Tuesday, April 7, 2026 is Election Day
The April election each year is designated as the Municipal Election - the time for local governments, school boards, libraries, fire districts, etc. to place their items on the ballot. This year the ballot is light, but there are still important issues for voters to decide.
Most voters in Crestwood will have the same ballot issues, except for those residents in the "Annexed Area" of Ward 3. Those residents will also be asked to vote on a proposition from the Affton Fire Protection District, and some will be voting on Affton School Board members instead of Lindbergh.
You can view your sample ballot and find polling places or absentee voting locations at the St. Louis County Election Board website - HERE
Let's review all of the ballot items...
CITY OF CRESTWOOD - MAYOR
Three Year Term, Vote for ONE
SCOTT SHIPLEY
I'm honored to be running for a second term as Mayor. I am unopposed this time, so no campaign speeches are needed. That said, I'm very proud of the work we have accomplished during the last three years and excited about our plans for the future of Crestwood. More to come on that later - let's keep moving down the ballot.
City of Crestwood Charter Amendments (Propositions 1 - 4)
Crestwood is a "Charter City" in Missouri. That means we have a Charter that works much like a constitution. It defines the core values of the city and the basic ways that it should operate. The only way to change the charter is by a vote of Crestwood residents - so it is important that our Charter does a good job of reflecting those ideals, and that the wording is consistent, accurate, complies with state law, and is easy to understand.
To ensure we have a charter that reflects modern-day life, the city is required to form a Charter Review Commission every ten years. That commission's job is to go through Crestwood's city charter from top to bottom and see if there are items that should be updated.
It had been ten years, so in 2025 residents from all four wards met throughout the year to do just that. You can learn more about this commission at the city's website (HERE). The result of their hard work is represented in these four propositions.
You can view all the proposed amendments to our charter at the city's website (HERE). Click the link and scroll down to see the specific updates (shown in red).
Let's review the four proposed amendments...
CITY OF CRESTWOOD - PROPOSITION 1
Simple Majority Required
Shall Sections 3.2, 3.4, 3.9, 3.10, 4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 7.2, 8.1, 8.3, 8.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 10.5, 10.6, 11.1, 11.2, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.8 and 15.4 of the City's Charter be amended to correct misspellings, grammar errors, or update terms for consistency, as proposed by the Charter Review Committee and more fully set forth in Exhibit 1 to Ordinance 5610?
YES
NO
Wow - that sounds complex and overwhelming. Of everything on the ballot, this item is actually the easiest to decide. This one is a no-brainer YES vote for me.
As it states, this will fix spelling errors, grammar errors, and make things consistent. If your high school English teacher reviewed the charter, these are the things they would have fixed. This simply makes the charter more clear, accurate, and consistent.
There are also a few updates to phrase things more clearly or comply with state law, but again - no procedures or processes are changed.
CITY OF CRESTWOOD - PROPOSITION 2
Simple Majority Required
Shall Sections 3.9, 3.10, 3.12, 4.7, 5.2, 7.2 and 13.5 of the City's Charter be amended to enable City government to work more efficiently, including allowing the Board of Aldermen to establish by ordinance how mayoral absences are covered, set meeting start times, determine whether the City uses a one-year or two-year budget cycle, and allow limited extensions of auditing services if needed, as proposed by the Charter Review Committee and more fully set forth in Exhibit 2 to Ordinance 5610?
YES
NO
The Charter Commission nicknamed this proposition "Efficiencies," because the proposed changes are ways for the city to do things more efficiently. I'll be voting yes for this one too. Here are the ways this proposes to make things better:
Mayoral Delegation - There currently is no way for the mayor to delegate authority if they are absent for a temporary period of time (for example, an extended vacation or temporary but extended illness). Our existing charter only covers what happens when the mayor resigns or otherwise leaves office permanently. This proposed change allows the Board of Aldermen to create such a procedure via ordinance (city code).
Board Meeting Time - The charter currently requires that meetings start at a specific time and does not recognize technology updates such as videoconferencing. This change allows the Board of Aldermen to define these items by ordinance (city code) so they can adapt to future changes.
Meeting Procedures - Updates like only needing to read items on the Consent Agenda one time (today they are read twice consecutively because of this charter requirement), and recognizing modern ways of posting notices and making copies available for the public.
Annual Audit - It has recently been difficult for many cities to find a new company to perform annual audits. We are currently required by charter to change the auditor every five years, no matter what. This proposed change allows the Board of Aldermen to override this requirement if no such new auditor can be located.
Budget Cycles - Crestwood currently uses an annual budget and has no plans to change that. However, longer-term planning could benefit from a two-year budget that has an extended fiscal horizon. This change would allow the Board of Aldermen to consider that as an option in the future.
