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About John Hoffmann and This Website
John Hoffmann has over thirty years' experience working inside local government or covering it for the media. He has served as a Police Officer, Police Captain, Assistant Police Chief, Fire Investigator, Taxi Inspector and Alderman. Outside of this website, he has written over 200 articles for various publications on government and government-related topics. John has also covered professional sports as a sportswriter and has served as a table referee for collegiate basketball.

In April 2008, John was elected Alderman, representing the City of Town and Country's second ward. On May 21, 2008, his first Aldermanic newsletter appeared on this website as a way of keeping his constituents informed of what was going on at City Hall. When he left office in 2010, he continued to keep people both informed and entertained through his regular newsletters.

When AOL decided to provide local news coverage by launching a site called Patch, John was one of the experienced reporters hired to cover local government. He covered the cities of Town and Country, Manchester and Chesterfield. John provided blatantly honest coverage of their activities for Patch and even a humorous piece or two, including a feature on what types of cars city officials drove and what it said about them. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for some Chesterfield officials, who went to John's editor in a shameful move by government to censor the media. Getting no satisfaction from John's editor, who apparently also believed in freedom of the press, the Chesterfield hit squad eventually had to go up the management ladder at Patch until they found someone they could persuade to remove John from covering their meetings.

John was not deterred by Chesterfield's chicanery. He left AOL's Patch behind and promptly launched his Unapproved Chesterfield Newsletters as a regular feature here on June 21, 2012. His Patch articles still rank among the highest ever read on the Chesterfield Patch page. John's regular coverage of Town and Country and Chesterfield have skyrocketed traffic to this website, while reports of AOL Patch sites losing money and firing staff continue to to surface. One need not wonder why.

In 2012, John was recognized as the Best Newspaper Columnist in the Riverfront Times' annual "Best of St. Louis" awards.

Occasionally, John expands his coverage when something of interest pops up. A notable example was 2013's circus in Ellisville, where popular Mayor Adam Paul was impeached by political opponents who shoveled a huge pile of trumped-up and false charges in a mockery of hearings. A Judge overturned all this nonsense and the people of Ellisville got back the Mayor they wanted. Some of his opponents, however, have not faired as well. RIGHT: John in the front row at a standing room only Ellisville impeachment hearing.

Whatever the story, there never seems to be a dull moment in the seemingly dignified world of West St. Louis County (or Snoburbia as John likes to call it) government. From Town and Country's lobbyist Mayor to Chesterfield officials trying to control the media, you never know what to expect next. You can, however, expect John Hoffmann's uncensored take on the latest news from these two outposts of civility.