I recently spoke with Dr. Vernon Harlan who is running in the Democratic primary for the House seat in the 71st district. For Harlan, who is running against Roger Wilson (same name, but not the Democratic party poobah), and Donald Calloway (whom I interviewed last March), the primary will be the main event, since whoever wins the primary in this overwhelmingly Democratic district will face no opponent and will inevitably be the individual going to Jefferson City next year. At this point the contest seems to be mainly between Harlan and Calloway.
By any measure Vernon Harlan is a strong contender. He is well-known in the district where he has been actively involved in the community for many years. He is an educator and expert in the field of criminal justice which he currently teaches at St. Louis Community College-Forest Park. He has spoken widely and written about the prison system and youth gangs; knows the educational system, and knows the ins-and-outs of the local political environment where he has been active behind the scenes for a long time.
When I asked Harlan why he decided to run for office, he stated flatly that he sees people suffering every day and got into the House race because he felt that somebody needed to stand up for them. After receiving encouragement from St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, he decided that he could be a strong contender in the state legislative race and succeed in giving this constituency a voice in Jefferson City. As he says repeatedly, it is not about him, but about the people he wants to serve.
Harlan learned to empathize with the everyday struggles of working people the hard way. As a child, his mother, sister and grandfather all suffered from multiple sclerosis, his mother and sister dying at age 35. From an early age, he grappled with the demands of being a caregiver for his mother and sister. This experience not only taught him first-hand about the vagaries of the healthcare system, but also, he says, helped develop his concern for the people around him.
As might be expected, this concern is reflected in Harlan’s legislative priorities: restoring the health-care cuts made by the Republican legislature under Blunt; improving public safety; creating new jobs; increasing funding to public schools; and protecting the rights of workers from the depredations of the Republican congress.
When Harlan is pressed about how he would go about addressing these priorities his response often boils down to getting more money. In the case of the educational dysfunction he so readily identifies, given his experience in the community college system where remedial issues are prevalent, the equation is simple: he sees better schools as a function of more money. He rejects vouchers and charter schools because they siphon money from the public system. The same goes for merit-based pay for teachers which he believes has the potential to backfire in a profession that already suffers from generally low-pay–the fall-out, he believes, could intensify the problems that many municipalities already have in retaining qualified teachers.
Harlan proposes to address educational funding issues by working in the legislature to reform the complex school funding formula so that it is fairer for those in the urban systems. Citing the experience of Royal Oak, Michigan, he also indicated that it might be possible to pass bills that give incentives for private-public partnerships that would make more resources available to the schools.
Likewise, Harlan would address public safety issues with increased funding. He talked about the problems that result from the lack of resources to help facilitate the reentry of ex-convicts into the community. He also stressed the need for funds for community centers where seniors can overcome isolation in a safe environment, and where young people can find a safe, constructive alternative to the street.
Although securing state funds for these initiatives is a major goal for Harlan if he is elected, he feels that he can bring resources into his community in other ways as well. He notes that there is grant money available that goes untapped because people don’t know about it. Because of his background and the contacts he has developed over the years, he believes that he could proactively insure that this information reaches the relevant agencies and individuals.
Harlan also discussed merging services for some of the 22 municipalities in the 71st district in order to achieve economies of scale. If several municipalities were to pool their police services, the result could be better service for all–whereas now it is a inconsistent patchwork of good, bad, indifferent, and, in some cases, no services at all.
When we discussed jobs creation, Harlan gingerly put the idea of TIFs on the plate, stating that the issue for his constituents is simply “I want a job.” He offered the city of Vinita Park as a “perfect model” of cooperation between government and business. The city offers business and industry a friendly environment and they, in turn, step up to the plate to meet municipal needs.
I asked Harlan how he proposed to deal with the competing needs that inevitably arise in a district as diverse as the 71st. His response was succinct: communication. He described an east/west divide in the district and identified communication along this axis as the real challenge, but added that he believes that all the municipalities have much to teach each other: “what one community does can help another.”
Harlan offered one rather counter-intuitive example of what happens when communication is opened up when he discussed the witches-brew of charges and counter-charges that has arisen (again) in the Northeast Ambulance and Fire District. Since he was the director of the Mid-County Fire Protection District himself, one gives some weight to his wary opinion that the problem here is communication perverted by self-interest, rather than the racial or corruption scandal that is implied by the claims of the disputants.
In keeping with his emphasis on securing funding to achieve community goals, it is somehow appropriate that Harlan most recently made news by returning a contribution from Chris Koster’s Economic Growth Council. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s “Political Fix” blog noted:
Harlan cites “the recent revelation that aides to…Koster have been connected to laundering of political funds..”
Harlan was referring to reports, initially by the Associated Press’ David Lieb, that a Koster aide had delivered checks from an independent pro-Democrat campaign committee – the Economic Growth Council – to a representative for a legislative committee. That person then gave a donation from the legislative committee to the Koster aide.
Koster’s critics contend that action violated state campaign law, which bars donors from dictating to legislative committees which candidates get the money.
(For more background on how the “committee pass-through” system works, see this Post Dispatcharticle.)
It is not surprising that Harlan, who understands the role of money in achieving social goals so well, also understands the importance of being very careful abou
t the role of money in achieving political goals–and also very consistent with the informed progressive that Vernon Harlan seems to be.
I disagree with him, though, if he wants to let Elbert Walton off the hook as someone who communicates poorly. Walton has a habit of getting one of his slate elected to a city council or fire board, getting himself hired as attorney, and then dipping into the treasury with both hands. I don’t think communication is the problem in the Normandy Fire District. I think it’s Walton.
Other than that disagreement, though, I was impressed with Harlan.
I had not made up my mind about the election until I received Harlan’s literature and I will not vote for someone who puts out this negative literature no matter how qualified. He states that his opponent Calloway is part of the Walton group with out providing evidence- I don’t think he is Wilson is, and then he goes on to make a group of frankly comments that are not true or if they are he gives no proof. Another concern is one is MEC form, he states that he paid over 900 dollars to Nixon insurance agency as a charity. There is no such charity, but there is a company that does homeowner’s insurance by that name. What is the truth? He also states he was in the front of the recall effort and I went to over 10 meetings and I don’t know who he is. Our community has been torn apart by racial comments and to try to make it a racial issue with three black candidates running is a stretch. I will file an ethics complaint about the charity donation. I have no ties to any campaign, but someone who says he will not lie to get elected and then tells lies about his opponents is to be suspected.
There is something wrong on his filings. If you look back at the 4/15 filings, you will notice a LOT of purchases at discount stores like Target and Walmart along with gas stations and Walgreens with a label of charity or donation. He’s also been paying out a huge sum of cash for phones beginning back in January – that’s too much too soon to be on the up and up.
I’d say he is paying personal expenses out of his campaign. Someone needs to file an ethics claim.
… but I don’t think I conveyed it very well. He seemed to be implying that the charges of racial discrimination and corruption were being stirred up to satisfy particular, hidden interests, i.e., by implication Walton’s. I didn’t press him on the topic and apologize if I have misrepresented him in either the article or in this comment.
which is relevant since there has been concern with his funding expressed in these comments. Of the two reports that show significant activity, there are only four contributions that do not come from private individuals. In the July report, Calloway received $1,700 from the 4th District Senatorial Committee and $150 from a business. In the April report, the 4th District Senatorial Commitee donated $325 and the Laclede Gas Pac donated $325.