Dentist Chains Self to Building to Resist Sirens of Arnold

State and Local Government |
By David Stokes | Read Time 1 minute

Not really, but I like the image. Dr. Homer Tourkakis’ fight to keep his dentistry practice going at the location he owns in Arnold is going to the Supreme Court. The full story is in the Suburban Journals. Our own Tim Lee discussed the good doctor’s case in his recent study on eminent domain abuse in Missouri. I urge you to pay attention to this case as it moves ahead. The state Supreme Court took a strong step forward for property rights when it decided in favor of Clayton property owners over Centene Corp. recently. We’ll see if we continue to go further on that path.

Dr. Tourkakis sums up his position succinctly:

According to Tourkakis, his dental patients and the city’s general population have continued to support him.

"They don’t feel that private property should be transferred to another for profit," Tourkakis said.

He added that property is not easy to obtain and that once it is acquired, it just doesn’t seem fair to have the property taken away.

Much, much more on this case, and others like it, to come from the Show-Me Institute.

About the Author

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.

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