Tishaura O. Jones received two new national progressive endorsements for St. Louis mayor on Monday, February 20 – from MoveOn.org Political Action and Democracy for America – followed by a state endorsement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Missouri State Council and more than 50 personal endorsements from prominent local progressives.
MoveOn endorsed Jones based on the votes of its St. Louis-based members, of which 66 percent voted to endorse her in the March 7 mayoral primary. MoveOn has more than 19,000 members in St. Louis.
The organization also donated an initial $10,000 to her campaign and committed to doing a fundraising mailing to its 7 million-plus national membership, according to the Jones campaign.
“Jones is an exciting candidate who represents the future of the Democratic Party,” Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, said in a statement.
“MoveOn members are impressed by Jones’ powerful campaign fighting for all the people of St. Louis. We know that we can trust Tishaura Jones to be on the frontlines in resisting Donald Trump’s agenda. We are proud to endorse Jones for mayor and will work to make her campaign successful.”
“I welcome its formidable foot presence to my campaign team,” Jones said of the MoveOn endorsement in a statement.
Democracy for America – which has 25,782 members in Missouri – is a people-powered political action committee founded by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean with 1 million members nationwide.
“As the St. Louis treasurer, Tishaura Jones has created innovative solutions to empower residents who have too long been neglected by their city. Right now, our country desperately needs leaders in our cities who will fearlessly speak truth to power and ensure it’s not just the wealthy and powerful who have access to justice,” Jim Dean, chair of Democracy for America, said in a statement.
“Tishaura Jones is exactly the kind of courageous progressive we need leading a great American city like St. Louis, and we couldn’t be more excited to be supporting her campaign for mayor.”
Democracy of America cited Jones’ creation of a program that grants each Saint Louis Public Schools kindergarten student $50 in a college savings account, as well as the national attention she received for her letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s editorial board calling it out for perpetuating the city’s systemic racism, which was published by The American.
“I am tired of hearing that problems other cities are successfully addressing are intractable in St. Louis, or that the best way to solve them is to do more of what we have always done,” Jones said of the Democracy of America endorsement in a statement.
“And I am past tired of hearing that building stadiums for billionaires is the only economic activity that can get a majority at City Hall. Democracy for America’s endorsement represents thousands of grassroots leaders determined to bring change, and I am proud to have them fight alongside me.”
Jones was Democracy for America’s first mayoral endorsement of the year. Previously it helped elect progressive leaders to municipal leadership across the country, including Mayor Michael Tubbs of Stockton, Vice Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson and City Councillor Helen Gym of Philadelphia. Since its 2004 founding, its members have raised and contributed nearly $36.6 million and made more than 11.1 million volunteer calls to help successfully elect 843 progressive candidates nationwide.
Then on Tuesday, March 21, SEIU Missouri State Council, which represents more than 4,000 workers in St. Louis, endorsed Jones.
“Tishaura Jones is the only candidate in the race for mayor who’s committed to achieving economic and racial justice for working families in St. Louis,” SEIU janitor Roy Miller said in a statement.
“The janitors, homecare and health care workers, higher education faculty and public sector workers of SEIU look forward to working with her in the fight for a $15 minimum wage, increased police accountability and an inclusive St. Louis that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”
In a statement, SEIU said it will use direct mail and implement a get-out-the-vote program “to help working families educate their communities on the importance of supporting Jones in this crucial election.”
Also on Tuesday, the Jones campaign released a list of more than 50 local progressive activists and organizers that endorsed Jones. They include activist attorneys Thomas Harvey, Brendan Roediger, Blake Strode and Maggie Ellinger-Locke; education advocates Brittany Packnett and Faith Sandler; activist clergy Rev. Mike Kinman and Rev. Cassandra Gould; community organizers and activists Kayla Reed, Kristian Blackmon, John Chasnoff, Mustafa Abdullah and Brittany Ferrell; 15th Ward Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green; and 5th Ward Committeeman Rasheen Aldridge.
“At a time of dangerously regressive trends on the state and national level, St. Louis cannot afford to engage in business as usual,” they said in a collective statement.
“Jones’s bold vision and moral clarity speak to the urgency of this moment and offer precisely the type of leadership that our city needs to embark on a path toward equity, justice and opportunity for all of St. Louis’s residents.”
These endorsements follows a series of major endorsements for Jones. Previously she was endorsed by the St. Louis Young Democrats, Mobilize Missouri, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri and the Missouri National Organization for Women.
She also has been endorsed by Jason Kander, state Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis), St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman, St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts, Alderman Chris Carter, Alderman Frank Williamson and St. Louis County Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray.
The municipal primary election is Tuesday, March 7. Absentee voting is underway.
