Arch/Parks Tax Victory, St. Louis Regionalism and What’s Next

{the Old Courthouse renovation will be one of the big beneficiaries of the Prop P victory}

Proposition P was approved by voters in the City of St. Louis by a wide margin yesterday. County voters passed the measure as well, meaning the 3/16% sales tax increase to fund local parks, recreation trails and the Arch grounds will be in effect for a period of 20 years, at which point votes will be required to reauthorize the tax. The final tally in the city saw the measure pass 67.2% to 32.8. The county final margin was 5.8% (6,234 votes), passing 52.9% to 47.1%. Turnout in the city was 12.5% and for the county 15.3%.

That's reality, but perhaps an outmoded lens through which to view the vote. Many, likely most, visitors to this site would like to see more regional cooperation, including St. Louis City rejoining St. Louis County, or even a full municipal merger. Shouldn't votes such as this been seen through this hopeful lens? If so, the Prop P vote wasn't close. A combined city/county would have passed the measure with very little drama, providing an 11% margin (14,545 votes). This shows that there was broad support among votes in the core of our region.