Les Sterman

Former Director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, now retired. Community volunteer and advocate for downtown St. Louis

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@Citizens4STL The real question is why it took so long to figure out that millions of dollars in accumulated unpaid parking tickets just might be a problem. And why the Treasurer pays a contractor to issue tickets with no expectation that they would be paid.

[STL Downtown Neighborhood Association @saintlouisdna]

Downtown St. Louis home tour returns Saturday https://t.co/SmOSRV0fsB

[STL Downtown Neighborhood Association @saintlouisdna]

Downtown Living Tour and Volunteers - https://t.co/uBoHfnf6MU

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@Citizens4STL The real question is why it took so long to figure out that millions of dollars in accumulated unpaid parking tickets just might be a problem. And why the Treasurer pays a contractor to issue tickets with no expectation that they would be paid.

[Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis @Citizens4STL]

LINK: “The roughly $1 million in revenue for the city is a direct result of resident outrage over cars sitting abandoned, in particular in downtown, in some cases for months.” #Citizens4STL

https://t.co/VxYB4bQq3W

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@Beganovic2026 @SLMPD And a weak board is allowing their attorney to make policy.

[STL Downtown Neighborhood Association @saintlouisdna]

Downtown Living Tour and Volunteers - https://t.co/a0RXJ2aeXf

[STL Downtown Neighborhood Association @saintlouisdna]

The Downtown Living Tour is back Saturday, June 13th from 11am to 4pm. We are excited to showcase the unique experience of living in Downtown St. Louis. Click the link to purchase tickets.
https://t.co/YMHOdjrEGM

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@LarsEtzkornLaw We are in two states, and we have sharp political divisions that are only getting worse, but other metros have been able to overcome those conditions. Unfortunately, our local leaders have yet to even admit there is a problem, or that they are part of the problem.

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

The Rams settlement money will not be “transformational” for St. Louis. The problems of our city and our region cannot be solved by money alone. They can only be solved by addressing our geographic, political, and racial differences. The money is a band-aid on a gaping wound.

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@LarsEtzkornLaw I spent 26 years at East-West Gateway trying to figure that one out. I think we need to start with regional fiscal reform. Our local tax system and the rampant use of tax subsidies in wealthy suburbs has encouraged economic dislocation and political divisions.

[Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis @Citizens4STL]

PHOTOS: While we always appreciate new investment downtown, we are mindful that “silver bullet” projects are not a substitute for street level enforcement of city ordinances, acting quickly to close problem properties and businesses, fixing failing infrastructure, vigorous traffic enforcement, and all those unglamorous but essential functions of city government. It is the city’s historical failure to effectively perform those functions that has devalued our downtown, even after hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment. Big projects that promise to “save” downtown can only succeed if we pay attention to all of the things that only local government can do.

#Citizens4STL

@MikeLKehoe @SLMPD @MitchellMcCoy @CFDstlfd @saintlouismayor @saintlouispres @SLDCmo @DevelopStLouis @AlderSheenBean @JamiCMichele @LishaLiberty @shanecohn @VDanielaV @Schweitzer88 @OldenburgSTL @STL4Ward @schubbard10 @boydstuff @GreaterSTLinc @CommerceBank @enterprisecares @Cardinals @horseshoestl @Advantes @UnionStationSTL @HiltonBallpark @AquariumSTL @Stifel @SchnuckMarkets @DowntownStLouis @stlcid @carolinehecker @charliekmox @andybankertv @rlippmann @solomonreports @DavidAmelottiTV @MarkMaxwellTV @ChrisHayesTV @RyanWKrull @kevinmcdermott @davidhoffmannmo

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@MarkMaxwellTV I'm not sure that calling people who disagree with you ignorant is the best strategy for winning them over to your point of view. Why not say "we need to work together to build a better understanding of the impacts and benefits of data centers"? Arrogance is not a good strategy.

