Three's Not a Crowd

Although the Ward 3 candidates have different backgrounds and reasons for entering the special election race, each has taken a similar route in hitting the ground and speaking to residents of Ward 3.

With two months until the Aug. 2 election in which Florissant will decide its Ward 3 and representatives, , Joe Eagan and Elizabeth O’Fallon have hit the ground running.

Although one candidate has familiarity in the political arena and the other two remain new to the scene, Florissant Patch took some time to catch up with each one in the midst of the campaign trail.

Back on the campaign trail

defeated Behlmann in the April 5 municipal election, but it didn’t take long for Behlmann to rebound and look at filling the seat.

As stated in a previous Florissant Patch article, he decided to pursue the seat after several residents in his ward and other supporters asked him to run for the seat.

“I strongly feel it’s going to be a heated campaign,” he said. “My heart is definitely in it.”

The 14-year incumbent of the Board of Education said he feels more confident in this campaign than the mayoral campaign and has been working to speak to people throughout his ward. 

He said that he’s not familiar with his opponents and has no plans to talk negatively about them. 

One big issue that Behlmann said he’s spoken to a number of residents about is the reviewing of the . 

“For an item that pretty much governs the city and hasn’t been updated since the ‘70s, it’s a big deal,” he said.

Behlmann said he’s spent some time reviewing the document and has discovered some minute mistakes, such as spelling errors and verbage, but he said he supports putting together a charter review commission—with a few additional stipulations. 

He said he would like to build a review committee but with a profile of people who could enhance the review process, such as one or two lawyers for the legal matters; one or two English professors for grammar, syntax and spelling; and one or two people involved in government.

In response to residents who have voiced concerns of the charter review process to change the strong mayor form of government, Behlmann said he hasn’t heard that said as the main reason to review the charter.

Extending the community service component

Maryland Heights Police has overcome a number of obstacles in recent months, including being shot in the face while doing surveillance in a community this past December.

Following surgeries and a recovery period, he returned to work and soon found an opportunity to pursue an idea that he and his wife had toyed with for years--running for a municipal seat. 

“This is an extension of community service for me,” Eagan said. “We want to see the best things for our community.”

Eagan said he and his family have done a multitude of community service, as many as 300-400 hours each year in and surrounding Florissant, and he looked forward to the opportunity of being the Ward 3 councilman.

He has launched a grassroots campaign of going door to door and speaking to residents on topics that he think are of great concern to Florissant. 

Eagan said the No. 1 priority is to maintain public safety and ensure it’s at the highest level. In addition, he said that maintaining current programs, exploring new programs, engaging seniors and working on property values are big points that he has focused in his campaign. 

“We’re talking about making City Hall really accessible,” Eagan said. “We want to make sure City Hall works for them and not vice versa.”

In response to the city charter review commission, he said that he’s not against reviewing the charter, but he believes it could be a tactic to remove the current strong mayor form of government. 

“When you have a strong mayor form, you have a last resort,” Eagan said, in comparing a city manager-mayor style of government to a strong mayor style.

Running on a youthful platform

O’Fallon, 32, might be the youngest of the three candidates—Behlmann is 53 and Eagan is 51—but she considers that to be a positive in her bid for the Ward 3 seat. 

“I think sometimes people are ready for a fresh face and a new perspective,” she said. “I think sometimes people are ready for change.”

Although the stay-at-home mom of five never had aspirations to run for a political office, she said she felt the need to become involved in this special election.

After speaking to opponent Behlmann's mother and her dad, she decided that she wanted to be involved and make a change in the City of Florissant.

“The city government is a little out of touch with the people,” she said. “I think an ordinary person can do a better job.”

O’Fallon compared the workings of a household to running city government.

“I can’t see how running city government and the budget are any different than at home,” she said. O’Fallon continued to say that despite bigger numbers and more people being involved, she’s ready for the challenge as a city council representative.

O’Fallon said she sees a few big issues in her ward, including safety with road cut throughs and the high cost of living in Florissant. She also said she’s in support of the charter review.

Although this is O’Fallon’s first foray into politics, she doesn’t plan to make it a longstanding career. 

“I want to serve my city and go back to what I was doing before,” she said. “In my opinion, one or two or three terms is plenty.” 

Correction: The article previously stated that O'Fallon spoke to Behlmann, and she said she spoke to his mother.