State Rep. Chris Carter won a special election on Tuesday to fill the seat left open on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen after his uncle, Alderman Greg Carter, died in a traffic accident two months ago.
Carter said it’s a bitter sweet victory and his first order of business is to tackle what he views as a cycle of joblessness and crime in his ward.
“We just have to look at some new innovative ways to solve our problems and, you know, that’s something that I’m really focused on doing,” Carter said. "We have a lot of work to do as a team, and I’m a team player, so, let’s go.”
With very low turnout, just over 92 percent of the total 918 ballots were cast for Carter.
Carter will be sworn in this Friday to serve the rest of his late uncle’s term, and will be up for reelection in March next year.
He beat out former Democratic Alderman Jimmie Matthews, who ran as an independent.
“Apparently the people voted democrat rather than voting for the person, they voted for the party,” Matthews said.
Matthews said his loss doesn’t dampen his hope to win the Democratic primary for Mayor in March.
