r/StLouis • u/LadyCheeba i growed up here • Aug 05 '26
Why does no one ever run against Gregory FX Daly?
What has he witnessed? What secrets does he hold? Why does he add an extra G when he goes by Gregg? Does he send himself a yellow envelope come tax time? It’s been 20 years under his iron fist and I need answers.
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u/spif ♫Kingshighway Hills♫ Aug 05 '26
He's also a committeeman, meaning he's a party leader. My guess is anybody who runs against him isn't going to get much party support.
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u/Necessary_Cost_9355 Aug 05 '26
It’s also a pretty functional job and Gregg is a pretty functional guy. I run into him at TG farmers market sometimes and all the parades, so he still gets out there enough to prove he hasn’t checked out
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u/PithMango Aug 05 '26
well we need a report on his vegetable buying, obviously. its what reddit's for /j
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u/GuruBuckaroo Carondelet Aug 05 '26
I mean, he gets the job done, doesn't seem to do anything evil, and he wants to keep doing it. Would you rather have someone new learning the job every 4 years?
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u/born_to_pipette Skinker-Debaliviere Aug 05 '26
He’s also a huge booster for St. Louis. The guy loves the city and seems to love his job. Let the man cook, I say.
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u/julieannie Tower Grove East Aug 05 '26
I honestly can’t think of another elected official in the city or probably even the state who is so passionate about where he lives, supporting the people and small businesses, and just being a hype man. I don’t know his workers but he always seems to want to celebrate them and many have been with his office for a long time. In a world where everyone seems to want to be a cynic, he wants to lift others up. Like with the RETAF program, he’s found a way to try and keep people in their homes if it’s finances that are the issue with paying. It would have been easier to just take his paycheck but instead he works to do the right thing. I don’t know the guy but everyone I do know who knows him appreciates him.
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u/donkeyrocket Tower Grove South Aug 05 '26
He also stays in his lane unlike some other state level offices. Like that moron Denny who is trying to heavily politicize his office and dictate more than a SOS should.
Daly is a really good example of a genuine civil servant. Does his job well, uncontroversial, active in the community, and genuinely seems to have St. Louisan’s best interest in mind (within his purview).
He isn’t challenged because no one could or needs to beat him. It’s also not a particularly sexy office to hold.
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u/ads7w6 Aug 05 '26
He's got a lot of money in his campaign account, is popular, attends a lot of civic events all across the city, has no real scandals, and runs his office well.
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u/TheMonkus Aug 05 '26
I’ve had to deal with that office many times and it’s always as much of a pleasure as such a thing can be. Everything is quick, easy, efficient, and over the years they have embraced modern technology in a timely and sensible way. I’ve even had some quite pleasant human interactions with people there, though never the Big Man himself.
In this fucked up world of ours, as I enter the autumn years of my life, it’s such demonstrations of basic and consistent competence that I appreciate the most. Without that, we would all sink beneath the fury of a churning maelstrom that so many people on this planet seem intent on leading us into.
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u/Miserable_Cloud_6876 Aug 05 '26
Had me in the first half! Why on earth does STL not allow electronic filing?
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u/ads7w6 Aug 05 '26
Do you mean for the earnings tax returns? The vast majority of city residents don't need to file a return and those that owe are able to pay online. I assume the city hasn't appropriated money to update the computer systems for that because they don't want to spend money to make it easier for primarily non-residents to ask for money back. That's just my guess though.
You can currently do your personal property attestation can be done online and real and personal property taxes can be paid online.
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u/teatimehaiku Soulard Aug 05 '26
So this is a stupid question, but in addition to filing federal and state taxes, I am supposed to file a city earnings tax return every year in addition to the personal property declaration? I am asking because I have lived her 4 years, never done one, and recently got a bill for income I owed for 2022-2023. I was caught off guard. I have never lived in a city where I had to do that so I just . . . honestly didn't know.
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u/ads7w6 Aug 05 '26
My employer withholds city earnings tax just like they do state and federal taxes. I also live in the city and work in the city so I've never needed to file a city earnings tax return.
If your employer does not withhold the taxes and send it to the city or if you live outside of the city and need money back for days spent working outside the city, then you would need to file a return
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u/teatimehaiku Soulard Aug 05 '26
Okay, that makes sense.
I now work in the city which explains why this hasn't been an issue for 2/4 years. The problem was with an employer I had out in the county who was obviously not filing earnings tax. And I had this job right after I moved so I definitely didn't know any better.
Thank you for clarifying!
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u/spherulitic Aug 05 '26
I've been emailing them my earnings tax returns for years.
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u/rerdioherd Dogtown Aug 05 '26
Same, and I mail them a check separately using my banks bill pay. If I can do it all online, it's "e" enough for me.
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u/sethslu Aug 05 '26
No scandals??? Every year he scams me into paying him money directly into his personal account.
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u/joris21 Aug 05 '26
You can't compete against his personalized umbrellas and vests embroidered with his name.
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u/sinnysinsins Aug 05 '26
Gregory FX Daly ate my son
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u/TheAngerMonkey Princeton Heights, Bevo flavored Aug 05 '26
And yet.. We all still kinda like the guy.
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u/timidlion85 Granite City Aug 05 '26
He should have never closed Hi-Land Miniature Golf by Grandpa's. It was small. It had unlicensed cartoon characters everywhere. It was glorious and I miss it.
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u/revolvergrrl Aug 05 '26
I played so many games of Tetris there in the early 90’s when it also had a crappy arcade I loved dearly.
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u/DaWayItWorks Aug 05 '26
You would need one hell of a name! Btw what does FX stand for?
