Jones, Spencer, Reed Headline Crowded Field For St. Louis Mayor

Updated at 5:40 p.m. Jan. 5 with three candidates failing signature requirements

Three candidates who planned to run for mayor of St. Louis have failed to collect enough signatures to get on the ballot in March.

Barber shop owner Keith Jefferson and restaurateurs Dana Kelly of Reign and Lassaad Jeleti of Egg were not able to reach the 1,170-signature threshold.

That leaves four candidates in the race — Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed, Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Alderwoman Cara Spencer, D-20th Ward, and utility executive Andrew Jones. All but Spencer ran for mayor in 2017.

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The new requirement that candidates for certain offices in St. Louis gather signatures to be on the ballot did little to reduce the number of people running in the next primary election.

The deadline to file those signatures — ranging from at least 23 signatures in the 25th Ward to 1,170 for mayor and comptroller — was Monday. There are a total of 50 candidates running for mayor, comptroller and odd-ward aldermanic seats, although candidates can withdraw before Jan. 11.

With the passage of Proposition D in November, residents can vote for as many candidates as they want in the primary, with the top two advancing to a runoff in April. The offices are nonpartisan.

Analysis: St. Louis' March 2 Primary Looms Large, And Looks Different, In Wake Of Prop D

The mayor's race in the city of St. Louis is coming up fast, and with the recent passage of Proposition D plus Mayor Lyda Krewson's decision not to run for reelection, there are some big changes compared to the mayoral race four years ago. St. Louis Public Radio's Rachel Lippmann brings us up to speed.

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The marquee race is for mayor, which has seven people running to replace Lyda Krewson, who announced in November she would not run again. Five candidates — Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed, Treasurer Tishaura Jones, restaurant owner Dana Kelly, utility executive Andrew Jones and barber shop owner Keith Jefferson — are Black. Lassaad Jeleti, another restaurant owner, is Tunisian. Alderwoman Cara Spencer, D-20th Ward, is white.

Tishaura Jones and Reed ran against Krewson in the 2017 Democratic primary. Andrew Jones was the Republican candidate that year.

Darlene Green is unopposed as she seeks a seventh full term as comptroller.

In the aldermanic contests, just two incumbents — Joe Vaccaro, D-23rd Ward, and Shane Cohn, D-25th Ward — are unopposed, though many have just one challenger. Alderman Dan Guenther, D-9th Ward, will have a rematch with Ken Ortmann, the candidate he beat in 2017. Jennifer Florida will again try to take her old 15th Ward seat back from Megan Green. Neither of those previous contests were close.

There are also races in the 4th and 12th wards, which were filled last June in a special election.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rlippmann