Mayor Bert Gates had a flyer distributed around the neighborhoods of Shrewsbury today. In it, he attacks candidate Felicity Buckley for the issues she outlines in her campaign literature distributed similarly a few weeks ago.
While I was not initially impressed by Ms. Buckley's main concerns, I similarly disagree with Gates, who calls her "misinformed". Ms. Buckley said she wanted Shrewsbury Ave (over I-44) and Murdoch "spruced up" as entryways to our city. Gates attacks this, saying these are County arterial roads over which Shrewsbury has no control.
First, Bert, it's spelled "Murdoch", not "Murdock". Better dot your "i"s and cross your "t"s before calling someone else misinformed.
Secondly, passing the buck to the County is not particularly effective either. If the city felt these issues were important, is it so unheard of for city-county cooperation to get something done? After all, the city does have signs in the right-of way along Murdoch and Laclede. If, say, a gardening club wanted to pick up litter and plant some flowers, is it so beneath Shrewsbury to work with the County to get it done?
One final issue about the flier: Bert opted for the green sign with single-color print and paid a messenger to deliver them. Amazing what somebody who budgets can do, vs. the first-class, full-color brochures that taxpayers paid for earlier in the week. It's pretty easy to spend someone else's money.
