National Reports
ROSE, RICHARD
NATIONAL REPORTS Mayor Seeks to Revive St. Louis By Richard Rose St. Louis A statesman is a dead politician, Harry Truman once said. But Mayor Raymond R. Tucker recently demonstrated that he is...
...Already, three persons who were on the 13-member charter-drafting committee have announced they will oppose it, reminding Tucker that he is not the only politician in St...
...And this landslide was set off by a record of statesmanlike accomplishments...
...This more than counterbalanced the weight of the ward leaders...
...The balloting is certain to be close because of well-organized opposition among neighborhood interest groups...
...Louisans—some Southern, some German—has not been an asset either...
...Yet, Tucker beat a going organization by only 1,679 votes in the primary, picking up his margin from switching Republicans and independents...
...Louis has been constricted by boundaries unchanged since 1876...
...Today, 96 adjacent county suburbs are growing in wealth, population and industry, often at the expense of a stagnating, spiritless city...
...Although newspapers here delight in headlining Tucker as an opponent of "the politicians," he is not quite that...
...Tucker became Mayor by recognizing that today political success can be achieved with efficiency, intelligence and integrity...
...The conservative nature of St...
...Former Sheriff Thomas F. Callanan made an abortive attempt to gain the Mayoralty nomination but was beaten by a 4-to-l majority, Tucker carrying 26 of 28 wards...
...Opponents of the new proposal claim that city-wide elections would place control of municipal government in the hands of big businessmen, the daily papers and a strong Mayor, since only they command the resources to support such candidates effectively...
...In place of parochial men with vested interests, Tucker would have a Board controlled by Aldermen elected at large from the whole city...
...Tucker believes the city must be rejuvenated or decay...
...Later, Tucker served as Smoke Commissioner, supervising the inauguration of a popular smoke-control program...
...The "little" man cannot hope to win in such a race, they charge...
...Currently, Mayor Tucker is preparing for an especially important battle to secure voter approval of a new city charter...
...But Mayor Raymond R. Tucker recently demonstrated that he is a statesman, a politician and very much alive...
...In view of this, the achievements of Tucker's first administration have been notable...
...The 60-year-old Mayor has taken a down-to-earth approach to his job...
...In St...
...During the 1930s, he served as secretary to Mayor Bernard Dickmann, a very hep politician who is now postmaster...
...A "blue ribbon" Board of Freeholders was elected to draft a more efficient city charter...
...In fact, veteran observers calf him the smartest politician in the city...
...When he ran for the office in the 1953 Democratic primary, his opponent, Mark D. Eagleton, was backed by the head of the Democratic City Central Committee and many ward committeemen...
...As a onetime professor of mechanical engineering at Washington University, he has always had a source of employment outside politics...
...He beat his Republican opponent in his bid for re-election by a.record plurality of 71,362 votes, carrying every one of the city's 28 wards...
...Voters passed an earnings tax necessary to prevent municipal insolvency by a margin of 8% to 1. A $110-million bond issue sailed through...
...This attitude has won him popularity among independents and respect among ward leaders as a vote-getter...
...This, he feels, is the only way to secure broad planning for highways, housing and other reforms...
...Louis, victory in the Democratic primary usually, but not automatically, results in election...
...Tucker has not neglected political ties in making job appointments, but he is known for insisting that a candidate for patronage be able as well as "acceptable...
...This would revise the Board of Aldermen, which has defeated a number of his major proposals by the use of aldermanic "courtesy...
...The latter is a device whereby a single Alderman can veto a bill affecting his ward and prevent it from being considered in the larger context of its effect on the city as a whole...
...This spring, in fact, they were quick to jump on his hand-wagon even before the primary opened...
...The charter will go to a referendum this summer...
...Tucker's belief is that the "little" man's little mind has no place in the running of a big city...
...Also, Republicans like former Mayor Aloys P. Kauf-mann have been welcomed as supporters in drives for municipal improvement...
...Not least in importance, Tucker has gotten the city's top businessmen to take stands on municipal issues, thus insuring their participation in the drive to stimulate the city's growth...
...He was once chairman of the Twelfth Ward Regular Democratic Organization...
Vol. 40 • May 1957 • No. 20
