Special Message to the 28th Ward
January 10, 2022

 

This is a difficult message for me to send. I recently accepted an offer to help launch the Midwest Climate Collaborative, which presents a wonderful opportunity; however, it also means that I must step down as your alderperson. I tendered my letter of resignation to the President of the Board earlier today and my last day as Alderwoman of the 28th Ward will be January 24, 2022. As an alderwoman, issues related to climate change and resiliency have always been at the top of my agenda. These issues are critical to the future of St. Louis and I look forward to serving our community in this new position.

The Collaborative is a collective movement to accelerate climate action in the Midwest by creating evidence, catalyzing action, informing public knowledge and public policy, and developing the future leaders needed to sustain and expand this work. The Collaborative is housed at Washington University in St. Louis, which, unfortunately, makes it untenable for me to hold the director position and continue to serve as your alderwoman. Serving as your alderwoman has been a tremendous honor and I am grateful for everyone who has supported and put their trust in me over the last four-and-a-half years.

I have loved getting to know all of the neighborhoods in the 28th ward better and working with so many of you to make our streets safer, preserve housing options, support local businesses, and make St. Louis a better place to live and work. I have especially loved serving as your representative on the Forest Park Advisory Board and working with all of the neighborhood volunteers on the various committees and special business districts.

While I am moving on, I know that there are many projects in the works – from traffic calming and speed reduction on Kingshighway, Lindell, and Skinker to pocket park maintenance and a form-based code, among many others. I will be working over these next two weeks to help transition my role in these projects so that they can stay on track. I will also continue to be your neighbor and I hope you will call on me if I can be of any help.

I know that many of you will have questions about what happens in the interim between Jan. 24 and the election for the new wards in spring 2023. As soon as I have answers I will let you know.

Thank you for the amazing opportunity to serve as your alderwoman and I look forward to seeing you at the next ward meeting on January 20 over zoom (details are below). If you are interested in the work of the Midwest Climate Collaborative I would love to hear from you. You can learn more and register to attend the launch on January 28 here.

Thank you again and I will be in touch as I learn more about the process for electing a successor.

Sincerely,

Heather B. Navarro
28th Ward Alderwoman
[email protected]
314.622.3287 (o)
314.632.6458 (c)