Politics & Government

More Than a Passing Glance: Two Glantz' Run For Political Office in Ladue and Creve Coeur

Twice is nice in the Barry and Sheri Glantz Family.

In this day and age, one politician in a family can strain the relationships. Two in a family, well just look out.

Things can be a little nutty in the Glantz family of Creve Coeur these days. While Barry, 52 is running for his first term as mayor of Creve Coeur, Sheri, 50 is running for re-election to the Ladue School Board. Their campaign signs are positioned side by side in many yards in Ladue, Creve Coeur, Olivette and other municipalities feeding into the district.

Barry can deflect on this one. “I don’t consider myself a politician,” he revealed.

Dinners used to be the time when all the Glantz’s would gather to talk about their daily activities. Meeting time is more like around the breakfast table for now. Dinners have given way to microwave meals or just “fix it yourself.” The only hope to gather as one is on Sunday nights.

“I still have time to make all their lunches,” Sheri points out.

Patch is profiling both Glantz’s prior to this year’s April 3 elections.

Sheri is from Houston, Texas. She has a degree in special education and teachers pre-school music. Their oldest son Evan is a senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Corey 18 is a senior at Ladue Horton Watkins and Marissa is a student at Ladue Middle School.

Sheri is presently president of the Ladue School Board. She runs very tight and tidy topical meetings. Her goal is to be sure all fellow board members have every opportunity to express their own views.

“I’ve always been idealistic and I’ve not changed. I first wanted to be involved with the Ladue schools because I believed we needed a better delivery system to teach math and science to our children.” Her first foray into school programs was serving on the Science Curriculum Committee. “I always felt that teachers can make a difference, and I still feel the same way today.”

Her constant goal is to maintain educational priorities in light of severe budgetary constraints for the district. She is smack dab in the middle of the .49 cent tax levy Prop 1 campaign, and allowed that she thought long and hard about running for re-election, aware of how it could impact her husband's campaign.

Sheri keeps her eyes closely on the business at hand at the new West Ladue Campus. (the old Westminster Christian Academy campus and new home to the Ladue Early Education Center).

“I do know that the City of Creve Coeur was good to work with on that project, and my goal is to make sure we (Ladue Schools) remain just as good community neighbors as Westminster was when they were there.”

Sheri serves as Barry’s deputy treasurer of his campaign. She’s put aside much of her own campaign to help Barry with his. “Our friends and relatives have really stepped up. They are doing the shopping for our family Seder. They run errands and free up my time to work on his campaign. This has been an amazing campaign and if Barry wins, I know his time will have to be shared.”

Married 25 years, Sheri is more than willing to share those responsibilities.

She was quick to point out the support from her in-laws, Barry’s parents. “On the other hand my mom, Ilene Morrisson is quietly proud of both of us, but thinks we’re a little wacky.”

Sheri is most proud that Corey, their second oldest son is of voting age, and counts on his vote for both of them.

On the other hand, Marissa, who has served on the student council and the character council at Spoede Elementary School has some more time to wait. She’s just approaching the teen years while at Ladue Middle School.

The family theme will continue to play out through to election night, when both campaigns will mark the end of the road in a gathering with friends and supporters at their home instead of setting up shop in a local restaurant or watering hole as returns come in.

"We'll call it the end of election party or election day party because there are a lot of different combinations that could happen with us," Sheri Glantz said.


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