100 Local Progressives support Tishaura Jones for re-election

During this local election season, we come together as a community of organizers, activists, advocates, organizational leaders, healers, and practitioners across many disciplines. We share a deep desire to see St. Louis reach its full potential, knowing that this will require the kind of transformation that addresses the embedded ills of poverty, racism, and the concentration of power and resources among an elite few. We believe that no neighborhood, home, or life in St. Louis is more deserving than any other and share a commitment to make our conditions reflect that belief.

We have watched closely as this year’s mayoral race has taken shape. Some of us have offered our views of the candidates and their visions for the next four years and others have not before today. But as the terms of this contest grow clearer each day, we now want to be equally clear that we will cast our ballots in support of Mayor Tishaura Jones for re-election. And we encourage you to do the same.

Critical community partners and organizations like Action St. Louis Power Project, Abortion Action Missouri, and Organization for Black Struggle have articulated powerfully the calculus that has driven them to endorse Mayor Jones in this campaign. We are in strong agreement with those statements and will not repeat their language here. We do note that many of the undersigned have raised critiques of this administration when its actions have not met our expectations. We will continue to do so, for this and any other administration, when the occasion demands it.

And she has spearheaded hundreds of millions of dollars in historic investments into neighborhoods that have been abandoned and ignored by one administration after another, particularly in North St. Louis …

But there are many issues on which Mayor Jones has led in taking action that would have been inconceivable by mayors before her and that we have no confidence will be continued by her opponent. She emptied, defunded, and has begun demolition on the Workhouse jail, a site of tremendous suffering for decades. She established and funded a community re-envisioning process that led to a series of proposals to shape future uses of the site and support decarceration in St. Louis. She established a Reparations Commission that produced a 123-page report outlining findings and recommendations to begin righting wrongs done over centuries. And she has spearheaded hundreds of millions of dollars in historic investments into neighborhoods that have been abandoned and ignored by one administration after another, particularly in North St. Louis.

We recognize that each of these actions required both political courage and clarity about the imperative of racial justice and resource redistribution as guiding lights if we are to achieve a thriving St. Louis for all. And it is precisely this orientation that has put her at odds with deep-pocketed and powerful interests in our region.

By contrast, while we have had points of agreement with Alderwoman Cara Spencer, we have also seen ample proof that she does not share our vision for transforming St. Louis. Potholes and trash collection are basic necessities for effective city governance. But grievances about such issues are not a replacement for equitable, community-centered policy change. We have been deeply disappointed by Spencer’s support for policies of criminalization, her inaction on specific policy proposals to address homelessness, and her relative emphasis on money flowing to Downtown development instead of to distressed neighborhoods. We have been especially puzzled by her recent shift to criticizing the closure of the Workhouse, falsely suggesting that it created the pre-existing problems in the CJC and leaving open the door to reopening the disgraced facility. While this may represent the kinds of changes desired by those funding her campaign, these are all unacceptable to us.

Elections require us to choose between competing visions for a shared future. Through this lens, there is only one vision that aligns with our values and interests. While we know that everyday people must be the driving force for lasting change, we also know that elected leadership matters. We will fight to continue the work of building a more just St. Louis, both during this election and after it. We invite you to join us.

