A national organization dedicated to increasing Black political representation at all governmental levels on Monday announced a $25,000 digital ad campaign in support of Treasurer Tishaura Jones’ bid for mayor.
Collective Future, a nonprofit affiliate of The Collective PAC, began running the ads this weekend.
Quentin James, founder of Collective Future, wrote that he is confident that this five-figure investment will help ensure Jones advances to the general election and then become the next mayor of St. Louis.
“As the current health crisis continues to lay bare our nation’s existing inequities, it is critical cities like St. Louis have experienced and compassionate leaders who are ready to take on these challenges from day one,” he wrote. “From the statehouse to the treasurer’s office, Tishaura Jones has consistently proven herself to be the champion St. Louisans need. We are proud to stand with her once again in her historic bid to be the city’s first Black woman mayor.”
Jones would be the city’s first Black woman to hold the office of mayor.
St. Louis elected its first Black mayor, Freeman Bosley Jr., on April 20, 1993, after Bosely’s father had unsuccessfully run for mayor in 1985. The city’s only other Black mayor, Clarence Harmon, was elected in 1997 for one four-year term.
The city’s current leader, Mayor Lyda Krewson, became the first woman elected to the seat in 2017 after defeating Jones in the primary by less than two percent.
Collective Future seeks to reach political equity for Black people, described by the organization as reaching a place where Black elected officials represent the community’s population statistically – meaning they should hold at least 13% of all elected offices in the U.S.
