The day I was sworn into office as a State Representative, I was walking into the basement of the State Capitol and had my then 15-month-old son in my arms. I was dressed fairly nice and spent a bit of extra effort on my hair and makeup that day.
When I got to the elevator, a kind, older gentleman extends his hand and says, “Good morning! Is your husband being sworn in today?”
It was that day that I started to set my sights on differentiating myself, and no one would label me as just another pretty face or just another single mom.
Since then, I have risen through the ranks of leadership quite quickly and became the first African American and first female to be Assistant Minority Leader in Missouri history.
Now, I have aspirations on becoming another first: the first female Treasurer in St. Louis. This isn’t unattainable. It’s quite normal for a woman to have what some would say is such a lofty goal. According to the Missouri Association of County Treasurers, over 70 percent of their current membership are women.
Furthermore, 95 percent of women are directly involved in the financial decision-making in their homes. The highest citywide office held by a woman is our awesome Comptroller, Darlene Green.
And if that isn’t enough, Missouri’s own President Harry Truman appointed the first female U.S. Treasurer in 1949, and a male hasn’t been appointed to that post since then.
Yet, in St. Louis, we have never had a female Treasurer.
This race is important to our city for many reasons. For starters, the demographics of our city and state are changing. Young professionals are moving in and desperately want a city government that reflects their interests and values. They feel a connection to get involved if those who are in positions of leadership or public service look like them or are closer to their age.
Second, our city lacks someone in the executive office as a local consumer financial protections advocate. Major cities have begun to challenge the banking industry about the services they provide and their level of investment in low-income and emerging communities.
Next, since St. Louis is so unique, and the Treasurer is also the parking supervisor, it’s preposterous to propose installing all sorts of new technology in parking meters using smart phones and credit or debit cards when one-third of the city’s population is unbanked, under-banked or don’t have sufficient credit to purchase a smart phone. Parking improvements must have a formula and be done in a calculated way that’s cost-effective for the city and efficient for the residents.
Last but not least, the citizens deserve a public servant who will challenge the way city government does business. Business as usual doesn’t benefit anyone!
Tishaura O. Jones is State Representative, District 63, and Democratic Candidate for City Treasurer. The Democratic primary election is August 7.
