Former Alderwoman and state Rep. Donna Baringer beat longtime St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green on Tuesday, ending Green’s nearly 30-year political career.
Baringer got 51.5% of the vote, with Green receiving 48.5% in final unofficial results. Turnout was about 25.7%.
“Even though we didn’t get the victory this time, we move forward with hope,” Green said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served the people in the city that I love with integrity and dignity for the past 29 years.”
Prop B supporters contended that the measure provided a major check to the county executive’s power. But Page said it amounted to a power grab that could make it harder to attract people to work in county government.
Baringer was the top vote-getter in the March primary by a narrow margin and had picked up the endorsement of Celeste Metcalf, the third candidate in that race who, like Green, is African American.
Throughout the campaign, Baringer said the office needed a leader who would show up for work and take care of its employees.
A new political action committee that drew much of its financial support from the business and development community in the area sent out mailers on Baringer’s behalf.
Many of the new PAC’s funders were also financial backers of Cara Spencer, who was elected mayor Tuesday. That had caught the eye of some progressives in the last week of the campaign, who noted that the mayor and comptroller are two of three members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.
The fiscal oversight board oversees all contracting decisions, including for the new single terminal at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
“The big money play led by a group of wealthy, white developers who don’t live in our city, but seek to profit off of it, should give us pause,” the board’s third member, aldermanic President Megan Green, wrote on Facebook on March 27.
Toni Cousins ousted from SLPS board
Brian Marston, Karen Collins-Adams and Allisa “AJ” Foster won the three seats on the St. Louis Board of Education.
Sitting board President Toni Cousins, the lone incumbent running for reelection, will not return to the board after a fourth-place finish, according to final unofficial results.
The closely watched race comes as district leadership has faced increased scrutiny after the board fired former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett for allegedly misusing funds and violating hiring protocols. Scarlett has denied any wrongdoing.
The newly elected members will join Tracy Hykes, Emily Hubbard, Donna Jones and Ben Conover, who was appointed in February after Sadie Weiss resigned in January, citing unethical behavior from the board.
Candidates Krystal Barnett, Zach Davis and Andre Walker, who ran together on a slate, finished well behind the winning candidates in sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively.
STL Prop B loses big
St. Louis County voters Tuesday rejected Proposition B, which would have granted the county council the ability to fire department heads.
The countywide ballot measure failed 62% to 38%. It would have allowed the council to fire department leaders and the county counselor with five out of seven votes.
Prop B supporters contended that the measure provided a major check to the county executive’s power. But Page said it amounted to a power grab that could make it harder to attract people to work in county government.
The result is a major win for Page, whose political action committee spent $100,000 to try to defeat the proposition.Hiba Ahmad, Lacretia Wimbley, and Jason Rosenbaum contributed to this report.
This article was originally published here.