Understanding the Importance of Re-Electing Mayor Tishaura Jones in St. Louis

There is no question that Mayor Tishaura Jones’ first term in office has been met with both high expectations and rightful critique. As the first Black woman to hold the mayor’s seat in St. Louis, she stepped into leadership with a bold progressive agenda and the hopes of many riding on her shoulders. Yet, for many in her base—particularly those who helped propel her to office—the road has not always looked as expected. The closure of the City Workhouse and her administration’s handling of homelessness have been lightning rods for criticism, even from some of her most ardent supporters.
These issues, rooted in real concern and community frustration, must be acknowledged. Leadership, after all, means owning both success and missteps, whether they arise directly from the mayor’s hand or from the broader system she must work within. Some of the critiques Jones has received are fair, but others have stemmed from misunderstanding the complexity of city government operations, or the distinct responsibilities of various agencies and branches. Still, in politics, optics matter—and when things go wrong, people want answers, and the person at the helm takes the heat.
But while holding leaders accountable is necessary, we must also examine the double standard often applied to Black leadership. This city has yet to see a Black mayor serve more than one term. Freeman Bosley Jr., Clarence Harmon, and now potentially Tishaura Jones—are we witnessing a pattern? The reality is that Black leaders are often expected to walk on political water, while their white counterparts are afforded grace for growth. We must ask what it means if this city, yet again, returns to all-white leadership at the highest levels of decision-making.
Consider the potential composition of the powerful Board of Estimate and Apportionment: Aldermanic President Megan Green, a potential Mayor Cara Spencer, and former State Rep. Donna Baringer, who poses a credible threat to longtime Comptroller Darlene Green. While all are accomplished women, what does it say about a city long marred by racial division if Black leadership is all but erased from the room where it happens?
It would be ideal to say race doesn’t matter. But it does. It has mattered in the underfunding of North St. Louis. It has mattered in decades of political marginalization. And it must matter to voters who are now deliberating who best represents not only policy interests but the lived experience of the city’s Black residents.
To be clear, this is not a dismissal of Alderwoman Cara Spencer. She has done commendable outreach in the Black community, clergy, and among stakeholders. Her primary performance reflects that effort, and if elected, she too must be held to the same standard of delivering beyond campaign promises.
But should Mayor Jones close the gap and win re-election, she must return with a renewed spirit of bridge-building—healing wounds among her base and proving that lessons from her first term were not only heard, but internalized. There is no space for political retribution, only forward motion built on equity, experience, and the hard-earned wisdom of leading through crisis.
Now is not the time to abandon the progress made. It’s the time to sharpen it. Mayor Jones deserves a second term—not just to finish what was started, but to build a St. Louis that doesn’t just talk diversity, but lives it at every level of power.
Lastly, campaigns are emotionally taxing and engaging in particularly from the perspective of the candidate’s respective supporters. It can cause division amongst friends, consternation, ill-will and the drawing of lines not in the proverbial sand, but in cement. Our community cannot afford to be divided in our collective aim in bettering the conditions of our people. After April 8th, whoever is chosen to occupy or re-occupy Office 200 we must mend so as to weave a fabric of unity that would lead to the progress we need.
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