St. Louis Board of Aldermen

Last updated
St. Louis Board of Aldermen
City of St. Louis
Seal of St. Louis, Missouri.svg
Type
Type
Term limits
None
Leadership
President
Megan Green
since November 18, 2022
Vice-President
Shane Cohn
since April 18, 2023
Floor Leader
Shameem Clark-Hubbard
since April 18, 2023
Assistant Floor Leader
Rasheen Aldridge
since April 18, 2023
Structure
Seats14 ward-based alderpersons and 1 city-wide president (officially non-partisan)
St. Louis Board of Aldermen 2023.svg
Political groups
   Democratic (14)
AuthorityCharter of the City of St. Louis
Salary$72,000/year (alderpersons)
$80,000/year (President)
Elections
Nonpartisan blanket primary using approval voting
Last election
April 4, 2023
Next election
April 1, 2025
RedistrictingLegislative control
Meeting place
St. Louis City Hall
Website
stlouis-mo.gov/BoardofAldermen

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is the lawmaking body of St. Louis, an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. The Board consists of 14 alderpersons, one elected by each of the city's 14 wards. The President of the Board is a separate position elected by all city voters with the same voting power as an alderperson, and serves as the body's presiding officer.

Contents

Alderpersons may introduce legislation known as board bills, which are subject to approval by the mayor if passed by the Board. The Board is responsible for setting the city budget and conducting oversight of city departments and agencies.

The Board meets in the north wing of City Hall, located in the Downtown West neighborhood. Regular elections to the Board of Aldermen are held in the spring of odd-numbered years. Beginning with the 2023 elections, the Board of Aldermen was reduced from 28 members to 14.

Composition

The Board of Aldermen consists of one representative from each of the city's 14 wards. The President of the Board is elected as a separate office by a general citywide ballot. After the 2023 ward reductions, all alderpersons are elected to four-year terms during the spring election of odd-numbered years, as is the mayor. [1]

Proposition R (2012)

Proposition R (2012) was a charter amendment passed in November 2012 to reduce the number of city of St. Louis alderpersons from 28 to 14. It was slated to take place 10 years in the future (effective January 1, 2022) and was passed by city voters on November 6, 2012, with 61 percent voting in favor (60 percent was needed for passage). [2]

Proposition D (2020)

Proposition D, a ballot measure to make municipal elections in St. Louis officially non-partisan, was passed by city voters on November 3, 2020 with 68 percent voting in favor. [3] Proposition D also changed St. Louis municipal elections to use approval voting, which allows voters to vote for as many candidates in a race as they would like, with each of their choices carrying an equal weight, meaning they do not rank the candidates. [4]

Proposition R (2022)

Proposition R (2022) called for an independent commission to draw boundaries between the wards of St. Louis and ensured that that the board was not able to change the election method without a public vote. [5] Prop R also strengthened ethics by creating new stipulations for conflicts of interest and required alderpersons to recuse themselves when such conflicts arise. Finally, it changed the "Board of Aldermen" to the gender-neutral "Board of Alderpersons." [6]

Powers

By custom and tradition, an alderperson has a great deal of influence over decisions impacting the ward they represent on matters ranging from zoning changes, to street resurfacing, to tax abatement to business licensing, etc.

By city charter, alderpersons are legislators. Alderpersons introduce laws and legislation known as board bills that can become city ordinances which can impact the quality of lives of city residents.

Committees

Since April 2023, the Board of Aldermen has had seven standing committees. [7]

CommitteeChair
Budget & Public EmployeesCara Spencer (8th)
Health & Human DevelopmentPam Boyd (13th)
Housing, Urban Development, & ZoningShameem Clark-Hubbard (10th)
Legislation & RulesJoe Vollmer (5th)
Public Infrastructure & UtilitiesAnne Schweitzer (1st)
Public SafetyBret Narayan (4th)
Transportation & CommerceShane Cohn (3rd)

Qualifications

To become an alderperson, one must be a registered voter, twenty-five years of age, have been a United States citizen for at least five years, a resident of the city for three years, and for one year a resident of the ward from which elected. The President must be at least thirty years of age and a city resident for at least five years. [8] [9]

Membership

While the office of alderperson is officially nonpartisan, all incumbents are either Democrats or independents. The last Republican to hold a Board seat lost re-election in 2011. [10] The current composition of the Board was sworn in on April 18, 2023.

