By Biba Adams
The city of St. Louis has elected its first Black woman mayor. Former City Treasurer Tishaura Jones won the election Tuesday against Alderwoman Cara Spencer.
Jones, 49, will be sworn in on April 20. She will be city’s third Black mayor, winning 52% of the vote over her opponent’s 48%.
“St. Louis: This is an opportunity for us to rise,” Jones said in her victory speech Tuesday night. “I told you when I was running that we aren’t done avoiding tough conversations. We are done ignoring the racism that has held our city and our region back.”
“We need to declare gun violence as a public health crisis and address it as such, just as how we’ve addressed this current pandemic,” Jones said in a previous interview. “We need to have that same laser-focused attitude of looking at the root causes like we did with the pandemic, we need to address that same sort of root cause, focus on gun violence and public safety.”
Jones has been city treasurer since 2013, serving as a state representative for five years before that. She will replace Mayor Lyda Krewson, who opted to not seek a second term after being elected St. Louis’ first woman mayor.
