Tishaura Jones wins St. Louis election to become city’s first Black female mayor

St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones won the election on Tuesday and will take over as the first Black female mayor. Jones has been active in criticizing the criminal justice system’s “arrest and incarcerate” model.

Jones with 51.7% defeated Alderwoman Cara Spencer’s 47.8% in the general election, based on unofficial results posted on the city’s website. She will be sworn on April 20.

“St. Louis: This is an opportunity for us to rise,” Jones said in her victory speech. 

Spencer, in her concession, praised the historic achievement of her opponent.

“This is something we should all celebrate,” Spencer said. She added that St. Louis broke a glass ceiling, a ceiling that shouldn’t have been there.

49-year-old Jones is a former state representative who has been treasurer since 2013. She will replace incumbent Mayor Lyda Krewson, 67, who is the city’s first woman mayor. In November, Krewson announced that she would not seek a second term.

Jones will face many challenges in her new job position. People are leaving for suburbs, decreasing the population that peaked at 856,796 in 1950 to just above 300,000. Businesses, downtown restaurants, and shops are still striving to recover from COVID-19 shutdowns.

But Jones and Spencer agreed that no crisis is as crucial as curbing violence, especially killings. Police statistics reveal that 262 people were killed in St. Louis last year – five fewer than the record of 267 set in 1993. But since 1993, the city’s population has decreased sharply, the per capita homicide rate was much higher in 2020.

Jones has vowed to bring in more social workers, mental health counselors, and substance abuse counselors, instead of adding more uniformed officers.

St. Louis has about 48% of residents white, 45% are Black. 

Jones’s victory speech directed largely on overcoming racism and bigotry.

“I will not stay silent when I spot racism,” Jones said. “I will not stay silent when I spot homophobia or transphobia. I will not stay silent when I spot xenophobia. I will not stay silent when I spot religious intolerance. I will not stay silent when I spot any injustice.”