Children’s Book Week, By St. Louis County Executive Sam Page
5 May
It’s Children’s Book Week, which reminded me of a question I got recently about what book has changed my life.
My answer probably surprised them. It’s Eric Carle’s beautiful “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
That was the first book that Jenny and I read to our first-born (who was probably the actual life-changer). We read it plenty of times to him and his two brothers in the years that followed.
Reading anything 1,000 times will affect you, I suppose.
But, as with most children’s books, the message behind The Very Hungry Caterpillar is universal, and important. It helps kids understand that change is inevitable. That change is beautiful, and good, but also sometimes difficult and a little scary.
Our County has gone through a lot of really big changes this year. When we came into office, we let in the sunshine after years of shadowy deals, and we’ve seen the results firsthand. Employees now feel comfortable sharing their great ideas for improvements. Managers and directors have created quality control metrics and success plans. Contracts are awarded based on who’s the right vendor – not on who’s connected. We’ve implemented policy after policy that makes your government more transparent, more ethical, and more accountable.
We’ve also started tackling the big issues that have been holding us back – beyond the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve tackled gun violence, minimum wage, the opioid epidemic, racial equity, discrimination, public housing – issues that nobody had been willing to address.
Most people have been excited about the changes and have applauded what we’ve accomplished so far. Others have bristled, because they can’t keep doing business the way they have in the past. And still others have tried to gloss over our accomplishments, and either pretend nothing has changed or say it’s not enough.
Because change – even positive, much-needed change – can be hard.
But it’s long overdue. I’m proud to be leading the County in this time of important change.
