Hart Nelson has worked as diplomat, naval intelligence officer

 
By Steve Bowman
Editor, The Brentwood Spirit
email: bowmansj@sbcglobal.net

Civilized discourse and a better residential tree program are two things Hart Nelson will pull for if he is elected as Brentwood’s Ward 1 Alderman in the April 7 election.

Nelson, who is Director of Public Affairs at the St. Louis Regional Chamber, filed for candidacy on Jan. 20. He is running against David Plufka, a lawyer. The Ward 1 seat is held by Anthony Harper, who is not seeking reelection.

Nelson lists three main goals in a press release announcing his candidacy:

• To ensure Brentwood continues providing top quality, cost-effective services to all residents
• To collaborate with constituents and counterparts through polite, respectful, civilized discourse
• To balance commercial growth with residential quality of life by advocating for a residential tree program.

Nelson lives in York Village with his wife Valerie and three children.They have been in Brentwood for almost two years and lived in Rock Hill for five years.

Employment and education

Nelson has been Director of Public Affairs and Issues Management for the St. Louis Regional Chamber since July. His responsibilities include helping develop positions on public policy issues and writing policy principles, position papers, research and analysis.

For nine years before that he was a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State, representing the U.S. as a career diplomat in Europe and Latin America. He was also an Intelligence Officer for the U.S. Navy for 11 years. He began his career working in IT at IBM for nine years.

Nelson has three degrees from Washington University: an MBA, a master of information management in IT and a B.A. in political science and mass communications.

Click here to reach Nelson’s election Facebook page.

Candidacy announcement

Following is a formal statement announcing his candidacy:

Hart Nelson is a candidate for Ward 1 Alderman.

Hart has deep experience working with local government on policy issues around the world. A former international diplomat with the U.S. State Department, he is now the Director of Public Affairs at the St. Louis Regional Chamber.

“I left the federal government after a decade of service overseas because I wanted my children to have a sense of place,” said Nelson, “Brentwood is that place. It’s where we want to be for the next 30 years. We have a top-tier city and I would be honored to represent the people of Ward 1 and help the city of warmth grow and thrive.”

Hart’s primary goal in serving the residents of Ward 1 is to ensure Brentwood continues providing top-quality, cost-effective services to all residents. He pledges to collaborate with constituents and counterparts through polite, respectful and civilized discourse. Hart also loves Brentwood for its beautiful neighborhoods with mature trees and will balance commercial growth with residential quality of life by advocating for a residential tree program similar to the successful effort in Chesterfield.

Hart lives in York Village with his wife Valerie and three children, two of which attend McGrath Elementary.