Democrat Dana Kelly and Republican Andrew Jones Jr. have both filed for a spot on the primary ballot in the city’s upcoming mayoral election.
Benjamin Borgmeyer, Board of Elections Democratic director, confirmed Jones filed Dec. 23 and Kelly on Tuesday.
Kelly has not held public office; in 2018 she unsuccessfully ran against Mavis T. Thompson for the St. Louis license collector’s office.
Kelly is a financial consultant and also owns Reign, a restaurant in downtown St. Louis which has faced numerous governmental roadblocks and obstacles that officials say are related to coronavirus restriction violations since it opened this summer. Kelly and her lawyer believe the continued orders to close are connected to Kelly’s mayoral candidacy.
Andrew Jones ran unsuccessfully for St. Louis mayor in April 2017 as the Republican candidate, coming in second to Mayor Lyda Krewson with 17.3% of the vote. St. Louis hasn’t had a Republican mayor since Aloys P. Kaufman left office in 1949.
Jones and Kelly are the fourth and fifth candidates to jump into the St. Louis mayoral race. They join St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and Alderwoman Cara Spencer.The deadline to file is Monday, Jan. 4. The primary election will be held March 2 and the general election will be held April 6.
Collector of Revenue Gregory F.X. Daly, who some speculated would run for mayor, tweeted Monday he will not run.
“I have not determined who, if anyone, I will support for this position in the future,” his tweet stated. “I continue to believe this city needs a leader who is willing to work collaboratively with everyone and make the people of this community his/her top priority.”
This election will look different from those in the past because of the passage of Proposition D in the city on Nov 3. Voters should expect primary ballots to be nonpartisan; they will be asked to choose as many candidates as they approve of in each race, regardless of party affiliation.
The two candidates with the most votes will then face off in the general election, also regardless of party affiliation. Proposition D affects elections for mayor, comptroller, Board of Alderman president and aldermen