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@MarkMaxwellTV I'm not sure that calling people who disagree with you ignorant is the best strategy for winning them over to your point of view. Why not say "we need to work together to build a better understanding of the impacts and benefits of data centers"? Arrogance is not a good strategy.

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@DavidAmelottiTV Focus entirely on residential growth across the entire city. Avoid the vanity projects favored by big businesses and the political donor class.

[Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis @Citizens4STL]

LINK & PHOTOS: “I just wanted to tell people how much a group of us enjoys downtown. We don’t see it as a lot
of disconnected ‘islands.’ It’s one of my favorite walks, in fact.
For more information on our walking club, please go to our website, https://t.co/H0XvQhVFBv.
DeAnne Brown is president of Saint Louis Walkers.” https://t.co/C6fDVwY8bd

[Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis @Citizens4STL]

LINKS: The lack of police presence during late-night hours and the City's permissive policies regarding late-night street vendors, 3 am nightclubs, and other problem properties combine to create conditions that inevitably lead to disorder and violence. This has been going on for years and we need a serious coordinated effort to stop it because it is damaging the reputation of downtown St. Louis. All the talk about revitalizing downtown will be meaningless if we can't deal with these problems.

#Citizens4STL

@MikeLKehoe @SLMPD @MitchellMcCoy @CFDstlfd @saintlouismayor @saintlouispres @SLDCmo @DevelopStLouis @AlderSheenBean @JamiCMichele @LishaLiberty @shanecohn @VDanielaV @Schweitzer88 @OldenburgSTL @STL4Ward @schubbard10 @boydstuff @GreaterSTLinc @CommerceBank @enterprisecares @Cardinals @horseshoestl @Advantes @UnionStationSTL @HiltonBallpark @AquariumSTL @Stifel @SchnuckMarkets @DowntownStLouis @stlcid @carolinehecker @charliekmox @andybankertv @rlippmann @solomonreports @DavidAmelottiTV @MarkMaxwellTV @ChrisHayesTV @RyanWKrull @kevinmcdermott @davidhoffmannmo

[Les Sterman @lsterman]

@lucasterando @Citizens4STL Certainly, we need activities, including street vendors, in the evening. Nobody disputes that. But 3 am is not the evening, and the activities that are occurring at that time are not "vibrancy", but disruption, disorder, and too often violent.

[David Sosne @DSosne]

@Citizens4STL Agreed. I urge those advocating for late night activities DT should get a handle on what is going on. Certainly not vibrancy in a good sense. Once the city and STMPD have a presence and things under control, we can discuss the type of positive vibrancy found in other cities.

[Citizens for a Greater Downtown St. Louis @Citizens4STL]

LINKS: The adage that “nothing good happens after midnight” certainly applies to downtown St. Louis. In late night events this weekend, a murder in a bar on Washington Ave. and a major car crash at 14th and Pine caused by a speeding car fleeing from gunshots and running a red light, and two teens shot in Kiener Plaza. And it’s not even summer yet. This is not a vibrant downtown - it is mayhem. Of course, the Board of Aldermen would like to encourage late night street vending downtown. What could possibly go wrong?

https://t.co/KREgilYT2h

https://t.co/oGEUQ6tStA

https://t.co/nhGQMCjiXA

#Citizens4STL

@MikeLKehoe @SLMPD @MitchellMcCoy @CFDstlfd @saintlouismayor @saintlouispres @SLDCmo @DevelopStLouis @AlderSheenBean @JamiCMichele @LishaLiberty @shanecohn @VDanielaV @Schweitzer88 @OldenburgSTL @STL4Ward @schubbard10 @boydstuff @GreaterSTLinc @CommerceBank @enterprisecares @Cardinals @horseshoestl @Advantes @UnionStationSTL @HiltonBallpark @AquariumSTL @Stifel @SchnuckMarkets @DowntownStLouis @stlcid @carolinehecker @charliekmox @andybankertv @rlippmann @solomonreports @DavidAmelottiTV @MarkMaxwellTV @ChrisHayesTV @RyanWKrull @kevinmcdermott @davidhoffmannmo