Mayoral candidates clash on issues

If icy stares were laser beams, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones could have burned holes in Alderman Cara Spencer’s back as she paced the floor during Monday’s forum.

Jones clearly objected to Spencer’s soliloquy, “Governments are failing our communities, and the city of St. Louis is failing our communities,” said Spencer.

“And if I’m elected mayor, what I’ll do to rebuild trust is root out corruption in every single city department…zero tolerance for corruption.”

Despite the occasional eyeroll or piercing glances, Jones kept her composure by repeatedly informing the audience that she was not going to talk about what she was “going to do” but “I’m going to tell you what we’ve already done.”

During her introduction, Jones reminded the crowd of the conditions in City Hall when she took office: “We inherited a whole host of antiquated systems and have been working really hard to improve those systems day in and day out.”

In touting her achievements, Jones stressed that when she took office “homicides were at an all-time high and services weren’t being delivered.” She went on to add: “Fast forward to now and we’ve received pandemic relief funds and the first thing we did was to ask the community ‘what would you like to see’ with those funds. And we’ve invested in people, infrastructure and upgraded the government experience.”

Noting that too many of St. Louis’ families have been touched by violence, she added “the truth is, homicides are down 40% since I became mayor; youth-involved shootings are down 50% and we’ve increased the response time for 911 calls by 60%.

“No, it is not perfect, but we’ve made progress and I’m running for mayor to continue that progress into the next four years.”

Mayor Jones, Spencer (who lost to Jones in 2021) and two other candidates in the upcoming mayoral race, Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler and frequent candidate Andrew Jones, squared off during a “Transportation Infrastructure Mayoral Forum” cohosted by Paraquad, a local nonprofit dedicated to assisting and advocating for the disabled.

The two candidates with the most votes in the March 4 primary will move on to the April 8th general municipal election.

Although most of the questions were related to ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliance or city transportation challenges and needs, the candidates wove in other issues such as crime, corruption, snow and ice removal to seemingly boost their likability and perhaps diminish Jones’ accomplishments.

The upcoming mayoral race is not the first rodeo for retired utility executive and Republican candidate Andrew Jones. It’s his third time running for office, losing as a mayoral candidate in the 2017 general election, the 2021 nonpartisan primary and also losing as the Republican candidate in the 2024 1st Congressional District race, receiving about 18% of the vote.

Jones told the crowd that he entered the race to “Get rid of crime first and then take care of economic development, community development, workforce development and make sure St. Louis is on the up and up.”

Spencer’s comment about corruption in the city stemmed from a question about building trust between local government and the Black community.

Addressing that specific question, Mayor Jones talked about her efforts to bring local government officials, city personnel and her administration “to the community” with ongoing meetings designed to give people “a chance to get their questions answered in real time and followed up by the departments they may have an issue with. That way, they know the government is there to answer their needs,” she said.

Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler-a state representative for six years and former chair of the Missouri Democratic Party for two years and currently holds the citywide elective office of Recorder of the Deeds to the Green Line project-the planned expansion of the MetroLink light rail system-as an example of local government not listening to feedback from the Black community.

Through his conversations with Black voters, he said, most are not excited about the Greenline and do not find it sustainable. “The riders are telling us that they’re not going to use it, so, what we have to do, moving forward, is make sure that we get out of our own way and listen to the community.”

When asked about what steps they would take as mayor to make public transportation more attractive for everyone, the candidates took not-so-subtle potshots at the Jones administration.

“The violence on public transportation,” Andrew Jones answered, “has people concerned.” The extreme violence in North St. Louis, he added, “has quieted down to some degree but we have to take that into consideration.”

On reducing city-wide speed limits, Mayor Jones said her administration is addressing the issue by focusing on the top ten intersections throughout the city, getting red light cameras installed and “calming the streets” based on feedback from city residents.

Spencer stressed the need to enforce the law against reckless people who “use their vehicles as weapons,” people with expired license plates and those “killing and injuring our citizens on a regular basis.”

When asked about creating more “denser and walkable” neighborhoods, Spencer regurgitated media claims that Mayor Jones’ failure to clear city streets during the most recent extreme snow and ice storm fueled city-wide chaos and calamity.

“This was a huge failure…not just (on) the roads but getting around in other ways,” Spencer said. “We (must) do our part in making the city walkable…. where we can get around safely through investments.”

After mentioning a traffic and snow-related death in North St. Louis, Butler reminded the crowd that Spencer, as head of the city’s budget committee, cut the snow removal budget by $600,000 last year. “While we talk about clearing sidewalks, we gotta put our money where our mouths are,” he stressed.

The event-which was not promoted as “a debate”- was, in fact, a forum where candidates addressed questions while promoting their agendas. The mayor, however, managed to stay above the fray by focusing on her prior accomplishments and future goals.

“St. Louis deserves a government that is responsive, that listens. And that’s exactly what we will try to do for the next four years,” Jones said.

“We want to make sure that we are investing in a way where everybody has the opportunity to thrive…I’ve had the privilege of leading this city for the last four years and I hope you trust me enough to give me four more years.”

Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.