After some speculation, St. Louis Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green has officially thrown her hat into the ring for state Senate.
Green joined an already slightly crowded Democratic primary to replace outgoing Sen. Jamilah Nasheed in SD 5. State Rep. Steve Roberts and Michelle Sherod, an attorney and former staffer for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, have already announced their candidacies.
Nasheed, a Democrat who is prevented from running again in 2020 due to term limits, has endorsed Sherod to replace her.
Green said she launched an exploratory committee about a month ago and met with interest group leaders and those who have worked with her in the past. She said the response was “positive,” thus giving her the catalyst she needed to jump in the race.
Green — who said she’s garnered the nickname “professor” because she comes “equipped to any debate with loads of research” — has served as an alderwoman for St. Louis, representing the 15th Ward, for five years. She said that experience has given her an edge to understanding how state laws impact local communities.
“As one of the few progressives on the St. Louis Board of Alderman, I’ve also gotten very skilled at learning how to govern from a minority position. I think that is very essential to have in our next state senator,” Green told The Missouri Times. “I know how to go into a fight well-equipped with facts in order to claim a media narrative, and I also know what’s good public policy.”
On her campaign website, Green touted herself as a “progressive champion of St. Louis.” She said SD 5 faces numerous issues the next state senator needs to keep in the forefront: child homicide rate, escalating poverty levels, and under-funded education.
“And we have a lot of kids growing up in crisis and trauma who need access to mental health care and health care through Medicaid expansion,” Green said.
Green and Nasheed have faced each other before. Both women battled it out for the Board of Alderman presidency earlier this year, but they were defeated by Lewis Reed.
Roberts said he has been “the most successful Democrat amending legislation on the Missouri House floor despite our party being in the minority” for the past two years.
“I am looking forward to the voters getting to compare our experience, accomplishments, and ability to work with others,” Roberts told The Missouri Times. “I am the only candidate who has served in the Missouri General Assembly and knows what it takes to make meaningful change.”
Roberts reported having more than $91,600 cash on hand by the end of the October quarterly filing. In comparison, Sherod reported more than $53,300, and Green’s exploratory campaign committee had about $18,000 cash on hand.
Green holds a political science degree from Penn State University as well as a master’s in educational leadership from St. Louis University. She is working on her doctorate in education policy and serves as a teaching assistant at Washington University in St. Louis.
She is a former middle school teacher who taught in St. Louis Public Schools. She’s also held positions with the Shalom House, Lemay Child and Family Center, and Childcare Aware of Missouri.
SD 5 encompasses part of the city of St. Louis. Nasheed is the Minority Caucus Whip.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
