Michael B. Thomas / Special to St. Louis Public Radio
Originally published on April 7, 2021 3:20 pm
Tishaura Jones’ election as St. Louis Mayor
on Tuesday night was the epitome of perseverance.
After falling painfully short in her 2017 bid for mayor, Jones roared back in 2020 with a resounding reelection as treasurer. And with her more than 2,000- vote win Tuesday,
she will be the first Black woman to become mayor.
Jones will face a raft of big challenges and a host of unprecedented opportunities.
One of the reasons Jones was seen as the frontrunner in Tuesday’s election revolved around geography. She had historic appeal in largely Black wards around the city and a number of high-voting white or integrated wards. The big question was whether that coalition would hold if Alderwoman Cara Spencer got big margins in southwestern and central corridor wards.
via the candidates campaign sites
From left, James Page, 5th Ward, Bill Stephens, 12th Ward, Anne Schweitzer, 13th Ward, and Tina Pihl, 17th Ward, all won their aldermanic races Tuesday. Their wins create a progressive majority on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will look quite different when the new session begins in two weeks.
Three of the four candidates who received the backing of an initiative called Flip The Board won their races Tuesday night, giving progressive-minded aldermen a working if fragile majority at City Hall.
Anne Schweitzer defeated Beth Murphy to represent the 13th Ward Murphy was first sworn-in in 2014. In the 12th Ward, Bill Stephens narrowly beat Vicky Grass, who was sworn in in July to fill the remainder of Larry Arnowitz’s term. And in the 17th Ward, Tina Pihl beat Michelle Sherod for an open seat by just 19 votes.
Progressives see post-election majority in city Here are their priorities bizjournals.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bizjournals.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.