St. Louis Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where she talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum about her transition onto the Board of Aldermen.
Hubbard represents the 26th Ward, which takes in a portion of western St. Louis. That ward includes neighborhoods like Skinker DeBaliviere, the West End, Hamilton Heights and Kingsway West.
Hubbard is a second generation member of the Board of Aldermen. Her grandfather, Joseph Clark, represented the 4th Ward. He also served as the head of the St. Louis NAACP and was the city’s first African American public safety director.
Back in 2012, Hubbard successfully ran for 26th Ward committeewoman — but decided against running for re-election four years later. When Alderman Frank Williamson chose not to run for another term, Hubbard jumped into a Democratic primary against Leata Price-Land and Jake Banton.
The election was close: Hubbard ended up winning her race by less than 100 votes over Price-Land. After being sworn into office in April, Hubbard was appointed to a number of key committees such as Ways and Means, Public Safety, Legislation and Public Employees.
Hubbard is the sister-in-law of 5th Ward Alderwoman Tammika Hubbard. Both her husband, Rodney Hubbard, Jr., and mother-in-law, Penny Hubbard, served as Democratic state representatives.
Among other things, Hubbard discussed:
- How her family, particularly Joseph Clark, affected St. Louis’ politics and policy during the civil rights movement.
- Her thoughts on how to bolster public safety around her ward and throughout the city.
- A proposed charter amendment that, if approved by voters, would repeal a requirement for some city employees to live in St. Louis.
- The bid to potentially have a private company manage St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
- An effort to undo a move that voters approved in 2012 to cut the Board of Aldermen in half.
The podcast is sponsored by the St. Louis-based law firm of Capes Sokol.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Shameem Clark Hubbard on Twitter: @schubbard26
Music: “Self Control” by Laura Branigan
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