With less than two months until polls open for the municipal election primaries in St. Louis, the four top mayoral candidates have continued campaigning for the top spot. A Missouri Times poll Thursday found Alderman Lyda Krewson had a commanding lead in the election with 27 percent of the vote. Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed had 18 percent, Alderman Antonio French had 13 percent, and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones registered at 9 percent.
Krewson’s fundraising advantage certainly seems to be helping her, but her race may be helping her a considerable amount as well. Among the top four candidates, Krewson is the only white person and 42 percent of white voters have backed her candidacy thus far. The other three have split black support.
Missouri Times poll finds Krewson leading field for St. Louis mayor
Even though she trails in the polls, the good news for Jones is that she earned the endorsement of NARAL Missouri Friday.
“Ms. Jones has been a champion for women and families throughout her career, including in the state legislature and in the treasurer’s office,” said Executive Director Alison Dreith. “Time and time again, she has shared her own reproductive health story, as a patient at Planned Parenthood, and we trust her to protect and expand women’s rights, in St. Louis City, where the state’s last remaining abortion clinic stands.”
Women’s rights are threatened at national, state, and local levels. Honored to receive the @NARALMissouri endorsement today. #ReproRights
— Tishaura O. Jones (@Tishaura4Mayor) January 20, 2017
The group’s endorsement highlights Jones’ role in the election as one of the more progressive candidates alongside French while Reed and especially Krewson provide much more centrist options. While the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and some other St. Louis media outlets have questioned Jones’ use of taxpayer funds for trips taken during her time in office, Jones has gotten a lot of back up from the St. Louis American, who has published an editorial and released a lengthy report on the matter.
As for the other candidates, Reed earned the support of the local firefighter’s union, the local 73, Tuesday. In a post on the group’s Facebook page, the union said. “The City of St. Louis’ problems aren’t all unique but, as is the case with crime, they often require multifaceted solutions. We believe President Reed is the candidate best prepared to take this approach.” Reed also polls the closest to Krewson, and a large fact of this may be his fundraising. He now has roughly $250,000 on hand according to the January Quarterly Report he filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission. While Krewson has about $435,000, it likely means Reed can at least stay competitive.
French released a commercial Tuesday discussing his vision of bringing economic prosperity to the city, which served as something of a sequel to an earlier ad discussing the socioeconomic disparities between the north side and the south side of Delmar.
It’s time we started investing in communities that have long been ignored, while also supporting small businesses and creating new jobs. pic.twitter.com/8AMvN7clIn
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) January 17, 2017
Interestingly enough, former candidate Sen. Jamilah Nasheed echoed the same sentiment when she filed to run for the office before eventually withdrawing earlier this month, but Nasheed endorsed Jones when she pulled out of the race.