In solidarity,

Aaron Banks, Esq., Community Member

Adrian “AD” Martin, Community Organizer

Aha Sa Djedu, Seba & Community Organizer

Aleidra Allen, Community Organizer

Andrew Gibson, Musician, Educator & Organizer

Annie Rice, Attorney & Former 8th Ward Alderwoman

AnnLouise Schmitt, Community Member

Ashley Kuykendall, Community Member

Ashli Bolden, Community Organizer

Blake Strode, Attorney & Community Advocate

Brian Wingbermuehle, Community Member

Britney Janssen, Community Organizer

Brittany Ferrell, Registered Nurse & Organizer

C Will, Birth Doula

Cassandra Payton, Community Member

Cheeraz Gormon, Transformational Justice Practitioner

Damon Davis, Artist & Activist

Darius Whitaker, Educator

David Dwight IV, Advocate and Facilitator

DeMarco K. Davidson, M. Div., Faith Leader

Duana Russell-Thomas, Minister

Eliss Dunn, Clinic Support Manager

Emanuel Taranu, Carpenter

Farrakhan Shegog, Organizer, Clergy & Entrepreneur

Faybra Jabulani, Consultant & Entrepreneur

Gregory Perine, Jr., Community Member & Parent

Inez Bordeaux, Community Organizer

Jacki Langum, Attorney

Jae Shepherd, Community Organizer

Jake Lyonfields, Community Organizer

Jamala Rogers, Community Organizer

Jamell Spann, Organizer & Violence Interventionist

James “BIKO” Gates, Artist & DJ

James Meinert, Anti-Racism Educator

Jay-Marie Hill, Artist & Educator

Jennifer Drake, Social Worker

Jermar Perry, Therapeutic Support Practitioner

Jessica Estes, Social Worker & Organizer

Jessica Pace, Community Organizer

Jessica Wernli, Community Organizer

Jimmy Lappe, Labor Activist

Jon Michael Richardson, Street Team Member

Jonathan Pulphus, Community Member, 14th Ward

Josh Levi, Event Organizer

Joshua Saleem, Healer, Attorney & Organizer

Joyce Bogan, Community Member

Karissa Anderson-Whitted, Community Organizer

Katy Erker-Lynch, Parent & LGBTQ+ Community Member

Kayla Bouchey, Community Support & Advocacy Specialist

Kayla Reed, Community Organizer

Kayla Thompson, Artist

Kennedy Moore, MPPA, Community Organizer

Kimberly Franks, Business Owner

Kira Banks, Psychologist

Kristian Blackmon, Organizer & 6th Ward Resident

Krysten Vaughn, Community Organizer

Lakesha Robinson, Community Organizer

Lisa Cagle, Unhoused Services Advocate

LJ Punch, Physician & Community Health Advocate

Lola Zasaretti, Community Member

Lori Lamprich, Community Member

Mallory Schwarz, Public Health Advocate

Marcel Hagens, Policy Advocate & Organizer

Mariceli Alegría, Community Member & Parent

Marquis Govan, Organizer & Activist

Mary Densmore, Farmer

Mary L. Cosby, Pastor

Matthew Jamison, Community Leader

Melisa Betts Sanders, Architect

Mia Bible, Community Member

Michael Krasso, Community Member

Michele Landeau, Community Health Clinic Admin

Mike Milton, Community Organizer

Molly Metzger, Educator

Monea Fisher, Community Support Specialist

Montague Simmons, Organizer & Strategist

Myisha Johnson, Community Organizer

Nesha Newton, Community Member

Nik Smith, Community Servant

Ohun Ashe, Community Organizer

Olajuwon Davis, Restorative Justice Practitioner

Ono Ikanone, Business Owner

Rachel D’Souza, Community Member

Ranisha Noble, Community Member

Rev. Michelle Higgins, Minister

Rika White, Organizer & Advocate

Sarah Murphy, Facilitator & Community Member

Sarah Watkins, Community Organizer

Scott Intagliata, Community Member & Business Owner

Serroge Watt, Organizer & 12th Ward Resident

Stephanie Reyonolds, Community Member

Talib Nasir Salaam, Mental Health Therapist

Tamyka Perine, Community Advocate

Tashara T. Earl, Community Advocate

Tef Poe, Artist & Organizer

Tierra “Tee” Parks, Artist, Educator & Media Personality

Tracy Stanton, Artist & Organizer

Whitney Benns, Educator & Facilitator

Yoni Blumberg, Social Entrepreneur & Organizer

Zenique Gardner Perry, Community Organizer