Support for Donnybrook Last Call, is provided in part by Design Aire Heating and Cooling.

And who knew we would need Design and Aire Heating and Cooling on October the 8th?

It was 87 degrees today.

Oh my gosh.

Wendy Weise, I want to ask you, a brand new press secretary for Mayor Kara Spencer in the city of St.

Louis, we welcome to our town Kia Murray, who among other things was a reporter in Green Bay.

And some people are wondering, you know, if she is from out of town, will she be able to handle the trials and tribulations of the craziness that is St.

Louis?

I think she, let's give her a shot first.

I mean, she is, she's obviously very accomplished.

She has, she's done enough to at least arrive, you know, here in St.

Louis at the attention of the mayor.

I think that, you know, her background is she loves data, which is, you know, that's important I suppose.

She has Katie Jamboretz, and why am I completely spacing on the other person who's in that, in the communications department?

But I think it is a risk.

When you talk about such a volatile time between the mayor's office and the police board and what's happening on the north side and so many different questions, I think having somebody from out of town who doesn't understand the topography maybe as much, but maybe she's a quick learner.

Like I said, let's give her a shot and see how she does.

Well, I think it's more important to know people than to know data.

She might do a fine job, but I think the mistake would be if the mayor decided she needs like an equivalent of Mitch McCoy on her side.

Not going to work.

This has got to be, I think, a personable person and someone who can convey the mayor's message in a way that is understanding and influencing, not browbeating.

So, I mean, I'll give her all the chance in the world.

But, I mean, honestly, this is a tough nut to crack in St.

Louis.

Well, hopefully since she's been in the press, she understands the press and understands people's egos, a lot of that going around, and the importance of getting back to people on deadline.

I mean, it's going to be difficult not knowing things.

I like out-of-towners.

I think out-of-towners bring fresh blood, new perspective.

The fact that they don't know people, I think, is a positive.

But, I mean, you have to learn people.

Like I said, when the chief of police was hired, I didn't have a problem with it.

It's been his behavior really since this state board took over that I got big problems with.

But, I think he was doing a fine job.

And I know some people wish that he had come from inside of the police department.

I'm glad he didn't.

Well, and I think we run a danger of maybe infusing too much importance on this job.

I mean, in the sense that I'm not saying it's not a good job, a fine job, but basically what a press secretary is doing, it's not like you're the chief of staff.

What you're doing is all the bosses and decision makers are telling you what they want you to say.

You're getting it to reporters, we hope, in a timely, efficient manner.

But this idea that they have to understand all the issues, they're not policy makers.

Except for Mitch McCoy.

He's kind of changed the role.

Okay, but you can point out any exception, it doesn't cancel the rule.

And the rule is most press secretaries, their job is to relate you information that has come down from on high.

Right.

And so why not give her a chance?

And first of all, she worked in Green Bay.

I think that's more than enough.

I knew that was going to find its way into the conversation.

I forgot about that.

The cheese head of St.

Louis.

No, I think, you know, Peter Mayer, who grew up in Granite City, has written a new book about covering the White House.

And he actually thinks the press secretary, at least at that level, is a key, key position.

Some, he writes about how some did it really well and some not as well at all.

Again, though, at that level.

At that level.

But even I think that Doug Moore with the county executive didn't help the county executive that much.

And I think that that can be a key position.

I think that's now held by Elizabeth Isley.

And I think she's doing a better job than Mr.

Moore was.

So, I think it's key.

I think it is, too.

Okay.

And I think it has to be handled in a way that is not only just, you know, presenting our side of the story, but presenting it in a way that people are palpable to it.

Well, what do you think about a lot of discussion now, Alvin, about can St.

Louis' downtown learn something from Kansas City?

Quentin Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, was just interviewed by Channel 4.

And then the Business Journal had Chip Castile write a column which was responded to by Dennis Boganovich.

The topic is Kansas City versus St.

Louis.

Should St.

Louis learn something?

What do you think?

Well, I've told the story.

When I got to college, I had no problem just disparaging Kansas City compared to St.

Louis.

I've given that up.

From the musical Oklahoma, everything's up to date in Kansas City if you go there.

And Quentin Lucas, please, watch that interview with him on the KMOV website.

The man is just brilliant.

He did a better job of talking about St.

Louis than people from St.

Louis does.

But they get things done.

And they kind of put stuff on the back burner while they're trying to, like you say, you know, save the Royals, get them downtown.

They got the airport done.

They lost the Chiefs to Kansas.

He vowed we're not losing the Royals.

