Dogtown area residents worry about possible Bauer-Weltner link
by Larry Handlin
12-08-2005

Headlines over a dispute between the Democratic Central Committee and former Alderman Tom Bauer have focused over the use of a donkey in campaign literature. But many in the 24th Ward — that centers in the Dogtown and Franz Park neighborhoods — are more concerned over recent Bauer sightings.

Angered over his attempt to use eminent domain to put a QuikTrip at Manchester and McCausland, and over other issues, voters of the 24th Ward recently recalled Bauer. There is a special election to fill the seat on Dec. 13 with Bauer running as an Independent against Democratic nominee Bill Waterhouse and Republican Nominee Sharon Barnes.

As the election approaches, many in the community are increasingly alarmed by company they say Bauer is keeping. Frank Weltner recently spoke in favor of Bauer's candidacy at a Clifton Heights Neighborhood Meeting on Monday Nov. 28. Bauer was unable to make the meeting and when the president of the association asked if anyone could speak in favor of Bauer, Weltner and others at the meeting said Weltner volunteered to do so.

Frank Weltner is notorious as a white supremacist who was affiliated with the neo-Nazi group National Alliance. Weltner is also the Web master for several Web sites including an anti-Semitic site jewwatch.com which is an encyclopedic-like reference on a variety of Jewish conspiracy theories.

His personal site is Couchpower.com, a take on his nickname while he was a radio host for WGNU. Recently, the site consisted of only the following text and one picture:

“Farewell, My European Friends.

The site has returned to being a hub for Weltner's writing and online radio program.

In addition to the above sites, Weltner also recently began a Web site to take donations in the name of hurricane relief, only to be sued by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon for allegedly running a scam charity.

When contacted, Weltner said his support of Bauer was only his as an individual and he doesn't really know Bauer other than as someone he has seen at neighborhood and ward meetings, and as someone who helped out with a crime problem on Weltner's street.

Bauer also indicated that Weltner did not speak for him or his campaign and that he only knew of Weltner through neighborhood and ward meetings.

Neither mentioned that Bauer had represented Weltner when Weltner was sued by Barnes St. Peters Hospital in March of 2004, according to St. Louis City Circuit Clerk records.

Nor did either man mention a social relationship between them when pressed. This contrasts with the story Terry Powers, a Franz Park resident and former Bauer supporter, told me. Powers said she was approached by another Bauer ally and then-Franz Park Neighborhood Association President Richard Torack, to run for Franz Park Neighborhood Association president. After a special meeting in August of the Neighborhood Association, she said Torack invited her out for a drink with Bauer and they went to Colombo's Bar, a bar owned by Gregory Colombo, a frequent contributor to Bauer's campaigns over the years according to Missouri Ethics Commission reports.

Colombo was the center of controversy during the recent campaign to change the city charter. He paid for billboards in North St. Louis that used the confederate flag to suggest the impact of the charter changes would reduce the ability of African-Americans in the city to vote. While Bauer was vocally against the charter changes, he and Colombo maintained Bauer had nothing to do with the billboards.

When Powers arrived at the bar, she said she sat down with Torack, Bauer and Frank Weltner, and they all had a few drinks and talked for a while. After a few drinks they got up to leave and Torack walked Powers to her car. She asked Torack if Weltner was that "neo-Nazi guy" she had heard about and she says Torack deflected the question. Powers then observed Weltner getting in Bauer's vehicle.

Powers found the incident especially strange because Weltner first joined the neighborhood organization at the August meeting and she does not recall him attending previous meetings. And, she said Weltner's recent appearance at the Clifton Heights meeting is then especially odd given he lives in Franz Park. Powers noted that this was all taking place while Torack and Bauer were fighting to stop the recall that had been initiated.

More oddities surrounding Weltner's appearance was that after Powers brought up Weltner's past, Torack decided to run again for neighborhood president instead of supporting Powers, and when the meeting was being held in September, she heard Bauer say to Torack that they could not have the meeting because “our guys” weren't there yet. Weltner and a friend showed up not long after that.

The association between Weltner and Bauer worries many. Bauer has been involved in controversy surrounding racial issues. As a state legislator, he passed the St. Louis Student Bill of Rights that would have required a vote on whether magnet schools had to first admit local students based on geography. Many, including current SLPS Board Member Ron Jackson, felt the impact of such a rule would have disparate racial impacts reinforcing racial segregation through housing patterns. Racial overtones in Bauer's campaign against current comptroller Darlene Green in 2001 are also cited by many in the political world as worrisome. Bauer has always maintained that such criticisms were unfair, but the current campaign has raised those concerns again among many in his ward.

In other developments, Bauer, an attorney, is currently suing several constituents for libel over a flyer put out during the recall election, and Bauer has ended up on the other end of a lawsuit from the St. Louis City Democratic Central Committee. A recent ad by Bauer raised the ire of City Chair Brian Wahby and other Democratic officials when Bauer referred to himself as an Independent Democrat and used a donkey — typically a Democratic symbol.

The suit was settled Thursday, Dec. 1 with Bauer able to keep the representation of the Donkey on his literature, but not able to use the Democratic label. The donkey is a representation of Scotty, the donkey he keeps in Dogtown and brings out for public events. Wahby was satisfied with the compromise primarily because he does not want voters confused about who is the Democratic candidate in the race.

A quick look at lawsuits in which Bauer is the plaintiff turns up several lawsuits in the recent past including two small claims cases and four libel cases. Three of the libel cases have been dismissed or been decided with a summary judgment while the fourth is currently in the courts. What is strange about this is that the standards for libel are quite high when involving an elected official and so such cases are relatively rare.

You can e-mail Larry Handlin at archpundit@yahoo.com.

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