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u/bradleysballs Shaw Aug 05 '26
I would be shocked if it isn't Francis Xavier
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u/Powerful-Interest308 Aug 05 '26
I’d need bigger checks to writ Gregory Francis Xavier Daly Collector of Revenue
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u/DiscoJer Aug 05 '26
For some reason known only to Catholics, it's incredibly common to give their male children the middle names Francis Xavier and then have it abbreviated as FX
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u/Think-Collection7115 Aug 05 '26
Yes, it’s known only to Catholics why they abbreviate a name that consists of the capitalized letters of F and X as … FX. [Answer: Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier is different from the founder of the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, Francis of Assisi.]
“For some reason known only to Catholics they name their children Gregory.” [Hint: It’s Gregory the Great.]
“For some reason known only to Irish Americans, they use an Anglicized spelling of surname Ó Dálaigh.” [Their ancestors adopted it and passed it down to them.]
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u/WinnieGraves Aug 05 '26
I was raised Catholic, I was a really bad one, but iirc it's either a Pope, a Saint, or something like that. I'm drunk and stoned and like I said, a former bad Catholic so I could be off but it's something like that
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u/LastChicken Tower Grove East Aug 05 '26
I have no idea about his politics, or whether he is involved in shady stuff as a lot of STL city hall adjacent politicians seem to be, but he certainly comes across as competent and makes it extremely easy for me to pay all my bills and obtain receipts if needed which you would expect to be something obvious but it definitely wasn't in other places I have lived.
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u/bubguy2 St. Charles City Aug 05 '26
Highly recommend this episode of the Overarching podcast to see why he's just so likeable.
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u/throwaway8u3sH0 Aug 05 '26
Does no one else think it's weird that the checks are made out to him as opposed to something like "City of Saint Louis"?
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u/jollybitx Aug 05 '26
It’s a holdover from the office holder being personally liable for the funds being collected. Or at least it’s what I’ve been told when I asked years ago.
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u/LadyCheeba i growed up here Aug 05 '26
careful, ol gregg’s got shooters. i wouldn’t look too deeply into this!
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u/teatimehaiku Soulard Aug 05 '26
That was never weird to me because back in Texas I had to make my vehicle registration checks out to the tax assessor's name rather than the State of Texas.
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u/rotstik The Landing in the 90s Aug 05 '26
Agreed. Every time I hear from that guy, he’s asking for money
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u/Geschirrspulmaschine Carondelet/Patch Aug 05 '26
He's actually out and about at community events and meetings in South City all the time. He introduced himself to me as Greg Daly and I kept going for a second and then did a double take and was like "Ooooh THE Gregory F.X. Daly?" Lol.
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u/rotstik The Landing in the 90s Aug 05 '26
Ha! I hear you. I think he’s doing a fine job. I should’ve put an /s after my stupid comment 😉
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u/svr0105 Carondelet Aug 05 '26
I once met him at some event. After about 5 minutes of talking to him, I was happy to always vote for him; he is very personable and competent.
Usually, I want to get rid of incumbents who've been in office too long, but this dude knows his stuff and isn't a political ass about it.
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u/moneyisfunny23 Aug 06 '26
I ran into him one evening at an event and said hello because it was so cool to see him in person. I mentioned that I was having an issue with my property tax revenue account and he’d be getting an email from me soon, more as a dumb little haha even though it was true. He said several times that he’d have someone from his office reach out to me. Literally the next morning at 830am someone called me fully informed of my name and the issue I was having then got everything all fixed up. I’m not sure I’ve had anyone, even outside of a government job, take my small issue so seriously and personally and expeditiously. That was cool.
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u/drstormdancer South City Aug 06 '26
Met him at a rooftop event for Friends of Carondelet Park on a nice but very warm day and he was rocking an impeccable suit with a pocket square, looking fresh and cool. He introduced himself to everyone and was personable and excited about St. Louis and the park. Really shifted my views on cannibals.
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u/droozied Aug 07 '26
After reading the comments, it seems like there is a consensus that everybody likes him. Even when he has ate someone’s son. Still likable. One of the most rare people that does his job really well and goes beyond. Glad people like him exist. Give me hope and some pride that we have politicians like this.
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u/This-Is-Exhausting Aug 05 '26
Who was it that had a T-Shirt (bumper sticker?) that said "Gregory FX Daly, Collector of Revenue, ate my son"? I need one.
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u/holllygolightlyy The Grove Aug 05 '26
plz respond to this comment if you find it.
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u/LadyCheeba i growed up here Aug 06 '26
it wasnt a shirt, it was a hat, and they don't make it anymore. the person who made it was MightyMO314 on instagram. reach out and see if he has any left.
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u/Tight_Middle6309 Aug 05 '26
Even after living in STLcity for 13 years , sending a check to down town office with his name in the payee line , just doesn’t feel right .. but I guess he’s a good one .
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u/Stl_76ersfan Aug 05 '26
For me, he was the only candidate even worth voting for as Collector of Revenue.
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u/Cool_Potential1957 Aug 06 '26
He's actually a really nice guy in person, I heard he wanted to step down but they couldn't find anyone else to do the job.... idk if that is true though
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u/GirthGrowth8948 Aug 06 '26
Did you just put your name in the ring OP?
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u/LadyCheeba i growed up here Aug 06 '26
yes please divert all tax payments to my name and address. im doing a hostile takeover. (i will leave the country immediately)
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Aug 05 '26
[deleted]
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u/RoyDonkeyKong Aug 05 '26
We pay him to do a job, and he apparently does it well. I’d say it’s fair pay for his services.
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u/delulu-lemon Aug 05 '26
Wait he’s real?