Kelo Backlash
By Montag | Related entries in General Politics, Good DecisionsRecall-happy St Louis has recalled an Alderman for the third time in two years. This time, Alderman Thomas E. Bauer was recalled as a result of an Eminent Domain dispute.
Bauer’s recall marks the end of a bitter dispute anchored in Dogtown, a rapidly-growing neighborhood in southwest St. Louis. A plan supported by Bauer to acquire several properties by eminent domain to make way for a QuikTrip gas station and convenience store created tension in the area.
STLtoday: Alderman is recalled in a special election
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, where the state motto is “Live free or die,” the House and Senate have vowed to work together to narrow the state’s definition of Eminent Domain from what the US Supreme Court recently ruled was permissible in the Kelo v New London case.
[House Speaker Doug] Scamman and [Senate President Ted Gatsas] said the Legislature will focus on narrowing the law so that eminent domain will only be instituted in instances of a “public use” as opposed to a public benefit.
“We will be defining what a public use is. We’ll also propose an amendment to the constitution to make sure any future interpretation is clear,” Scamman added. Both lawmakers said they do not want to introduce changes which would halt so-called urban renewal. “If someone’s property is turned over to a developer to have a strip mall built, that’s not what people are looking for,” Gatsas said.
Citizen Online: Legislators to tackle eminent domain issue – Fosters
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2005 and is filed under General Politics, Good Decisions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 21st, 2005 at 1:49 pm
That guy is “my” alderman, i.e. I live in the neighborhood he represents. I’m not too surprised with the results; people were *pissed* off at him. Everywhere you go, people have huge signs in their yards that say “RECALL BAUER”. It was getting very annoying; I’m just glad it’s over.
One cool thing about Bauer, BTW, is that he would actually ride around the neighborhood on a Donkey.
September 21st, 2005 at 3:00 pm
I live in New London and have no dog in this fight but I hate to see Kelo held up as some kind of crusader-heroine. I know her as a garden variety real-estate speculator. Bank records show she does not declare the contested property to be her home, rarely stays there and, by draining the city of New London’s budget fighting for a better price for her property, is stealing a decent education from New London school children – the schools are decaying for lack of funds.
September 21st, 2005 at 4:11 pm
“Bank records show she does not declare the contested property to be her home, rarely stays there and, by draining the city of New London’s budget fighting for a better price for her property, is stealing a decent education from New London school children – the schools are decaying for lack of funds.”
Oh, give me a break, Hogg. You don’t get to use government to steal people’s property because you don’t like them or the way they use it. So I’m supposed to believe that the children of New London are incapable of learning to solve equations, recall when the War of 1812 began, diagram a sentence, and use the scientific method because one person refuses to sell a house to the government for a development project? What is your address Hogg? Maybe we could finance the drama club by developing your property.
September 21st, 2005 at 6:30 pm
Randy, respectfully, I really don’t think it matters what you or anybody else thinks about who she is or what her intentions may be. Just because you don’t like somebody doesn’t mean they aren’t entitled to their day in court.
Also, I really don’t think anybody is holding her up as some amazing person. I could care less about the person. I just think she has a point, and apparently so did the highest court in the land, otherwise they never would have heard her case.
And phil…I laughed out loud when I read that last sentence.
September 2nd, 2006 at 12:15 am
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