Prop W & Prop S
2024 Voter Education Campaign
Overview
In April 2024, voters in the St. Louis region overwhelmingly approved two MSD funding measures: Proposition W and Proposition S. Prop W passed with 80% support, the highest approval rate for an MSD bond issue in recent history. Prop S passed with 57% support, flipping the result of a similar measure that failed just five years earlier. This success was the result of a strategic, multi-year campaign focused on stakeholder activation, targeted community engagement, and message discipline.
Prop W
Prop Y
The Challenge
In 2024, MSD asked voters to decide the future of two very different systems:
One, a well-funded wastewater system, quietly improving every year by replacing aging infrastructure, protecting public health, and reducing overflows.
The other, a stormwater system under stress, with increasing problems like flooding and erosion made worse by climate change and inadequate funding.
Adding to the challenge:
A similar stormwater funding measure had failed in 2019, earning just 47% support
The 2024 ballot would include two separate propositions, requiring a communications approach that was clear, coordinated, and credible across different audiences
Strategy
MSD began laying the groundwork for this campaign nearly three years before the election, building relationships, pressure-testing messages, and earning credibility long before any ask was made.
Our strategy focused on two priorities:
1. Build long-term trust with stakeholders: We increased organic engagement with stakeholder groups three years before the election to establish the narrative and prevent election outreach from feeling transactional.
2. Ground our messaging in research, not assumptions: We invested in statistically valid research with likely voters to find out which messages were most clear and focus our efforts on issues that resonated.
Strategy
MSD began laying the groundwork for this campaign nearly three years before the election, building relationships, pressure-testing messages, and earning credibility long before any ask was made.
Our strategy focused on two priorities:
1. Build long-term trust with stakeholders: We increased organic engagement with stakeholder groups three years before the election to establish the narrative and prevent election outreach from feeling transactional.
2. Ground our messaging in research, not assumptions: We invested in statistically valid research with likely voters to find out which messages were most clear and focus our efforts on issues that resonated.
Print Collateral
Flyer/Poster
I developed a flyer and poster outlining key messages and instructed residents to vote.
Mailer
I converted the messaging and design from the poster into a bi-fold mailer and sent it to every Creve Coeur voter.
Newsletter
I published eight articles on Proposition P in the resident newsletter between February 2015 and October 2016 educating residents about the proposition and the police department’s facilities needs.
Media Coverage
Through targeted pitches and press releases, I earned several media placements with regional and local outlets including KTVI, KSDK, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, West Newsmagazine, Our Town Magazine, and the Jewish Light.
