The Ferguson Observer

01/18/2025

It’s back! Did you miss the council meeting Tuesday? Or just want to skim through text instead of watching a long meeting? Check out the summary of Tuesday’s Council meeting here! Learn about the occupancy permit proposed change, as well as the proposal for short term rentals, removing the pit bull ban, and more!

The Ferguson City Council met Tuesday January 14, 2025, in the newly renovated council chambers. Those who have suffered through poor audio on the Zoom livestreams will be happy to […]

03/30/2024

The 2024 Ferguson Voter's Guide to Campaign Finance and Ethics is now available. Check out how each candidate has funded their campaign, managed spending, and whether or not they have all followed state campaign finance laws (spoiler alert: one candidate, Blake Ashby, has failed to follow legal requirements in reporting.)

This past week, the 8 Days Before Election report was due for candidates in the upcoming Council election. This report, along with previous filings, provides great insight into each candidate […]

03/23/2024

The City Council Election is drawing closer and the Observer reached out to the candidates to share a letter of personal endorsement from a friend or neighbor. We've gathered those we have received to share with voters. Take a look at the personal insights shared on the candidates (as well as one current council member's personal explanation on why she does not support the return of one candidate to the council).

As we’ve done once before in 2022, the Ferguson Observer contacted each of the City Council candidates for the April 2, 2024 election to participate to ask a friend, colleague […]

03/20/2024

Holy Week activities at the Ferguson Church of the Nazarene.

03/07/2024

The City Council previously amended the ordinance requiring Boards and Commission members to pay taxes to ensure there was a review process for the requirement. But some people appear to remain seated without complying with this ordinance.

Last year, the city council passed an amendment to the ordinance which already required boards and commission members to pay personal and property taxes but lacked a process to have […]

02/20/2024

We asked all of the council candidates to respond to questions from residents. We received responses from the five challengers, but had no response from two current council members while a third responded she was advised not to answer.

Read the questions and responses here.

The Ferguson Municipal Election is scheduled for April 2, 2024 and each of Ferguson’s three wards will hold an election for the selection of one council member for each ward. […]

02/14/2024

In case you missed it, recap of last night's city council meeting is available now.

Last night’s council meeting was yet another display of dysfunction, from beginning to end. First, the public comment section was an organized effort at attacking councilor Palmer. Speaker after speaker […]

02/07/2024

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of Metro bus driver Bruce Williams. The Ferguson Observer was there for the celebration, and honors his service today.

The average job tenure today is a little over four years. Typically, people have at least three careers during their working life. That makes it all the more incredible that […]

01/21/2024

Political corruption is nothing new in north county. And a lot of it comes from one place, a political organization founded by a now disbarred lawyer, which has its tentacles in a surprising number of places. If you vote, you need to be aware of this, as it affects our politics at every level. We provide some background, and illuminate the connections to Ferguson, today in The Ferguson Observer.

Earlier this week, the Post-Dispatch reported that the Missouri Ethics Commission fined former county council rep Rochelle Walton and the Walton’s political organization, Unified Democratic Township Organization, for violations of […]

01/12/2024

One would assume that opening a car dealership on a property which has always been used as a car dealership, in an area which is entirely commercial, would not be controversial. Planning commission chair Adrian Shropshire, and commission member Jamil Franklin, felt otherwise.

Planning and zoning is a delicate and technical subject. It deals with government control of high value private assets, namely, real estate. So it is particularly important that the planning […]

01/09/2024

So long as humans hold public office, politics must always include a personal element. In an editorial piece this morning, Sara Holmes provides an account of her personal perspective on ward 2 candidate Blake Ashby.

The Ferguson Observer will be covering the  upcoming City Council elections to be held on April 2nd. I will be reporting. We plan to provide an introduction to each candidate […]

01/09/2024

Candidate petitions were filed at the end of December and have been validated by the Board of Elections. This year's City Council election has a total of eight candidates running for office.

Campaigning is in swing already for the upcoming election on April 2, 2024. There are eight candidates altogether across the city’s three wards. This will be the first election under […]