Was Tom Fann having two previous losses really the best the democrat party had to put up against first time runner Terry Hollander or is there something more happening behind the scenes? Tommy Roberts and Kristy Manning both sit on the Democrat Central Committee and voted to put Tom Fann in the St. Charles County District 5 race. I have heard it quoted by "other sources" that it appears that Tommy Roberts and Kristy Manning threw Tom Fann under the bus. Could this have been a ploy to ease the pressure off of Kristy Manning? One has to wonder what the motivation was to put an extreme liberal against Mark Parkinson instead of a Democrat candidate that appears to be more moderate.
Letting someone else pick what race you run does not show the leadership that is expected in St. Charles County. No offense intended to Mr. Fann but running against Terry Hollander with his name recognition and apparently the dollars in contributions is not the best idea.
Tommy Roberts and Kristy Manning pulling Tom Fann from the State Rep District 16 race shows to the St. Charles County residence that even the Democrat Party has no confidence in Tom Fann's ability to win an election. The Democrat Party according to deafening silence apparently did not contribute to Tom Fann's campaign. One could only guess how the liberal minded Kristy Manning talked Tommy Roberts into throwing Tom Fann under the bus. The Democrat Party has demonstrated their typical self serving attitude that will burn them in the general elections.
Vote for Terry Hollander on August 5th!
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Two compete for vacant St. Charles County Council seat
Fann, Hollander square off in District 5
After Democrat Tom Fann lost his bid for the 16th District Missouri House seat to Republican Mark Parkinson in February, he was planning a rematch in November.
But in early April, the District 5 seat on the St. Charles County Council opened up with the resignation of Democrat Joe McCulloch. Fann decided to focus his political goals closer to home.
Fann will face Republican Terry Hollander, the varsity basketball coach for St. Charles West High School, in the Aug. 5 special election for the District 5 seat, which includes parts of St. Charles and St. Peters between Highway 94, Interstate 70 and Spencer Road. Fann and Hollander were chosen by their respective parties' central committees to run in the special election. The winner would serve the remaining 17 months of McCulloch's term.
Both candidates are counting on name recognition to help them in the race. Earlier this year, Fann spent many hours going door to door before the election won by Parkinson. Hollander is well-known in the community for his success with the St. Charles West basketball program.
Hollander, 55, was in his first year of retirement when the District 5 council seat opened up.
"There was no long-range plan," Hollander said. "It just happened to be that Joe McCulloch stepped down and there happened to be an opening, and the timing seemed right.".
Hollander taught American history for 31 years at St. Charles West before he retired as a teacher. He has continued to coach varsity basketball. Though he taught civics, the campaign is his first step into politics.
With the encouragement of a friend, County Executive Steve Ehlmann, Hollander decided to run for the seat.
After going door to door to talk with voters, Hollander said many voters are concerned about keeping their property values from falling.
"I'd like to see the quality of life out here continue," he said.
He also said that if elected, he would support funding the continuation of the Page Avenue extension, a plan that Fann said he agrees with.
Both Hollander and Fann say competitive pay for sheriff's deputies should be a priority as the county faces decreased sales tax revenues this year.
"I think that there certainly needs to be a hard look at how things need to be done and get our employees to the point that needs to be competitive," Hollander said.
Fann said he is opposed to the county's continued participation in a lawsuit against the use of tax increment financing for the Premier 370 development in St. Peters.
"We don't need to be suing each other," Fann said. "We don't need one city trying to annex another. Personal interest is being put above public interest."
Fann said he wants to generate more money from light-industrial plants to cover any losses that could come from rolling back taxes.
"We need to position ourselves as a region that's centrally located," he said.
Fann said the county could attract more businesses to the area by marketing the good reputation of the cities. St. Peters, O'Fallon and St. Charles were recently ranked nos. 60, 68 and 82, respectively, on Money Magazine's list of the 100 Best Places to Live in America.
"My thing is, if we are going to preach tax rollbacks we need to find a way to grow our communities' property tax base," he said.
As of the July 15 campaign finance reports, Fann had raised considerably less money than Hollander. About $1,000 of the $2,990 Fann had raised for his campaign came from firefighter and paramedics associations.
In contrast, Hollander has raised $20,415 in campaign contributions, with more than $5,000 coming from Republican committees or other candidates.
Name: Terry Hollander
Age: 56
Family: Wife, Brenda; children, Blake, Kirk and Leigh Ann
Political experience: first-time candidate
Job: retired teacher at St. Charles West High School
Education: bachelor's degree in social studies and master's degree in secondary school administration from Northeast Missouri State, now Truman State University
Name: Tom Fann
Age: 49
Family: Wife, Jennifer; children, Joshua, Paige and Leah
Political experience: ran unsuccessfully for St. Peters Board of Aldermen in 2004; ran unsuccessfully for Missouri House of Representatives in 2008
Job: insurance broker
Education: attended Ranken Technical College, University of Missouri-St. Louis and St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley
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