Ward / PositionMapMemberTook officeCorridorMajor neighborhood(s) servedCurrent term expires
President
STL2020FullCity.png
Megan Green 2022At-large2027
Ward 1
STL2020Ward01.png
Anne Schweitzer2021South Carondelet, Patch, Bevo Mill 2025
Ward 2
STL2020Ward02.png
Tom Oldenburg2017South St. Louis Hills, Princeton Heights, Boulevard Heights 2027
Ward 3
STL2020Ward03.png
Shane Cohn2009South Dutchtown 2025
Ward 4
STL2020Ward04.png
Bret Narayan2019South Dogtown, Lindenwood Park 2027
Ward 5
STL2020Ward05.png
Joe Vollmer2003South The Hill, North Hampton, Southwest Garden 2025
Ward 6
STL2020Ward06.png
Daniela Velázquez2023South Tower Grove South, Shaw, Compton Heights 2027
Ward 7
STL2020Ward07.png
Alisha Sonnier2023Central/South Tower Grove East, Benton Park West 2025
Ward 8
STL2020Ward08.png
Cara Spencer 2015Central/South Downtown, Soulard, Lafayette Square 2027
Ward 9
STL2020Ward09.png
Michael Browning2023Central Central West End, Forest Park Southeast 2025
Ward 10
STL2020Ward10.png
Shameem Clark-Hubbard2019Central/North Skinker-DeBaliviere, West End 2027
Ward 11
STL2020Ward11.png
Laura Keys2022Central/North JeffVanderLou, O'Fallon, Midtown 2025
Ward 12
STL2020Ward12.png
Sharon Tyus2013 [lower-alpha 1] North The Ville, Penrose 2027
Ward 13
STL2020Ward13.png
Pamela Boyd2017North Wells Goodfellow, North Riverfront 2025
Ward 14
STL2020Ward14.png
Rasheen Aldridge 2023Central/North Downtown, St. Louis Place, Hyde Park 2027

List of presidents

The president presides at all the meeting, preserves decorum and determines all questions of order. The president appoints standing and special committees and serves as an equal member of all committees. The president assigns bills to appropriate committees and refers bills, when ready, to the Engrossment Committee. The president directs action from the broad elevated podium in the front and center of the semi-circulate position.

PartyPresidentTenureRef
Republican Louis P. Aloe19171924 [11]
RepublicanWalter J. G. Neun19241935
Democratic William L. Mason19351941
RepublicanMichael J. Hart19411943
RepublicanAloys P. Kaufmann19431943
RepublicanEdgar S. Nicolai19431945
RepublicanAlbert L. Schweitzer19451947
RepublicanCharles Albanese19471955
DemocraticDonald Gunn19551959
DemocraticA. J. Cervantes19591963
DemocraticDonald Gunn19631968
DemocraticJames Noonan19681969
RepublicanJoseph Badaracco19691975
RepublicanPaul Simon19751980
DemocraticEugene Bradley (interim)19801980
Democratic Thomas Zych 19801987
Democratic Thomas A. Villa 19871995
Democratic Francis G. Slay 19952001
DemocraticJames F. Shrewsbury20012007
Democratic Lewis E. Reed 20072022
DemocraticJoseph Vollmer (interim)20222022
Democratic Megan Green 2022 (incumbent)

Party composition

Party composition
Year [12] DemocraticRepublicanIndependent
19458200
19478200
194913150
195117110
19532170
19552440
19572440
19592440
19612440
19632440
19652620
19672260
19692440
19712440
19732530
19752620
19772710
19792620
19812620
19832710
20092710
20112701
20132701
2015 [13] 2800
20172800
20192800
20212800
20231400

Notes

  1. Tyus was previously an alderwoman from 1991 to 2003.

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References

  1. "Laws and Lawmaking". stlouis-mo.gov.
  2. "Propositions pass to cut St. Louis aldermen, return local police control". St. Louis Business Journal . November 7, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  3. "St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition D, Approval Voting Initiative (November 2020)". Ballotpedia . Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. "St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition D, Approval Voting Initiative (November 2020)". Ballotpedia.
  5. "Pro & Con: How Prop R would affect St. Louis' Board of Aldermen". STLPR. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  6. "St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition R, Redistricting Commission, Public Vote to Change Voting Methods, and Conflicts of Interest Requirements Initiative (April 2022)". Ballotpedia.
  7. "Rules of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen 2023-24 Session" (PDF).
  8. "About the Board of Aldermen". stlouis-mo.gov.
  9. "St. Louis City Board of Aldermen Rules". Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  10. McDermott, Kevin (April 9, 2015). "St. Louis Board of Aldermen will have all Democrats, two new faces". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  11. Stein, Lana (2002). St. Louis Politics: The Triumph of Tradition. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Historical Society Press. p. 255.
  12. Lana Stein--"St. Louis Politics" page 174
  13. "St. Louis Board of Aldermen will have all Democrats, two new faces". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . April 9, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2018.