Politics & Government
County Council Elects New Chairman
The economy and parks are high on Mike O'Mara's agenda for 2012.
Michael O’Mara (D-Florissant) was unanimously elected the new St. Louis County Council Chairman at the first council meeting of 2012 Tuesday night. He takes the helm from Steve Stenger (D-Affton), the councilman for District 6, which includes Mehlville and Oakville.
Kathleen Burkett (D-District 2), is now the vice chair. Each year, the council rotates its council chair and vice chair.
O’Mara is a Florissant native, and has been on the council since 2000. He also served as the chair in 2007.
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The councilman was an All-American soccer player before playing professionally in Kansas City and St. Louis. He joined the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562, and is currently an international representative for the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Sprinklerfitters.
O’Mara’s priorities for St. Louis County for the year are all about the economy. He said the council needed to put more people to work and bring more jobs to the county.
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“We ran into a tough economy at the end of the year,” O’Mara said. “If we look at what we can accomplish earlier on in the year, I think we’re going to be that much better for St. Louis County.”
He plans on starting work on the budget earlier than was done in 2011. O'Mara has said he’s seen rough times in the past on the council, but is upbeat about his relations with County Executive Charlie Dooley for the next year.
The council and Dooley clashed in November when his proposed budget and laid off 173 employees in 2012. The executive with the council and developed an adjusted budget.
“I’m a compromise person, I think we can compromise,” O'Mara said.
County Parks are a priority too.
“What do we need to do for the next 20 years for our county parks?” he asked. “How are we going to make them grow, how are we going to maintain them?”
O’Mara called the county parks a long-term project that needs to be looked at quickly, and plans to establish a separate panel of council members to look into it.
He recognized that the top priorities of St. Louis County citizens are safety and parks.
