Progressives unseat incumbents for St. Louis Board of Aldermen

[RandySF]

ST. LOUIS — There will be at least four new faces at the Board of Aldermen this year after voters unseated three incumbents and filled one vacant seat, an uncommon amount of turnover for a body that typically reelects incumbents.

In the 5th Ward covering part of downtown and the Near North Side, incumbent Tammika Hubbard, a member of a prominent political family, appeared to fall short of challenger James Page, the head of the Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Though Hubbard, who has represented the ward since 2011, won more votes than Page in the March primary, the real contest under the city's new voting rules was April, and Page managed to make up the difference over the last month.

In the 12th Ward covering parts of southwest St. Louis, challenger Bill Stephens, a St. Louis Public Library employee, narrowly beat incumbent Vicky Grass, the retired head of the politically influential Fireman’s Retirement System of St. Louis.

"You all voted for change, and I’m committed to doing my part in putting an end to the disastrous cycle of decline in our city," Stephens said in a statement shortly after his race was called. "We have a ton of work to do in reconstructing public safety, investing in economic development, and pushing for political transparency, and I am eager to get to work.”

The only open-seat on the ballot Tuesday, the 17th Ward, looks likely to be filled by Tina “Sweet-T” Pihl, a city planner and past president of the Forest Park Southeast Neighborhood Association. She beat Michelle Sherod, who had been an aide to former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and was backed by the ward's retiring alderman, Joe Roddy. The unofficial results appeared razor-thin, however, with less than 20 votes separating the two candidates.

In the 13th Ward, Anne Schweitzer unseated incumbent, Beth Murphy, who has represented the area north of Carondelet Park since 2014. Schweitzer, a public relations and political consultant at Richard Callow's Public Eye, outraised Murphy and won nearly 600 more votes than Murphy in the March primary.



https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/several-incumbents-unseated-at-st-louis-board-of-aldermen/article_7f229062-47fe-5178-b3a0-bbd2f3525eb2.html

[StClone]

1. Yeah!!!

[SWBTATTReg]

2. Great. We had a very interesting selection of candidates across the whole board, many of them

actually. It was good to see this. My best to all, and of course my best to all in making STLMO a better place for all, despite the filthy republicans in Jefferson City who are constantly overriding the will of the people.