at J.R. Barton’s Southern Kitchen BBQ. Sturtz said he hopes to have these office hours every Saturday before council meetings.

“You create an atmosphere,” Sturtz said. “It is important to be in different parts of the ward on a regular basis. You get to talk to people who you wouldn’t normally run into and they’ll give you a piece of their mind and what concerns them, and this is great. I met a ton of people at both sessions and it is a really great way to let people know that city council is a reflection of what they want in their city. It’s been very rewarding for me.”

Mayor Darwin Hindman said it is not as easy as some people think to become a council member.

“There’s a steep learning curve,” Hindman said. “A lot more than people expect. The council welcomes new members and tries to make them feel at home. New council members have to jump right in and start voting. There’s no pass on that. They get their feet wet pretty fast. There’s so much that people have to learn that it takes so long.”

Hindman said even long-time council members sometimes have problems.

“Anybody could become confused over some of these complex issues where there is a long history that has to be learned,” Hindman said. “There is so much that comes into some decisions, it’s bound to become confusing to anyone on the council. Paul is a very smart guy and he is going to learn quickly.”

Sturtz sat for his first official council meeting on April 21, and other city officials have expressed excitement to begin working with him.

“You put Columbia, Mo., on the map culturally,” City Manager Bill Watkins said when Sturtz was sworn into office. “That tells me you connect not only with the people here, but also the others that are just discovering our city.”