Sturtz meets students
April 4, 2008
MU senior Glenn Rehn introduces First Ward City Council candidate Paul Sturtz at a meet-and-greet on Thursday night in the Arts and Science building. If elected, Sturtz would represent a large portion of campus.
Paul Sturtz, a candidate for Columbia First Ward city councilman, which encompasses MU, met with students Thursday night at the Arts and Science building to discuss issues salient to Columbia residents and MU students alike.
Sturtz, co-owner of the Ragtag Cinemacafé, discussed some aspects of his platform and fielded questions from a small group of students, mostly members of the MU College Democrats.
Although he said he was naïve to the concerns of students, Sturtz said that if he were elected, he would work to improve public transportation and create safer thoroughfares for pedestrians and bicycles. He said more housing should be developed in the First Ward to accommodate students and citizens that work in downtown Columbia.
Sturtz also discussed crime in Columbia, which he said has made some residents in certain neighborhoods in the First Ward “feel a little on edge.” He said crime in the ward could be contained not only with additional and more intensive policing — which he said involved police officers taking to beats on foot to build communication with residents — but also with increased job opportunities and youth programs in the ward.
“We’re not going to ever going to rid of crime, but I think of street crime comes about because there aren’t great opportunities for people that grow up in that neighborhood,” Sturtz said.
Sturtz discussed the possibility of developing environmentally sustainable forms of energy for the city, and using incentive programs to help develop local businesses. He said Columbia’s urban expansion should occur within the city and not on undeveloped land in the periphery of the city.
“There are a lot of progressive things we can be doing as a city that don’t involve becoming like every other town in America,” Sturtz said. “We don’t have to be Anywhere, USA. We have a lot of a smart minds in our city.”
MU College Democrats President Caitlin Ellis said the low turnout at the event mirrors a low turnout of students for municipal elections.
Ellis said it is hard to conduct outreach programs to convince MU students to participate in local elections — students are either registered to vote in their home counties or not registered at all.
“There’s really no good reason that I’ve heard from students to not register to vote,” Ellis said.
Junior Kerri Slezak, said she had registered to vote in Boone County and came to the event to learn more about Sturtz’s platform.
“I like him,” Slezak said. “He seemed really concerned with students.”
Khesha Duncan, a member of Concerned Citizens of Boone County, said she is worried about African-American representation in city government if incumbent First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton were to be unseated from her position.
“This would be a big step back in time,” Duncan said.
Sturtz said that because of a low rate of incumbents in Columbia city government being unseated, it would be “very unusual” if he unseated Crayton, but said he doesn’t feel “it is going to be an impossible task.”
“I feel like people are ready for a change,” Sturtz said. “I’m not predicting I’m going to win. I just think it’s going to be close.”
For more on Paul Sturtz, see the story on page 15.
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