This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 27, 2013 - By his staff’s calculation, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay officially made history on Saturday by becoming the city’s longest-serving mayor.
Although Slay just began his history-setting fourth term on April 16, it wasn’t until Saturday that he hit his 4,394th day in office. That edges out the three-term tenure of Mayor Henry Kiel, who served 4,393 days during his 12-tenure (April 12, 1913 to April 21, 1925.)
So says city Operations Director Eddie Roth, who did the math.
The city's two other three-term mayors – Raymond Tucker (April 21, 1953 to April 20, 1965) and Vincent C. Schoemehl (April 21, 1981 to April 20, 1993) – each served 4,383 days, Roth says.
To mark Slay’s record, his staff celebrated a day early, on Friday afternoon, by presenting the mayor with a mock Proclamation and a “lock’’ to the city (as opposed to a key).
Aides say the surprise presentation was set up by Roth and senior mayoral assistant Sherry Wibbenmeyer.