Bonds and Insurance - The current charter requires the use of bonds for certain risk coverage, but modern insurance coverage can address the same issue. The proposed change allows the Board of Aldermen to approve either, as long as they cover the same risk.
CITY OF CRESTWOOD - PROPOSITION 3
Simple Majority Required
Shall Sections 4.7, 8.3, 9.1, 9.7, 9.8, 10.3, 10.6 and 13.7 of the City's Charter be amended to align with Missouri statutes which designate the April election as the General Municipal Election Day intended for local municipal election ballot items and avoid costs that could be incurred for special elections, as proposed by the Charter Review Committee and more fully set forth in Exhibit 3 to Ordinance 5610?
YES
NO
This proposition deals with municipal elections. Our current charter is inconsistent in how it defines which election should be used for various ballot items. This cleans all of that up and clearly defines the General Municipal Election (April of each year) as the time when the city will place ballot items before Crestwood voters. I'm voting yes for this one.
In addition to making this more consistent and easier to understand, this will likely save election costs. Adding ballot items to an election costs the city thousands of dollars, so keeping items on the same ballot will avoid those costs.
One important related change deals with how tie votes are handled. State law provides candidates who receive the same number of votes with options to resolve the tie, including simply drawing lots. If the candidates agree to such a process, it can save the city thousands of dollars by avoiding a special runoff election. Our current charter language actually conflicts with state law, so this cleans that up.
CITY OF CRESTWOOD - PROPOSITION 4
Simple Majority Required
Shall Sections 3.4, 4.3, and 8.3 of the City's Charter be amended, and a new Section 15.5 of the City Charter be enacted, to change the term for all elected officials (Mayor and Aldermen) to four years beginning with the 2028 municipal election, as proposed by the Charter Review Committee and more fully set forth in Exhibit 4 to Ordinance 5610?
YES
NO
As the ballot language states, this would change the length of term for elected officials from three years to four. It would not impact any existing elected official's term but would start with those elected in 2028.
While I am in favor of this proposed change, I also recognize that of the four amendments, this one is likely the most controversial and there may be vocal opinions on both sides.
The primary benefits to this change would be allowing elected officials to be more productive and potentially saving the city election-related costs. I can say from experience and observation that both Aldermen and the Mayor have a bit of a learning curve. Elected officials tend to be more knowledgeable and effective during the final years of their term. Adding the fourth year would allow the board to have more depth and do a better job overall - in my opinion.
If approved, the city will still have staggered election cycles such that half the board is elected in year one, the mayor is elected in year two, the other half of the board in year three, and there would be no need for an election in year four. That fourth year represents the side benefit - cost savings of thousands of dollars by avoiding election fees that year.
Opponents have stated that three years is already the right length and that adding another year might dissuade people from running.
School Board Elections
Depending on where you live, you will vote for either the Affton or Lindbergh School Board Director. Here are those ballot items:
AFFTON SCHOOL DISTRICT - DIRECTOR
Three Year Term, Vote for up to THREE
JEANETTE SCHOENBERG
JUSTIN CARNEY
BRIDGET SINAMON
CHAD BERNSTEIN
BEN WAGNER
DENNIS ELLIS
You can learn more about the Affton School Board candidates here:
https://www.afftonschools.net/page/meet-the-2026-board-candidates/
LINDBERGH SCHOOLS - DIRECTOR
Three Year Term, Vote for up to THREE
MATT ALONZO - campaign website
RICHARD BREEDING - campaign website
CHRISTY WATZ - campaign website
ANDREW LAWSON - campaign website
Candidate Forum YouTube video from March 11, 2026:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsrE6FZLdJI
ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE - SUBDISTRICT 4 - TRUSTEE
Six Year Term, Vote for ONE
PATRICK MCKELVEY
FIELDING POE
DEBORAH BUSH-MUNSON
You can learn more about these St. Louis Community College candidates here:
https://stlcc.edu/insider/news/2026-board-election.aspx
AFFTON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT - PROPOSITION F
Simple Majority Required
Shall the Affton Fire Protection District impose a sales tax of one percent for the purpose of providing revenues for the operation of the Affton Fire Protection District and the total property tax levy on properties in the Affton Fire Protection District shall be reduced annually by an amount which reduces property tax revenues by an amount equal to fifty percent of the previous year's revenue collected from this sales tax?
YES
NO
This will only appear on the ballots for residents in the "Annexed Area" in Ward 3 since only those residents are within the Affton Fire Protection District.
In short, like most fire districts in St. Louis County, Affton is asking its voters about a new sales tax that would be applied to businesses within the Affton Fire Protection District boundaries. Within Crestwood this would apply to those businesses in the annexed area such as Grace Chicken + Fish, the Circle K on Elm, and the businesses in the Fairway Auto plaza, but will not apply anywhere else in Crestwood.
Since there is a lot to cover on this one, and it only applies to a small portion of the city - I'll post another article just on this ballot item.