November 2012 Election Guide for Crestwood and Sunset Hills

Sunset Hills-Crestwood Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race in town. Here find information on where to vote, and the candidates and issues we'll be covering throughout this week.

Scan through our previous Election 2012 coverage.

Keep up with Patch on election day! Editor Karlie Baker will be posting updates to Facebook and our Twitter page throughout the day. You can also check out our list of candidates and local political experts to follow on Twitter.

LOCAL

Missouri House of Representatives

90th District (parts of Sunset Hills, Kirkwood, Oakland, Glendale, Warson Woods): District 94 Rep. Rick Stream is shifting over because of redistricting to run in November against Democrat Deb Lavender. Lavender lost to Stream for a seat in the House in 2010.

91st District (Crestwood, Webster Groves, Shrewsbury, parts of Marlborough and St. Louis): 91st District Democratic Rep. Jeanne Kirkton is set to run against Republican Elizabeth Deal in the November general elections. Deal is up for her first elections, a communications professional and co-founder of Vellum, Inc.

92nd District (parts of Crestwood, Marlborough, Affton, Lakeshire, Sappington, Concord, Green Park, Grantwood Village, Wilbur Park): Democrat 66th District Rep. Genice Montecillo is also transferring over to District 92 to be on the ballot against Al Faulstich in November. Faulstich also campaigned and lost in 2010 for a spot representing the 85th District.

96th District (Sunset Hills, Fenton, Concord, Sappington): Current 95th District Republican Rep. Mike Leara is running unopposed in November.

Missouri Senate First District

Democratic nominee Scott Sifton beat out Sue Schoemehl in the primary to take on incumbent Jim Lembke. 

Sifton was elected to the house in 2010 to represent Lemay and Affton in the former 96th District. Lembke has represented the First District since 2009.

This race will be one of the most important in Missouri as redistricting put left-leaning areas such as Webster Groves and Maplewood in with South County. Republicans critized the new lines as it combined two senate districts into one. 

Read more:

• Affton's Scott Sifton to Face Sen. Jim Lembke in November
  

Missouri Senate 15th District

The 15th District has seen no response to run against incumbent Senator Eric Schmitt, who has also been in the State Senate since 2009, on either the Republican or Democratic side. 

STATEWIDE 

U.S. Senate

Claire McCaskill's bid for re-election will be closely watched by the entire nation in part because of her close ties to President Obama's 2008 campaign, and the national attention garnered by her challenger, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood).

Jonathan Dine is the Libertarian candidate.

Read more:

• Todd Akin Campaign Rallies a Final Time in St. Louis Ahead of Tuesday's Election
• More Ads and Accusations as McCaskill and Akin Battle For The Senate

Congress

Missouri's new Second district is guaranteed to see someone new elected with Rep. Akin's decision to run for the Senate. Former Republican National Convention Co-Chair and U.S. Ambassador Ann Wagner has seen party stars like Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee come into the fold to support her, enough so that it helped push Ed Martin to change races. Former Webster Groves city councilman Dr. Randy Jotte has stayed in the primary.

Wagner would face one of a field of largely unknown Democrats, none of whom has attracted support from national party leaders. 

STATEWIDE BALLOT ISSUES

Proposition A, which if passed, would put the City of St. Louis Police Department under local control.

Constitutional Amendment 3, would reform the judicial selection process in Missouri at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals level. Proponents of the amendment have abandoned their campaign for the measure, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing bias in the ballotlanguage approved by Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnhan.

Proposition B, would increase tobacco taxes $0.0365 per cigarette and 25% of the manufacturer's invoice price for roll-your-own tobacco and 15% for other tobacco products, according to the ballot language. Estimated revenues of at least $283 million would fund public education in Missouri along with smoking prevention programs.

Proposition E would prohibit the Governor or any state agency, from establishing or operating state-based health insurance exchanges unless authorized by a vote of the people or by the legislature.

Voters in the St. Louis County Public Library system will be asked to vote on Proposition L, a measure which would call for a 6-cent tax increase to fund improvements at facilities system-wide.

Proposition S, ask voters to approve a tax levy increase to benefit the Special School District. A $100,000 house would equate to roughly $36 annually.

NATIONAL

Barack Obama faces off against Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Gary Johnson is the Libertarian candidate.

Additional election coverage:

• Live: Sunset Hills and Crestwood Voters Hit the Polls
• Cast Your Presidential Vote--With a Cookie at Wired Coffee
• Show Your Presidential Preference in 7-Eleven Coffee Cup Poll
• New Spin on Straw Polls: Fitz’s Root Beer Gets Political
• MTV's Rock the Vote Bus Spotted in Crestwood