ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay made an official endorsement for his replacement: frontrunner Alderman Lyda Krewson. The announcement came via a television ad Thursday morning.
Krewson also continues to lead in the race, according to the latest weekly Missouri Times poll. In fact, the alderwoman grew her lead four points over the rest of the field, upping her share of the mayoral electorate’s pie to 33 percent. President of the Board of Alderman Lewis Reed fell to 17 percent, while Alderman Antonio French and St. Louis City Treasurer Tishaura Jones maintained their percentages at 13 percent and 7 percent respectively. The number of undecided voters dropped to 20 percent.
As Krewson’s lead increases (almost double the percentage of the next closest candidate), other candidates look to make the cases to stay relevant. Alderman Antonio French wrote in an editorial to the St. Louis American that he wanted to ensure an all-black trifecta in the offices of the mayor (himself), president of the Board of Alderman (Reed), and comptroller (Darlene Green). Those offices make up the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which approves all city real estate purchases, appropriations and manages the budget.
“Working together, as we have done for years, Lewis and I, along with… Green, could do great things for our city. That’s the power play. That’s the best move for our community,” French wrote. “As a wise man once said, ‘This is chess, not checkers.’ For the first time in St. Louis history, we have an opportunity to have an African-American mayor, president of the Board of Aldermen, comptroller, treasurer, license collector, sheriff, and circuit attorney. But only if we make the right moves and be smart.”
The race also experienced its first televised debate Wednesday night, as all 10 candidates for mayor, the seven Democrats, and three Republicans, offered their solutions to the city’s problems. They focused on crime and the use of public funds for a new MLS soccer stadium.
