Most Americans are well aware that politics is a dirty business in a variety of ways. If you are not constantly asking people for money, in many cases, you say what you must to get elected, and you know the people who will vote you in or out know that too. It gets complicated, it takes a certain personality to be a politician, and quite often, the people who do not have that personality are the ones running for office, and voters are left with that age-old dilemma of voting for the lesser of two evils. Then, there are those places where another old saying comes into play: keep doing the same thing and hope for a different outcome.
🚨BREAKING: My Office has secured an indictment against St. Louis County Executive Sam Page on two felony counts of stealing by deceit and two counts of election law violations. pic.twitter.com/6KEhdryDXZ
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) July 30, 2025
My colleague, Ward Clark, has recently been taking a look at American cities that are in various stages of decay, mostly because of the decades of Democrat policies that have been inflicted upon them. Well, I am going to help him out a bit and put my hometown and the area around it under the microscope. St. Louis is one of those cities caught in the grip of Democrat promises that are never delivered on. It has not had a Republican mayor since 1949, and it shows. Many residents are afraid to go downtown for Cardinals or Blues games, concerts, or just a bite to eat at a new restaurant because of crime. There is a crumbling infrastructure, and businesses have left downtown for the surrounding counties. St. Louis' current mayor is Democrat Cara Spencer
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Like a lot of other decades-long Democrat-run cities, St. Louis has had its share of corrupt politicians. The machine always seems to come to their rescue. But in the entire region, a pattern is forming, the pattern of residents who just can't seem to quit corrupt Democrat politicians. St. Louis is one of those places where the city and county are separate entities. Much like the city, St. Louis County has not had a Republican Executive since 1990. The latest County Executive with his own set of impending legal troubles is the current Democrat County Executive, Sam Page. On Wednesday, Page was indicted on four counts, two of misdemeanor election offenses, and two felony counts of stealing, one of $25,000 or more, and the other of over $750 or more.
The indictment stems from a mailer that was sent out to voters in April. Page is accused of using county funds to campaign against a ballot proposition. Proposition B would have given the County Council the ability to fire any of Page's department heads. Page was campaigning against the measure, which ultimately failed. However, Page only sent the mailer out to 55,000 out of 100,000 registered voters so that printing costs for the mailer would be kept under $5,000, which would avoid a bidding process for the printing. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is prosecuting the case and posted on X,
“Missouri law is clear. Public money must never be used for political campaigning. Any intentional misuse of taxpayer dollars in an attempt to rig the outcome of an election is illegal.”
Council member Shalonda Webb says County Executive Sam Page should resign. @KMOV pic.twitter.com/5nUsBA1PHh
— David Amelotti (@DavidAmelottiTV) July 30, 2025
Through his attorney, Page has denied any wrongdoing. But St. Louis County has been to this dance before. In 2019, Page's predecessor, Steve Stenger, was indicted on three counts of honest services bribery/mail fraud. Stenger was also accused and convicted of taking bribes in the form of campaign contributions and steering lucrative contracts to those donors. He served four years in prison.
County Council members' reactions have run the gamut from a veiled “This isn’t the first county executive that has had these issues, right?” To a Democrat member saying honestly, “It is embarrassing for St. Louis County and our entire region,” to an even more blunt, “It doesn’t seem like we can get our act together."
This is great, but at what point do the citizens who elect these people feel some sort of responsibility, at the very least, and at the most, some embarrassment? No one is going to say that corruption only affects one party; it doesn't. Does it come down to taking the time to vet candidates properly? But maybe the most important question is, what kind of effect does this have on the region as a whole? This ongoing parade of Stenger, Page, and others like them may enhance their own power and the power of their party for a while, but it's clear that is the only thing that matters, until, of course, election time, when the voters suddenly matter again.
Sam Page is scheduled to be arraigned on August 29. Here we go again.
Sam Page is indicted for felony stealing and numerous misdemeanors. More to come!
— Gary Bess (@GaryBess12) July 30, 2025
