Cara Spencer

Last updated

On January 13, 2020, Spencer announced her intention to run for mayor of St. Louis in 2021. [25] [6] [3] [26] The 2021 election was the city's first use of approval voting. [27] Spencer, along with Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed, were endorsed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board in a joint endorsement (since voters could now select more than one candidate in the primary election). [28] Spencer was also endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Advocates of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri and former St. Louis mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl. [29] [30] [31]

Spencer, alongside St. Louis treasurer Tishaura Jones, advanced to the general election after the primary on March 2, 2021. [32] [33] Spencer was defeated by Jones in the general election held on April 6, 2021. [34]

Board of Aldermen - Ward 8

Following the city's 2021 redistricting and reduction of the number of wards, Spencer was elected alderman for Ward 8 in 2023. [35] She served as Chair of the Budget and Public Employees Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Transportation and Commerce Committee. [36]

2025 St. Louis mayoral election

On May 23, 2024, Spencer declared her second bid for mayor of St. Louis in 2025, challenging the incumbent Jones. [37] Her campaign received a high profile donation from Bob Clark, who said his $111,330.25 contribution matched the cost of his rejected proposal to build a Concrete Strategies facility in North City. [38]

On March 4, Spencer won the nonpartisan primary for mayor of St. Louis, earning 68% of the vote. [39] On April 8, 2025, Spencer defeated Jones in the general election, receiving 64.2% of the popular vote. [40]

Mayor of St. Louis

On April 15, 2025, Spencer was sworn in as the 48th mayor of St. Louis. [41]

St. Louis tornado

On May 16, the 2025 St. Louis tornado traversed central and north city, killing five city residents, damaging an estimated 5,000 buildings, as well as MetroLink infrastructure, and cutting off power for an estimated 90,000 people. [42] In response to criticism for the lack of tornado sirens, Spencer placed the emergency management chief on leave. It was later found that the fire department's warning system was inoperable. [43] A statement made by Spencer in an early public address, "do not self-deploy," was later parodied by volunteer emergency recovery organizers at the Action St. Louis hub. [43]

In June, the Board of Aldermen allocated $30 million from the Rams settlement funds for tornado recovery, [44] and in July Spencer announced an additional allocation of $19.2 million. [45] Clayco executives described as being "embedded" in city hall were designated to lead private sector contributions to recovery. [46]

