JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The field of candidates for Missouri’s mayoral race continues to grow as a familiar face from the Capitol has thrown her hat in the ring.
Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, will join six other St. Louisans to vie for Mayor Francis Slay’s position after he announced in April that he would not run for re-election. Slay has served as St. Louis’ mayor since April 2001.
Nasheed filed her candidate committee Monday afternoon for the March 7, 2017 election. Nasheed easily won re-election to her Senate seat Nov. 8 after one four-year term. She previously served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2008 to 2012 alongside St. Louis City Treasurer and fellow mayoral candidate Tishaura Jones.
What a beautiful drive to Jefferson City to file for Mayor with the Missouri Ethics Commission. #ACityUnity #StayTuned pic.twitter.com/mfIxMO8ZY0
— Jamilah Nasheed (@SenatorNasheed) November 14, 2016
Nasheed credits her ability to represent the people of St. Louis and believes the work she has done on issues like fighting urban blight and “banning the box” on job applications to help reduce the recidivism rate makes her a strong candidate for the job.
She also wants to serve as a unifying force in a city that in her eyes is starkly divided. Nasheed noted that while Slay has done a lot for St. Louis, some of the economic developments in the city have not happened on the northern side of town.
“I feel like many in the city of St. Louis feel like we’re living in a tale of two cities,” she said. “We have a lot of economic growth here in the City of St. Louis… but it’s not happening north of Delmar. I truly believe once I’m elected I will be able to bring that type of development we’re seeing south of Delmar north of Delmar.”
St. Louis Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly, St. Louis School Board member Bill Haas, Alderman Antonio French, Alderwoman Lyda Krewson, President of the St. Louis Board Aldermen Lewis Reed, and Jones are also running to replace Slay.
St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson initially stated his intention to run for the office, but he pulled himself out of the race last week.
All of the candidates that have filed thus far are Democrats. The last Republican mayor of St. Louis was Aloys P. Kaufmann who served from 1943 to 1949.
