St. Louis election officials just certified the results of the November election last week — now, attention for staff and candidates has shifted to the March municipal primary.
Filing for St. Louis mayor, comptroller and odd wards at the Board of Aldermen opened Monday. Mayor Tishaura Jones and her leading challenger, Cara Spencer, were among the first 10 candidates to file their paperwork at the Board of Elections’ headquarters in Downtown.
“I am excited to file today,” Jones said. “I’m making a choice for the city I love.”
Jones said she is ready to campaign on her record as mayor, rather than on aspirational policies.
“We'll be able to show people exactly where we have improved some of the things that they are most concerned about, and also let them know how we're going to improve things in our second term,” she said.
Jones pointed to a significant decrease in violent crime, particularly homicides, and increased investment in the city.
This is Spencer’s second run for the office — she lost to Jones by about 2,300 votes in 2021.
“I learned that knocking doors and being present, being able to get out and really talk to people is important, something we were not able to do in 2021 because of the pandemic,” she said.
Spencer has built a campaign focusing on fiscal responsibility and transparency, a message she said is resonating with voters.
“People are very, very frustrated about the lack of urgency and lack of transparency and just what has been spent with our ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] dollars,” she said. “People are very frustrated with a lack of transparency in our jails. We saw another loss of life just a week ago, and people are very rightfully demanding answers to what the heck is going on there.”
Current Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler had also filed his paperwork as of 5 p.m. Friday. He'll be listed first on the ballot — all candidates who file on the same day draw numbers to determine their position, and Butler drew the lowest.
Comptroller
One of St. Louis’ longest-serving elected officials will face at least one serious challenger in the March primary.
Donna Baringer, a former south city alderwoman and state representative, filed her paperwork Monday to run against Comptroller Darlene Green.
“We need a fresh set of eyes on the comptroller’s office,” Baringer said. “I see we have a fiscal problem within two years. Whoever's sitting in that position needs to be prepared to do what needs to be done to make sure our city thrives and grows.”
Baringer said she would not have waited until newspaper articles outlined problems to audit federal American Rescue Plan Act spending. She said she would also increase transparency around the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, a fiscal oversight board of which the comptroller is a member.
A second challenger, Celeste Metcalf, has created a campaign committee but had not filed for election by the end of the day Monday. Green is planning to seek reelection. She finished the term of Tishaura Jones’ father, Virvus, after he pleaded guilty to tax fraud in 1995, and has won every one of her elections since 1996.
Board of Aldermen
Two years after running for his 3rd Ward seat unopposed, Shane Cohn will have at least two challengers, including Inez Bordeaux, an activist best known for her work on the campaign to close the north St. Louis jail called the Workhouse.
Bordeaux pointed to issues with gun violence and people experiencing homelessness. The city, she said, had not done enough to invest in solving those problems.
If she wins, Bordeaux will follow what has become a familiar activist-to-elected pipeline at the board, joining such figures as board President Megan Green, Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward and Alisha Sonnier of the 7th Ward.
“As an organizer, it's much more about you and your causes and your beliefs. Once you become an elected official, you have a duty and a responsibility to represent your constituents beliefs,” said Sonnier.
As an odd-ward board member, Sonnier had to run for reelection after two years because of the downsizing of the board from 28 to 14 after redistricting. But she said she was still excited by all she had accomplished in that shortened first term.
Also filing for office Monday were Anne Schweitzer of the 1st Ward and Michael Browning of the 9th Ward. Former Great Rivers Greenway communications director Dallas Adams submitted paperwork to challenge Cohn in the 3rd Ward, and attorney Matt Devoti will run in the 5th Ward, a seat currently held by Joe Vollmer, who does not plan to run again.
Melinda Long, who was recalled from aldermanic office in 2003 and has sought to return to the board multiple times since then, will run for the 11th Ward, a seat currently held by Laura Keys. Keys has a campaign committee but did not file on Monday.
Filing for the March 4 primary closes Jan 3. Under St. Louis’ approval voting system, the top two candidates for any office advance to the April 8 general election.
Updated at 5:40 p.m. Nov. 25 with additional candidate filings.
