Reed makes history in unseating Shrewsbury

By Tom Weber, KWMU

St. Louis, MO – Alderman Lewis Reed scored an upset victory over incumbent Jim Shrewsbury Tuesday, unseating a stalwart in St. Louis politics who has held office for 24 years. With 100% of the precincts reporting, Reed bested Shrewsbury by nearly 2,000 votes.

The win for Reed also makes history: He will become the first black Aldermanic President in city history. His win Tuesday technically only advances him to the April general election, but his election there is assured because no Republicans or third party candidates filed.

Reed says he will focus on developing relationships with all St. Louis Aldermen to push projects forward across the city. "[Jim Shrewsbury] served with distinction, but what I plan to do is just serve in a little bit different way, we have different styles," Reed said Tuesday night. "My style is gonna be one of working with each individual alderman to meet the needs of those aldermen on a daily basis."

In his concession speech, Shrewsbury thanked his constituents for their years of support and also hinted that he might eventually return to politics: "You know in politics you take what life gives you, I'm disappointed but not crushed.

"I've had 24 years in elected office and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

Other tallies Tuesday include re-election wins for 20th Ward Alderman Craig Schmid, Terry Kennedy in the 18th, Bill Waterhouse in the 24th, and Frank Williamson in the 26th. One incumbent lost, O.L. Shelton in the 4th Ward. Sam Moore garnered more than 70% of the vote in unseating Shelton.

Republican Fred Heitert held off a challenge in the 12th ward from Matt Browning, a former city police officer who lost both his legs in an on-duty accident caused by a drunk driver.

Also, in the 6th Ward, Kacie Starr Triplett won a three-way race to replace Reed. Triplett is the granddaughter of John Bass, the city's first black comptroller, died last month.

Voter turnout was 13.6%. City election officials say Tuesday marks the first time they've ever finished tabulating results by 10:00 p.m.

To hear Reed's speech to supporters, click here (note: audio quality is poor).

To hear Shrewsbury's speech, click here.