Fighting for the Voiceless

Newsletter

March 21, 2016

Friends & Neighbors,

If you would like to learn more about the issues addressed in this newsletter or would like to discuss any matter involving state government, please contact my Capitol office.

For a full list of my legislation, click here.

Sincerely,

Maria Chappelle-Nadal
14th District
(573) 751-4106

Senate Democrats Filibuster Anti-Gay Legislation for Two Days

Democrats in the Senate staged a 39-hour filibuster last week to block the passage of an anti-gay bill that would enshrine discrimination into our state constitution. Under the measure, businesses would be allowed to refuse service to same-sex couples solely based on their sexuality. I do not believe in the 21st Century, we should be promoting the discrimination of others. We have worked too hard, and come too far in the name of justice, to take such a step backwards. I know we are on the right side of history, and the future will validate that view. It was all too appropriate that the arguments we heard in defense of this bill were the same used to discriminate against people of color in the past.

I believe that if you open your door for business in Missouri, you’re opening it to all. If that business entails making a wedding cake, then you make a wedding cake. You do not impose your religious perspective on a business transaction. Indiana recently tried to do that with a similar measure as Senate Joint Resolution 39. There were numbers of boycotts. All total, it’s estimated it cost the state around $60 million in revenue. This is why multiple businesses supported our efforts to kill this resolution.

Despite the hard work, the Senate Majority ultimately resorted to a rarely used parliamentary procedure to force a vote. It’s telling the majority recognized the support behind our filibustering efforts and relied on a little-used rule to cram the measure down the throats of Democrats in the chamber. Refusing to serve someone because of who they are, whether gay, straight, white, black, Asian or Hispanic, is discrimination, period.

Our state has no business exempting any people from equal treatment. This same principle is what I have been fighting for in Ferguson and in Bridgeton and along Coldwater Creek. We must protect and serve each other as one people. While I was disappointed in the outcome, I know this is but one battle in the long fight for the equitable treatment of all.

Accountable for Action and Inaction

This week, the Senate Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government heard my resolution to recall the St. Louis County Executive. I am pushing Senate Joint Resolution 31 because the county executive must be held accountable for both his action and inaction.

There has yet to be a state of emergency called for the people living around Coldwater Creek and the Bridgeton and West Lake landfills. This action could tap into state and federal resources. He was all too quick to call a state of emergency in Ferguson when the county police chased down a young man into a crowd of peaceful protesters and then exchanged fire, killing the young man suspected of stealing a television. But yet, when a white gang member and arsonist associated with political allies needs leniency, he’s all too happy to use his office to lobby the court.

Most egregious is his inability to listen to anyone. Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU) is a coalition of churches in the region who called on the county executive twice to listen to them about judicial system reform. He ignored them twice. Mayor Slay and Attorney General Chris Koster both stood up and showed up. They didn’t agree 100 percent on everything, but they came to the table to be held accountable.

MCU isn’t the only group unable to meet with the county executive; North County mayors and police chiefs never had the opportunity to weigh in on the power grab he is implementing on municipal policing. When the issue was first raised, they were promised a meeting and then they had to lobby the county council for changes after the bill was already written.

I hope the Senate will debate the merits of a recall on the floor. We should air the grievances publicly and hold the county executive accountable.

The Senate’s Slow Mode

Fallout of Republican’s pushing discrimination against LGBTQ people continues in the state. The Senate, as a result, has begun to read the journal at the start of each day, taking up time and slowing business down to a crawl. This action is typically waived each morning. The outpour of support for the Democrat’s filibuster is overwhelming and I want to thank you for recognizing my part in trying to stop hateful legislation. I’m happy Missouri corporations have continued speaking out against discrimination.

OSHA Response

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted a site investigation at the Bridgeton Landfill in response to a letter I sent in September 2015. My office recently received their response to that letter. OSHA determined after the initial site visit that an evaluation of employee exposure would be needed. They investigated exposure in the cold of December, when gases are least active. They concluded there is “little possibility for employee overexposure to airborne chemicals.” My concern was never overexposure of a single incident but the effects of continued exposure to noxious gases which we are emanating from the landfill.

In my letter, I requested the St. Louis County Board of Elections be investigated because of the nine people who have died of cancer over the last few years. THE BOE is on top of the former Maplewood Landfill where radioactive material had once been dumped. OSHA stated they have no jurisdiction over public sector employees. I continue to be concerned about whether our first responders and other public sector employees have the proper equipment to handle and investigate events at the landfill.

Town Halls

We have concluded the second round of town halls on the Bridgeton and West Lake Landfills and Coldwater Creek. I am thankful to all who came out for our conversation. I would also like to invite you to call my office if you would like to have my presentation brought to your church or organization. This is my crusade and I want you to have the opportunity for yourself to decide if you should be concerned. I especially want to thank the people of the historic town of Robertson, now the southern part of Hazelwood. If dumping hadn’t occurred in your community, turning the wells “black as lagoons," I am certain we would still have a thriving community. I appreciate everybody taking time out from their busy lives to listen and discuss this important problem we all face.

Over the weekend, I concluded my March series of town halls regarding the Bridgeton and West Lake landfills and Coldwater Creek. The meetings were a wonderful success, and helped inform citizens in our community on the dangers posed by this radioactive waste to families within our district.

I would like to thank the organizations and volunteers who made these town halls possible. Without the support of numerous individuals and groups, we would not have been able to reach as many people as we have. Spreading word of this environmental catastrophe was the first part in addressing it. I'm grateful to all those who attended. Together, we can win this battle and secure a solution that protects the residents in our area.