1. Who are you and what do you stand for? 

My name is Phill Menendez and I am a lifelong city resident, my entire life, 50 years, I have lived in the Ward where I will be Alderman in. I went to Our Lady of Sorrows grade school and Bishop Dubourg High School. Right after graduating high school, I became a St. Louis city police dispatcher and at 21 years old, became a St. Louis city police officer, serving the communities in our city for 23 years. I retired as a Sergeant after I was forced to leave due to sustaining an on-duty injury.

As a police officer, I worked tirelessly with the community not only to make it a safer place for people to live, but to make it a successful place for those living in the community to live. I know how to put all biases aside: physical, political, geographic, age, etc. 

Your business, my business - your life, my life is our community! 

I listen to the concerns of my constituents, including new residents and businesses, who want to come into our city, to help us grow as a community. 

I stand for common sense. I stand for helping those who can’t do it by themselves. 

I came from a strong family that raised me to be a leader not a follower, to treat everyone on how I would want to be treated, work hard and it will pay off, to do what is right even when others aren’t looking. These are the same concepts I instilled in my two boys, to which I believe it was a success. 

2. Why are you running?

People are leaving - I’m running for this office because I know I need to get back involved with our community to help keep people from leaving, to get people to want to come visit and move into our city and to make it a safer place. 

People need a real FULL-TIME voice in city hall. I want to be your FULL-TIME alderman so all city employees and residents feel as if they have a voice in our city hall. I know how to listen to people’s concerns, big and small, and use the many resources I have to try and help them. I will be working for my constituents in our ward FULL TIME. I see the lack of leadership or one way leadership we have in our city now and I know I can be different, starting with leading Ward 2.   

3. Why should people vote for you?

People should vote for me because I will be working for them FULL-TIME. I know with my background and past experience of getting things accomplished quickly, I bring to the table way more expertise than the other candidates. I have done more for our city, other communities where I didn’t even live, than the politicians that are already in city hall. I did all this never knowing I would want to run for alderman in my future. I've come to realize that it wasn’t just being a policeman, which I loved doing, it was being involved with the communities - the people themselves that charge my batteries.. 

Working the ward FULL TIME will give me the opportunity to return calls, emails, go to meetings and/or other events. I work well with other entities of our city. Having been in every section of this city and whether seeing good or bad, even the worse, I would be able to help other alder people and support them too, knowing personally what their communities are going through. 

I look at it as my main object is to help those in Ward 2 and reaching out to help in the other wards. If we want this city to be better, we must all know how to work together, and I have a proven 23 year record that I can do just that. 

I also can see the “smoke and mirrors” concept when our current leaders try to cover things up, make them seem better that what they really are. I have been there, I can professionally call them out with facts, I have the resources to get me the facts I need, to keep me updated on what is going on in other departments of our city, mainly because I have the solid trust with a lot of these current employees.

4. What is your game plan to win and/or why do you think you can win?

My game plan to win is to:

- Use the strong no-nonsense foundation that my parents raised me with, 

- Use my experiences from already helping out the communities in our city during the toughest       times to our best times, 

- Use the resources I've built up through the years to help our ward prosper and flourish, 

- Use my people skills and ability to listen to others,

- Use my ability to lead people in the direction we need to be headed.

These are some of my best tools I bring to the table. Again, my business is people, helping others get problems solved. I have dedicated my entire life to this and I don’t intend on retiring anytime soon.                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                 -- Phill Menendez