Sifton/Schoemehl/Vogt Vs. Lembke, Stenger Vs. Pousosa

Filing for state and congressional representatives, as well as county council, closed Tuesday with a few candidates putting their name in at the last minute, according to the unofficial candidate filing record.

Scott Sifton (D-Affton) filed Tuesday afternoon in a Democratic primary that will include former South County representative Sue Schoemehl and Michael Vogt.

One of the three will face Sen. Jim Lembke (R-Lemay) in the new First State Senate District that includes Mehlville, Oakville, Affton, Maplewood and Webster Groves.

Sifton, who has represented Lemay and Affton since 2010, served nine years on the Affton school board.  

“We need a senator who will work with businesses on job creation while standing up for our retirees, working families and children,” Sifton said in a release Tuesday.

Schoemehl represented South County for 8 years in the Missouri House of Representatives and is a alum. 

Vogt serves as the Missouri House’s District 66 representative, serving parts of Affton and Marlborough. He works as an attorney and attended Affton High School.

Lembke was the .

Green Park’s Pousosa to Challenge Stenger for County Council

St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger (D-Affton) didn’t have an opponent until the last day of filing when Green Park Alderman Anthony Pousosa threw his name in Tuesday morning for the Sixth District. The winner in November will serve a four-year term on the council. 

Pousosa, a Republican, has been the Ward I representative for the City of Green Park since 2007, and works as a staff nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

In a release, Pousosa said he would not accept a county budget that continues to allow patronage and political hires at the taxpayers’ expense.

“We must continue to balance our county budget without any tax increase. Cutting low wage park jobs and not filling ‘non-patrolling’ police positions is not the way to trim a top-heavy budget,” he said. 

If elected, Pousosa said he would oppose a merger between St. Louis City and St. Louis County and work against extending contracts for the county’s eight trash districts.

Incumbent Stenger voted against extending the contracts in May, but the five-year extension passed 5-2.

Stenger has served as the Sixth District councilman since 2008 and grew up in Affton. He holds a law degree from Saint Louis University and is a CPA. In addition to the council, he works at Klar, Izak & Stenger, L.L.C. law firm.

On the council, Stenger opposed County Executive Charlie Dooley’s and a 2012 budget that called for more than 170 layoffs and the closure of 23 county parks.

Stenger and fellow councilman Mike O’Mara formed a special budget committee, which led the council to a compromise in December. The county did not close any parks, but .

Stenger also served as the council chairman in 2011.

Missouri House of Representatives

Republican incumbent Cloria Brown has filed for re-election in District 94, which includes most of Green Park along with Mehlville. Brown will have a primary contest with fellow Republican Tim Hotop, who filed March 14.

Former house representative Vicki Lorenz Englund was the only Democrat that filed in District 94. Englund is currently serving on the Lindbergh school board and lost to Brown in 2010.

Democratic incumbent Genise Montecillo and her husband Joe Montecillo have filed to run in Districts 92 and 93, respectively. The former will face off against Republican Al Faulstich, who lost a primary to Brown in 2010. The latter will run against Tony Leech, who lost to Sifton in 2010.

Andrew Dana Hudson contributed to this report.