So far, so good on that.

There is a lot to learn.

Well, Mary and I stopped in Kansas City for a day on a recent trip.

And it was discouraging how hopping it is.

You know, we stayed at a hotel downtown.

And there was all sorts of activity.

We were near their power district.

And the worst thing was we took the trolley, which is a six-mile ride.

Does it go to the History Museum?

Does it go a block or two to the History Museum?

I mean, you know, it actually goes somewhere.

It goes six miles and comes back.

And the homeless people were on it.

White people were on it.

Black people were on it.

And it's free.

And there was no security.

And everybody got along.

And I said to Mary, this is ridiculous.

There must be something in the water.

Everything is up to date in Kansas City.

But I do think Boganovich made some very good points about the fact that we have just the structure here in terms of so many cooks in the kitchens.

It's so hard to, I don't know how they ever get anything done with so many voices at the table.

I think we could learn from Kansas City and probably a whole lot of other places that has any idea.

And the thing I liked about the Kansas City approach, and I think this is where we suffer, is pick one thing and focus on that, then move on to the next.

And I think we fall victim now of here's nine things that need to be solved.

You're never going to do that.

It's got to be one, then another.

And that's what I got from, like, Quentin Lucas, the airport.

It's like here's goal number one.

Let's get that done.

Not that you forget about everything, but you can't do everything all at once.

And you can't have a commission with 32 people on it looking at the recovery for the tornado.

That's an excellent example.

You just can't.

Maybe we didn't read about the 32-member committee in Kansas City.

I'll also say this.

At the end of the interview, he asked him, so you're termed out.

He said, yeah, I'm not going anywhere.

So look for him to pop up.

So he's not moving to Kirkwood or anything, huh?

Oh, man, I don't know.

I'm the city manager.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

In the interview, he said that St.

Louis is more important economically to the state than Kansas City.

He said no matter what the state says or does, it's not going to happen without St.

Louis.

That's what I've told you all along about politicians in Jefferson City.

We're too important to them.

Joe, in the final two or three minutes, Sam Page was part of a press conference today at a South County church urging our congressional delegation to put some pressure on the Department of Homeland Security to extend the temporary protected status for Ukrainians.

The Ukrainians in our community will have to, like, leave their jobs and lose their driver's licenses and move back to the war zone October 19th, two weeks from last Monday.

Do you think we're going to make any progress here?

Do you think that it should even be an issue?

Well, I don't think it's an issue.

I think also if, you know, it's sort of like how I was with term papers.

If you leave something at Congress and you say, I've got until October 19th, expect something about late October 18th or early October 19th.

And, Wagner, the U.S.

House is already working on it, and my guess is in a week or two we'll see where it's at.

It's going to go over to the Senate.

And, yes, I do believe that extending it for another six months, these aren't open-ended, is well within reason, and I think it will most likely happen.

But Congress is out of session until after the elections, so I don't know what's going to happen.

There has been a Senate measure, but the two senators from Missouri have not signed on to extending it.

Well, going back, I guess Senator Hawley was not the biggest Ukraine fan, so he would have to, like, I don't know, Texas two -step on that one.

Our other senator is, who knows what he's doing.

So, I mean, I can't count on them for, like, standing up for the Ukrainians.

Well, the Ukrainians have been such a benefit to the city, and it just seems ridiculous to push them out now.

I mean, I would do, not only extend it, I'd work on trying to make the Ukrainians' presence here permanent, give them some pathway to permanent residency.

Oh, pathway to permanency.

They'll move it out tomorrow with that kind of talk.

Well, I think we should have done it for the El Salvadorans, the Haitians, the Venezuelans.

I think they all add to our country.

I agree, but, yeah, right now, that ain't going to happen.

Well, I think it's Mark Wayne Mullen, who is the head of Department of Homeland Security.

I think he's the one who can probably make the call, but our pages letter, which included names on it like mine, Bob Costas, Bob Clark, Michael Steinberg, Nick Schroer, Steve Ellman, all said, hey, put some pressure on the administration.

One person makes that decision, and everybody kowtows to that person and don't want to stand up to them.

So, I mean, where are we at?

Well, where we're at is they've got until October 19th, so we've already decided, like, it's been refused.

So why don't we wait until October 19th?

If President Trump calls up Hawley and Schmidt and tells them, don't you dare vote for that, they won't vote for it.

And we can find that all out after October 19th.

As they say, Joe, to be continued.

Absolutely.

Same bat time, same bat channel.

Thanks for joining us.

We'll see you next week.