News

By Rachel Lippmann

Maria Chappelle-Nadal

Chappelle-Nadal chose the county council for her political comeback because “right now, we have so much that’s going wrong in St. Louis County.”

“I still care about the environment, and frankly, the work that’s being done at the federal level is not enough,” she said.

Chappelle-Nadal served a total of 16 years in the state legislature and was one of the earliest political voices raising awareness of radioactive contamination in parts of north St. Louis County. She said the current council is not being diligent enough on the issue.

“We all like development, we all like infrastructure, but oh, by the way, many of these places where they've been building, redeveloping, are contaminated,” she said.

In addition to the environment, Chappelle-Nadal said she would be focused on affordability if she were elected. She would have voted against a proposed tax on online sales.

“Regardless of what tax bracket you're in, every single family, every single door that I knock on, someone is experiencing really hard financial times, and are having to make changes,” she said, adding that she knows of many residents who rely on Amazon or other delivery services for medications.

Chappelle-Nadal and incumbent Rita Heard Days were allies until a falling-out that involved multiple lawsuits. But Chappelle-Nadal said her entry into the race was motivated more by the mismanagement she saw while working for Days than trying to score political revenge.

"For me to say that state government is outperforming the county at this point is an exceptional statement, but I can tell you that every single person in District 1 deserves better,” she said.