References

  1. Huguelet, Austin (March 30, 2025). "Cara Spencer Says St. Louis Can Do Better. If She Becomes Mayor, Will She Deliver?". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  2. Huguelet, Austin (March 30, 2025). "Cara Spencer says St. Louis can do better. If she becomes mayor, will she deliver?". STLtoday.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2025. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Kevin S. Held (January 13, 2020). "Alderwoman Cara Spencer to challenge Mayor Lyda Krewson in 2021 primary". Fox2Now. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  4. "Cara Spencer Ward 20 Alderwoman". St. Louis Government Website. January 13, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  5. https://x.com/KMOXKilleen/status/1330892552342544385
  6. 1 2 Danny Wicentowski (January 13, 2020). "St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer First to Challenge Krewson for Mayor". River Front Times. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  7. "Election Summary Report March 3, 2015" (PDF). St. Louis Government Website. March 9, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Cara Spencer on Ballotpedia". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  9. Kirn, Jacob. "City aldermen eye campaign finance reforms amid Stenger probe". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  10. "Board Bill". stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  11. "Ordinance Details". stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. Arrighi, Jeanine (August 27, 2019). "Easy West Gateway Council of Governments Air Quality Advisory Committee" (PDF).
  13. Fenske, Sarah. "'McKee Exemption' Scrapped by Board of Aldermen in Unanimous Vote". Riverfront Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  14. "After months of delay, aldermen give initial approval to restrictions on payday lenders". St. Louis Public Radio. November 4, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  15. Murphy, Doyle. "'Good Samaritan' Law Bars St. Louis Cops from Arresting Drug Users Who Call 911 for Overdoses". Riverfront Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  16. Doyle Murphy (December 14, 2015). "Here's a New Plan for Overgrown St. Louis Lots: Mow to Own". River Front Times. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  17. Mark Schlinkmann (December 21, 2019). "St. Louis airport privatization effort is dead, Krewson says". St. Louis Today. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  18. Schlinkmann, Mark (July 9, 2020). "St. Louis airport privatization saga continues at Board of Aldermen". STLtoday.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  19. Schlinkmann, Mark (September 3, 2020). "Lambert privatization plan yanked from Nov. 3 St. Louis ballot". STLtoday.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  20. Koran Addo (October 11, 2016). "Ethics complaint against St. Louis alderman dismissed". St. Louis Today. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  21. Schlinkmann, Mark (August 7, 2020). "Petition drive launched to put recall of Alderman Cara Spencer on Nov. 3 ballot". STLtoday.com. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  22. "Supporters of Lambert Airport Privatization tries to recall their main critic on the Board of Aldermen". FOX 2. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  23. American, Rebecca Rivas Of The St Louis (May 20, 2020). "City aldermen question whether city's contact tracing program can keep up now with stay-at-home orders lifted". St. Louis American. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  24. "Aldermanic Committee". stlouis-mo.gov. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  25. Nassim Benchaabane (January 13, 2020). "Alderman Cara Spencer running for mayor of St. Louis". St. Louis Today. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  26. Jason Rosenbaum; Jo Mannies (January 13, 2020). "Politically Speaking: Alderman Spencer on entering the fray at the Board of Aldermen". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  27. Nathaniel Rakich (March 1, 2021). "In St. Louis, Voters Will Get To Vote For As Many Candidates As They Want". Five Thirty Eight. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  28. The Editorial Board (February 17, 2021). "Editorial: We recommend Lewis Reed and Cara Spencer in the St. Louis mayoral primary". STLtoday.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  29. "Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri". m.facebook.com. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  30. Bogan, Jesse. "'A whole bunch of history': Two progressives in St. Louis mayor's race get support from the past". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  31. Dana Rieck (February 28, 2021). "With primary around the corner, mayoral candidate endorsements pile up". St. Louis American. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  32. "St. Louis City". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  33. "Tishaura Jones, Cara Spencer advance to general election in St. Louis Mayor's race". KMOV4. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  34. Millitzer, Joe (April 6, 2021). "Tishaura Jones to be next mayor of St. Louis". KTVI . Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  35. "Progressives strengthen grip on St. Louis politics as Board of Aldermen downsizes to 14". STLPR. April 5, 2023. Archived from the original on April 13, 2025. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  36. "Alderwoman Cara Spencer". stlouis-mo.gov. Archived from the original on April 13, 2025. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  37. Lippmann, Rachel (May 23, 2024). "Alderwoman Cara Spencer plans second run for St. Louis mayor". St. Louis Public Radio . Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  38. Knox, Samir (January 28, 2025). "Clayco's Bob Clark gives large donation supporting Cara Spencer for St. Louis mayor". St. Louis Business Journal . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  39. Krull, Ryan (March 4, 2025). "Spencer wins mayoral primary, with Jones a distant second". St Louis Magazine. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  40. Lippmann, Rachel (April 9, 2025). "Spencer wins St. Louis mayor race, ousting Jones in bitter rematch". St. Louis Public Radio . Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  41. "WATCH LIVE: Cara Spencer sworn in as Mayor of St. Louis". First Alert 4. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  42. Phillips, Nicholas (May 17, 2025). "St. Louis digs out of tornado's rubble, with devastation all around". St. Louis Magazine . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  43. 1 2 Stankorb, Sarah (July 30, 2025). "The Tornado-Ravaged Neighborhoods St. Louis Left Behind". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  44. Lippmann, Rachel (June 17, 2025). "St. Louis aldermen waste no time in approving $30M in Rams money for tornado relief". STLPR. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  45. "Spencer pledges $19M in additional tornado recovery funds". St. Louis American. July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  46. Knox, Samir; Lloyd, Gloria (June 30, 2025). "Clayco executives tackle tornado relief efforts in St. Louis, dividing time with mayor's office". St. Louis Business Journal . Retrieved July 31, 2025.
Cara Spencer
Cara Spencer crop.jpg
Spencer in 2017
48th Mayor of St. Louis
Assumed office
April 15, 2025
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of St. Louis
2025–present
Incumbent