St. Louis City

Incumbent Darlene Green and former alderwoman and state Rep. Donna Baringer were separated by just over 500 votes, according to final but official results.

Mayor Tishaura Jones will face Alderwoman Cara Spencer of the 8th Ward in the April 8 election. Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler was third, while retired utility executive Andrew Jones was fourth.

St. Louis had $300 million and 16,000 ideas from the public on how to spend it at the beginning of this legislative session. A year later, the Board of Aldermen has made no progress.

After a little more than two hours of discussion, members did not agree to perfect any bill, instead moving proposals to the board’s informal calendar.

The Board of Aldermen was preparing to question Ward 7 Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, one of the bill’s sponsors, when Green gaveled the meeting into a recess, a move some members later questioned as possibly not being in accordance with the rules of the body.

This compromise bridges the remaining gaps between Ward 7 Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier’s proposed Transform STL Act and Ward 13 Alderwoman Pamela Boyd’s alternative.

Over the course of nearly seven-hour committee hearing, members of the Board of Aldermen discussed two visions for the money that are “coming closer together.”

Aldermen at Monday’s hearing mostly asked broader questions about the legislation, wanting to know more about the mechanisms for neighborhood development, provisions for city workers and new child care programs.

“Every neighborhood deserves to benefit from this investment,” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said.

St. Louis argues in its lawsuit that the law legislators passed in 2021 violates the state’s constitution by creating an unfunded mandate for the city and for containing too many unrelated provisions.