‘It is time for St. Louis to thrive.’
Those are the words of St. Louis’s first Black woman mayor, Tishaura Jones, joining an exclusive yet historic sorority of Black women running the nation’s biggest cities.
Jones who was the city’s treasurer beat Alderman Cara Spencer by 2,280 votes and will take office on April 20, 2021.
This is also her second run for mayor of St. Louis she lost in 2017 in a tight Democratic primary race to current mayor of St. Louis, Lyda Krewson.
Jones will enter office during a time in which St. Louis is plagued with difficulties: amid the Covid-19 pandemic, two disturbances within two months at the city jail, and a significant increase in homicides in 2020, and a population decline.
April 8, 2021
By Lawrence Banton
Tishaura Jones, currently treasurer of St. Louis, Missouri, defeated Alderman Cara Spencer in Tuesday s mayoral race with more than 50 percent of the vote. The mayor-elect told Cheddar that her first priorities will be to continue mass vaccination efforts and to address the persistent public safety issue that plagues the city. St. Louis, unfortunately, just had its most violent year on record in 2020 with over 260 murders by gun violence, and also, we are tops in the nation per capita for police-involved shootings, and so we need to totally transform our public safety department, declare gun violence as a public health crisis, which addresses the root causes, and brings everyone to the table, Jones said.
Tishaura Jones Becomes The First Black Woman To Be Elected As Mayor Of St. Louis
In a recent debate against her former opponent, Jones questioned whether another white mayor could effectively lead the city.
Today
Tishaura Jones has made history in St. Louis, Missouri, becoming the first Black woman to be elected as mayor in the city. Jones, who currently serves as city treasurer, secured the victory on Tuesday when she defeated her opponent Alderman Cara Spencer, pulling in 52% of the votes.
The trailblazer s historic achievement comes after an unsuccessful 2017 mayoral bid. In her latest effort, Jones received endorsements from a wide group of prominent Black elected officials around the country. Her supporters included Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell.