Politics & Government
Mary Berner Meets Ladue, Door to Door
Mayoral candidate, an airline pilot, wearing out shoe leather to make herself known.
If you don't already know Mary Berner personally, chances are you will by the time it comes to elect a new Ladue mayor on April 5.
Berner opposes for the post to be vacated by Irene Holmes, who decided on the Jan. 18 filing deadline not to run for a fourth term. Regional wine merchant and former restaurateur Bommarito threw his hat in the ring that day; Berner had filed about a week before.
For someone who has spent more than 10,000 hours aloft, Berner is a woman who seems to have her feet planted firmly on the ground. Following her chat with Ladue-Frontenac Patch, she was planning to return to her quest: To meet as many of the city's 3,600 registered voters as she could and listen to their concerns, face to face.
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"It's amazing what you hear, and learn, when you meet your neighbors," she said.
By Feb. 18, she estimated she was about halfway there.
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Berner summed up her platform in three words: Safety, stability and service. With a background in accounting, she said she would be willing and able to review the city's finances, line by line. She noted that huge savings sometimes result from seemingly insignificant changes. By eliminating olives from salads served in-flight, her employer cut $30,000 in costs.
She would like to return the city's fire and police departments to full strength.
"I don't want the reasons we may not replace (personnel) to be for budget concerns," she said. "Bottom line: We need to be responsible for our monies."
The attrition of retail businesses is of great concern to Berner, since sales tax revenue is the city's bread and butter. As mayor, she would address the efficacy of open-ended leases that may benefit a particular business yet hurt the retail community as a whole.
"There are too many 'For Lease' signs up. We need to get businesses up and running again, so we need to sharpen our pencils," she said. The same approach would benefit city employees: "Pensions are somewhat underfunded."
As a pilot and flight instructor, Berner said she knows how to adapt to stressful situations. And she noted that her intelligence and stick-to-itiveness would serve the city well.
"I'm the best candidate for mayor, and I'll be here for the long term," she said. "I have a lot of years to give to the city."