Early voting is already underway in St. Louis’ March municipal primary.
In addition to the mayoral and comptroller races, there are competitive primaries to represent the 3rd and 11th wards at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.
Voters can choose some or all of the candidates in the March 4 primary. The top two will advance to the April 8 general election. There will also be contests then in the 1st, 7th and 13th wards.
3rd Ward
Made up of part or all of the Dutchtown, Mount Pleasant, Gravois Park and Carondelet neighborhoods, the 3rd Ward is one of the more densely populated wards in St. Louis. It has a sizable immigrant population and is home to the largest number of school-age children in the city.
Dallas Adams
Dallas Adams, formerly the communications director for Great Rivers Greenway, got involved with a variety of neighborhood groups in Dutchtown “to make sure that I know exactly what’s going on.”
“I wanted to be able to add my gifts and skills to a chorus of neighbors who are looking forward to revitalizing this area,” she said.
Adams entered the race on a “leap of faith.”
“I think that after almost 20 years of the same leadership, it is time for some new energy,” she said. “It is time for a new vision, and it is time to build upon the legacy that has already been left in what is now the 3rd Ward.”
Adams said her focus will be on development that stabilizes the community by reducing the number of vacant and blighted buildings. She said her experience working on projects like the Brickline Greenway during her time at Great Rivers taught her the importance of making sure that development is equitable.
“A lot of times when we think about development, we prioritize the needs of the corporation. We prioritize the needs of the business coming in,” she said. “If we were able to flip that model on its head, it might be slower development, but it would ensure that everyone who has had to live through all of the other disinvestments and vacancies is able to stay in place and receive the benefits.”
Adams has not publicly endorsed a candidate in the mayoral primary. She said she looks forward to working with whoever is elected.
Inez Bordeaux
Activist and nurse Inez Bordeaux first ran for elected office last August to be the Democratic committeewoman of the 3rd Ward.
But she said she got so fed up watching the board members fight over protections for renters that she decided to advance her political career further.
“I am, frankly, tired of living in a city where we have to argue with progressive or older people who call themselves progressive but fight against progressive ideals, progressive values and progressive legislation,” she said.
For Bordeaux, the Board of Aldermen needs to take a comprehensive approach to addressing the concerns of the 3rd Ward, which mirrors the city's as a whole.
“That's ending poverty,” she said. “We all are craving public safety and community, and the way that we build those things, or the way that we get those things is by addressing poverty.”
Bordeaux acknowledged that there are limits to what the board can do to tackle a complex issue like poverty, especially when so many of the programs are run at the state and federal levels.
“But I think generally the board lacks imagination,” she said. “The Board of Aldermen really should stop being afraid to tackle the hard problems and have the hard conversations, because I don't see a lot of that happening.”
Bordeaux declined to publicly endorse a candidate in the mayor’s race.
“I’d like to see what happens after the primary,” she said.
Shane Cohn
Cohn, a human resources manager by training, has represented the ward since 2009. The 2025 primary marks the first time he’s faced opposition since that first election.
“I can’t really speak to the intentions of my competition,” he said. “Certainly, there’s been a pay increase for aldermen. But aside from that, I think there’s probably ambition, drive and folks that might have a different version that they want to see for either the city or the ward.”
Cohn agrees with his opponents that equitable development is the largest need for the ward. But he added that he has the track record of working with nonprofit partners to build low- to moderate-income housing.
And his long experience at City Hall, he said, means he understands that something as simple as addressing a nuisance property can be a complicated process.
“Pulling police, the city counselor, building division, water division, the [Department of Human Services] to the table to have these conversations and coordinate a response sometimes can take months,” he said.
Cohn is the lone candidate of the six in the aldermanic primaries to make an endorsement in the mayor’s race – he’s backing Mayor Tishaura Jones. But he wants his constituents to know that his support is not unconditional.
“I never fully agree with any particular mayor or administration,” he said.
11th Ward
The 11th Ward is a study in contrasts. Its northern end, near Fairground and O’Fallon parks, is dotted with vacant lots and crumbling buildings. Farther south, near St. Louis University, brand-new apartments sit atop a gleaming Target within a stone's throw of the new TopGolf.
The 11th Ward covers all or part of the Fairground, Penrose, Grand Center, O’Fallon, Midtown and JeffVanderLou neighborhoods.
Melinda Long
The 2025 election marks Melinda Long’s fourth attempt to return to City Hall. She briefly represented part of what is now the 11th Ward in the early 2000s before being recalled.
“It was a short term, but I had the opportunity to really evaluate the community, look into how the city government works, and how funds come within the City of St. Louis and how they are distributed,” she said of her two years in office.
Long’s community action plan outlines a four-year “vision for community growth,” with emphasis on business development.
“We do have a development plan, an improvement plan for the area, whereas at the same time, our plan is to market the area for new property owners and new businesses to come into the area,” she said.
Long pledged to communicate with longtime residents, who may find themselves priced out of their homes as development expands in the ward. She said she also wants to make more residents aware of the senior property tax freeze.
“We do have a lot of 65-and-over residents, so that tax freeze will help them out a great deal,” she said.
Long did not make an endorsement in the citywide races.
“I am the type of individual who will do my best to work well with whoever is in office,” she said.
Rebecca McCloud
Rebecca McCloud was motivated to run for office by “the things I didn't see getting done.”
McCloud grew up in St. Louis, living on both the north and south sides. Her son’s father lived in Ballwin, in west St. Louis County, so she spent time building relationships with people in that community.
“I knew there was a disconnect there,” she said. “I knew that we can have the same kind of community experience as the county. And I was like, ‘Hey, you know what? I can get this job done.’”
North St. Louis is a hidden gem, McCloud said. She’ll leverage the relationships she has with state lawmakers, unions and current members of the Board of Aldermen to bring development into the ward.
But all the new development in the world won’t make a difference without the city doing more to address underlying trauma, she said.
“I'm a big, strong person on behavioral health,” McCloud said. “We can get everything brand new. But if we don't attack the mindset, it's going to be the same way in the next generation.”
McCloud made no endorsements in the mayor’s race.
“I might not agree, but I’m not disagreeable,” she said. “The residents vote for who the mayor is going to be. And I'm here for the residents, so if they want whoever they select, I am going to work with that mayor.”
Laura Keys
When Laura Keys successfully ran for the Board of Aldermen in the summer of 2022, she had already spent 15 years as the Democratic committeewoman of what was then the 21st Ward.
“I've been here a long time and not as a spectator, as an active participant in St Louis city government,” she said. “I’m past the learning curve now.”
Her efforts as alderwoman, Keys said, have brought new housing in cooperation with Tabernacle Church, as well as more new homes on Prairie Avenue. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum plans to open up a satellite facility in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, which will also include senior housing.
“We've got to rebuild the 11th Ward and the city of St Louis, one block at a time, by bringing in that fresh development, and then hopefully new residents,” she said.
To accomplish that, Keys said, the city sometimes has to come in and take down crumbling buildings or clean up vacant lots.
“I believe that in order to bring development, we've got to make the place ready to receive it,” she said.
Greater investment in north St. Louis, Keys added, will benefit the entire city.
“If we want to repopulate this city, if we want St Louis to really be the wonderful city that we know that it is, we've got to take care of all of those places,” she said.
Keys did not make an endorsement in the mayor’s race.
“I'm staying out of it,” she said. “I've got enough just to handle my own race.”
