While Gov. Mike Kehoe said during his State of the State address his agenda would help St. Louis as well as all regions of the state, his plan was blasted by St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, the state Democratic Party and a non-partisan state budget watchdog.
Kehoe continued stumping for state control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, regardless of the wishes of Jones, Police Chief Robert Tracy and Missouri voters.
Jones said, “the governor took aim at the city of St. Louis.”
The mayor said Kehoe continued “emphasizing his passion for taking away local control, despite the continued decline in crime in the city, and against the will of the overwhelming majority of Missourians, who voted for local control in 2012 by a 28-point margin.”
She called the attempted state takeover “pure politics, driven by elected officials who do not live in our city and the special interests that funded their campaigns.”
“Taking away local control of SLMPD will not make the City of St. Louis safer, will not help increase our population, and will not help to grow the revenue of our City, which is the economic engine for our state.”
According to 2024 police statistics, there were 150 homicides in 2024, the lowest number of homicides in 11 years. Overall, crime was down 15% year-over-year.
“From stripping local control from our communities and shifting it to the state or trying to gut voters’ ability to reign in their overreach through the initiative petition process, Missouri Republicans won’t stop until they have the power to control every aspect of our lives, right down to our most personal decisions,” Russ Carnahan, Missouri Democratic Party chair said in a statement.
“Missouri Republicans have held control of our state legislature for more than 20 years, and their pursuit of power has caused them to leave sight of the values they were elected to uphold: a life free from government overreach and interference.
Kehoe announced he supports the elimination of the Missouri income tax, a move that would blow a massive hole in future state budgets.
“We can’t cut our way to prosperity,” Amy Blouin, Missouri Budget Project president and CEO said in a release.
“Whether it happens over time or all at once, eliminating the state income tax wipes out more than 60% of the state general revenue budget and will require massive cuts to the services our communities need to thrive.”
According to the Budget Project, eliminating the state income tax could lead to no general revenue support of public K-12 schools, public colleges, childcare, mental health, and senior services.
St Louis is full of crime that needs help