On the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, outgoing St. Louis County Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway reflects on her time on the legislative body.

She said she is most proud of her legacy around environmental issues, including boosting the availability of electric vehicle chargers and making it easier for people to have native plant gardens in their yards.

Dunaway won her first election in August 2019 to replace fellow Democrat Sam Page when he became St. Louis County executive. Her victory helped secure a Democratic majority on the council.

But she said she wasn’t sure politics was for her even before running for a full term in 2020.

“If I could just do policy and execute policy, that would be amazing,” she said. “But the politics part, you have enemies that you don’t even know attacking you, and you don’t even really understand why.”

Here’s what else Dunaway talked about on the show:

• She admitted that her inability to forgive fellow Democrats Shalonda Webb of Florissant and Rita Days of north county for voting against mask mandates and other public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic probably cost her relationships that could have helped her get legislation passed. 
• Dunaway is “highly skeptical” of the ability of the St. Louis region to work together to improve its future. “It’s us versus them, and I think until those bridges get repaired, until we want to work together to solve regional problems together, I think that’s going to be what continues to get in the way of our growth and expansion,” she said.
• She is most looking forward to having her Tuesday nights free to take advantage of deals at Marcus Theatres.

Dunaway runs her own firm training and coaching lawyers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and went to law school at UCLA.