Cara Spencer took the oath of office as St. Louis’ mayor on Tuesday, pledging to follow through on her campaign promises to bolster city services and halt stark population and economic decline.
“I promise you that I’m going to roll up my sleeves and work hard every day to change our trajectory,” Spencer said in her inaugural address. “We must embark on our work with a new era of collaboration. We can no longer afford to operate in silos. We must bring creativity, innovation and collaboration to our work. All of our work.”
While the former alderwoman won election last week in a landslide, she’ll have to navigate a Board of Aldermen with members who are fiercely independent.
One week after she defeated incumbent Tishaura Jones by nearly 30 percentage points, Spencer was sworn in as the city’s chief executive shortly after noon. Before her swearing-in, St. Louis Comptroller Donna Baringer and recently elected Board of Aldermen members also took their oaths of office.
Spencer’s inauguration speech echoed elements of her successful campaign. She pledged to improve trash service and street repair, areas in which the city had struggled to recover as it emerged from the pandemic.
“City government has to deliver the basic services residents expect and deserve,” Spencer said. “When the city fails to meet the needs of the people who live, work and play here, we fall short of our expectations and aspirations.”
She also reiterated her commitment to what she called transparent government in terms of media access and open records requests.
Spencer’s speech touched on longer-term plans, including how the city should spend some of the funds from a settlement over the departure of the St. Louis Rams. During the campaign, Spencer called for some of the money to be spent on downtown and to help bolster north St. Louis neighborhoods.
“We also have to think differently about the tools small business owners need to realize their entrepreneurial dreams,” Spencer said. “We must support growth and prosperity in our minority business community and reimagine workforce development in order for this city to meet the needs of the future.”
Spencer said she would fight to reduce crime in the city, even as she will have less direct control over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department once a gubernatorial board begins to oversee the agency.
“Everyone has a right to feel safe in their community,” Spencer said. “And public safety is not only a human right, it’s an economic imperative. That’s why we’re going to work to ensure you feel safe no matter how or where you live. From Holly Hills to Hyde Park. No matter how you move around the city. In a bus, on a bicycle, in a car, or walking.”
From critic to chief executive
Tuesday’s swearing-in marks the culmination of Spencer’s decade-long journey from insurgent politician to leader of the St. Louis region’s largest municipality.
The Truman State University graduate first came on the political scene in 2015, when she defeated longtime 20th Ward Alderman Craig Schmid. She capitalized on longstanding irritation among Cherokee Street businesses with Schmid’s skepticism about approving establishments that serve alcohol.
For years, Spencer was often a critic of some of Mayor Francis Slay and Mayor Lyda Krewson’s major initiatives. She was opposed to an ultimately fruitless stadium plan aimed at keeping the Rams in St. Louis. And she was also vigorously against a proposal to get a private operator to run St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
Those stances aligned her with a progressive political wing that often clashed with Slay and Krewson. But in 2021, Spencer was the main rival to Jones, the leader of the progressive faction, in an open race to succeed Krewson. She lost by several percentage points but eventually won a seat on a slimmed-down Board of Aldermen representing the 8th Ward.
Jones’ political fortunes turned when she lost substantial support in largely white and integrated areas of the city that supported her 2021 campaign. Spencer even managed to compete well with Jones in Black-majority wards, something she attributed to alliances with north St. Louis political leaders and connecting with African American voters.
During Monday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, Spencer received praise from Alderwoman Sharon Tyus — who said she supported her colleague’s mayoral candidacy after backing Jones in 2021.
“I think that you'll care about all parts of the city. I know your kindness,” Tyus told Spencer. “I know a lot of things about you, and so I'm very proud that you're going to be the next mayor of the city of St Louis.”
Alderwoman Laura Keys of the 11th Ward also expressed optimism that Spencer could turn city services around but added that her success would depend on how well she could persuade people to work for the city.
“I look forward to what these next four years will bring,” Keys said. “And anybody who's not on board needs to get on board because we've got work to do. And we need to be about the business of this city and the business of the wards that we represent.”
Working with the Board of Aldermen
The board still has members who supported Jones — such as Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward and Shane Cohn of the 3rd. Other members of the board who stayed neutral may not necessarily support Spencer’s agenda.
Still, both Aldridge and Cohn struck a conciliatory tone on Monday — praising Spencer for her tenacity and pledging to have a working relationship going forward.
“I don't think it's any secret we were on opposite sides in this election cycle, but I'm going to publicly say that we share a mutual interest and love of this city and its success,” Cohn said.
Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer of the 1st Ward, who worked on Jones’ prior political campaigns, didn’t endorse either candidate this election. She noted that her ward went overwhelmingly for Spencer and expects a different type of mentality from the new mayor.
“When I look at Alderwoman Spencer and Mayor Jones, I see Mayor Jones as always having been really a big-picture person,” Schweitzer said Monday. “And Alderman Spencer, she gets into the details … those kinds of nitty-gritty bits of work. And I think that that's going to be the biggest difference between them.”
For Alderman Michael Browning of the 9th Ward, Spencer's ascension as mayor provides an opportunity to bolster the city’s infrastructure and housing stock — two of his major priorities.
“I think that the best mayors we've had have come from the Board of Aldermen,” Browning said. “As we know, the executive branch needs to work with the legislative branch to get things done.”
Baringer’s influence
Besides working with the board, Spencer’s agenda could depend on getting buy-in from Baringer.
That’s because Baringer will join Spencer and Board of Aldermen President Megan Green on the powerful Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which makes many of the city’s key financial decisions. If Spencer and Green diverge on major issues, the mayor will need to get Baringer’s support for consequential measures to move forward.
Baringer, a former state representative and alderwoman, cultivated a more politically moderate record than either Green or Spencer. Alderman Tom Oldenburg of the 2nd Ward said Baringer’s reputation for independence will give her a lot of influence over the city’s long-term future.
“I don't think there's necessarily an automatic vote with Spencer on the Board of E&A or President Green for that matter,” Oldenburg said. “So Donna is going to evaluate the factual landscape, as she always does, and come to a determination herself. Which is great. And which is why I think she got support and was elected to be the new comptroller so that she could put the city's finances first.”
In her speech, Baringer recounted her family’s journey from Ireland to St. Louis and how she worked her way through college. She also talked about her political beginnings from an aldermanic candidate who was given little chance to win to eventually unseating longtime Comptroller Darlene Green.
“When my sons were little, I would say, ‘Find your passion and you’ll never work another day in your life,’” Baringer said. “I could not have foreseen finding my passion in what I do.”
Board of Aldermen sworn in
Before Spencer took her oath of office, members representing the Board of Aldermen’s odd-numbered wards were sworn in.
Alderman Matt Devoti is the only new member of the board, replacing Joe Vollmer, who retired. The others won another four-year term, including Anne Schweitzer, Shane Cohn, Alisha Sonnier, Michael Browning, Laura Keys and Pam Boyd.
