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City elections in St. Louis, Missouri (March 7, 2023 primary)
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| 2023 St. Louis elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: December 27, 2022 (college board) & January 6, 2023 (aldermen) |
| Primary election: March 7, 2023 General election: April 4, 2023 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Board of aldermen and community college board |
| Total seats up: 16 |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2023 |
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held nonpartisan primaries for the Board of Aldermen on March 7, 2023. All 14 seats on the board and the seat of the president of the board were up for election. The top two candidates in each primary advanced to a general election set for April 4, 2023.
The 2023 primary was the first to take place under a new ward system that reduced the number of seats on the board from 28 to 14. The reduction in board size was part of Proposition R, a charter amendment passed by voters in 2012 that took effect on Jan. 1, 2022. In accordance with Proposition R, the board passed new ward maps in 2021.[1]
Another initiative affecting the 2023 primary, Proposition D, was approved by voters in 2020. The measure made elections open and nonpartisan for the offices of mayor, comptroller, president of the Board of Aldermen, and the Board of Aldermen. The measure also changed the primary election system from plurality voting to approval voting, a voting system in which voters may vote for any number of candidates they choose. In St. Louis, the top two candidates in the primary advance to the general election.
Eighteen incumbents, including the board president, filed to run for re-election in the downsized board. Fourteen advanced to the general election. Four were defeated in the primary and did not advance to the general election.
Ten incumbents did not seek re-election in 2023.[2]
As a result of the reduction in the size of the board, four wards—the 4th, 9th, 13th, and 14th—had multiple incumbents running against each other in the primary. Click here to read more about the results in those wards.
Two wards—Ward 6 and Ward 7— were open, meaning no incumbents filed to run in those primaries.
Two primaries were uncontested. Shane Cohn (the incumbent in Ward 25) ran for re-election unopposed in Ward 3. President of the Board Megan Ellyia Green also ran unopposed for re-election.
The closest primary took place in the 9th Ward. Two incumbents—Tina Pihl (Ward 17) and Michael Gras (Ward 28)—were tied in second place with 868 votes each on Election Day. Pihl received eight additional votes after provisional ballots were counted, and advanced to the general election. Michael Browning, a Washington University School of Medicine staffer, finished in first place and also advanced.[3]
Candidates elected in odd-numbered wards in 2023 would serve an initial two-year term and be eligible to run for four-year terms after that. Candidates elected in even-numbered wards would serve four-year terms. The president of the Board of Aldermen, a separate position elected at large, would also serve a four-year term.[4][1]
The Board of Aldermen is St. Louis' equivalent of a city council. It's the city’s primary legislative body, responsible for adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances. The President of the Board is responsible for presiding over board meetings.
The filing deadline for this election was January 6, 2023.
This page covers the March 7, 2023 primaries. For coverage of the April 4, 2023 general election, click here.
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
Offices up for election in 2022:
Board of aldermen
General election
St. Louis Board of Aldermen general election 2023 | |
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| Office | Candidates |
| St. Louis Board of Aldermen President |
 Megan Ellyia Green (i) |
| Ward 1 |
Anne Schweitzer (i) Tony Kirchner |
| Ward 2 |
Thomas Robert Oldenburg (i) Phill Menendez |
| Ward 3 |
Shane Cohn (i) |
| Ward 4 |
Bret Rajiv Narayan (i)  Joseph Vaccaro Jr. (i) |
| Ward 5 |
Joseph Vollmer (i) Helen Petty |
| Ward 6 |
Jennifer Florida Daniela Velazquez |
| Ward 7 |
Jon-Pierre Mitchom Alisha Sonnier |
| Ward 8 |
Cara Spencer (i) Kenneth Ortmann |
| Ward 9 |
Tina Pihl (i)Michael Browning |
| Ward 10 |
Shameem Clark Hubbard (i) Emmett L. Coleman III |
| Ward 11 |
Laura Keys (i) Carla Wright |
| Ward 12 |
Sharon Tyus (i) Tashara Earl |
| Ward 13 |
Pamela Boyd (i) Norma Walker (i) |
| Ward 14 |
Rasheen Aldridge Ebony Washington |
Primary election
Special district offices
St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees
General election
General election for St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees Subdistrict 2
Nicole Robinson defeated incumbent Pam Ross in the general election for St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees Subdistrict 2 on April 4, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Nicole Robinson (Nonpartisan) | 49.7 | 9,323 | |
| Pam Ross (Nonpartisan) | 48.9 | 9,181 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.4 | 255 | ||
| Total votes: 18,759 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Missouri elections, 2023
March 7, 2023
April 4, 2023
- City elections in St. Louis, Missouri (2023)
- St. Louis Public Schools, Missouri, elections (2023)
- DeBaliviere Place Special Business District, Missouri, Proposition, Property Tax Measure (April 2023)
- St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition C, Charter Amendment (April 2023)
- St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition, Marijuana Sales Tax Measure (April 2023)
August 8, 2023
November 7, 2023
Wards with multiple incumbents running
As a result of the reduction in the size of the board, four wards had multiple incumbents running against each other in the primary:
- In the 4th ward, incumbents Joe Vaccaro (the incumbent in Ward 23) and Bret Narayan (Ward 24) ran in the primary and advanced to the general election. Vaccaro finished first in the primary, with 46.9% of the vote, and Narayan finished second, with 45.7% of the vote. Professional photographer Casey Otto finished third and did not advance.
- In the 13th ward, three incumbents—Norma Walker (Ward 22), Pamela Boyd (Ward 27), and Lisa Middlebrook (Ward 2)—ran against each other. Walker and Boyd received 45.5% and 30.8% of the vote, respectively, and advanced to the general election. Middlebrook finished third with 23.7% of the vote and did not advance.
- In the 14th ward, real estate agent Ebony Washington and State Representative Rasheen Aldridge defeated incumbents Brandon Bosley (Ward 3) and James Page (Ward 5) in the primary and advanced to the general election. Washington finished first, with 29.6% of the vote, and Aldridge finished second, with 27.8% of the vote. Bosley and Page finished in third and fourth place, respectively.[5][6]
- In the 9th ward, Michael Browning, a Washington University School of Medicine staffer, advanced to the general election after finishing first in the primary with 49.7% of the vote.[5][6] Two incumbents—Tina Pihl (Ward 17) and Michael Gras (Ward 28)—were tied in second place with 868 votes each on Election Day. Pihl received eight additional votes after provisional ballots were counted, and advanced to the general election.[3]
What was at stake?
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Candidate survey
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About the city
- See also: St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city located in Missouri. It was at one time the county seat of St. Louis County, but voters chose to separate from the county and form an independent city in 1876.[7] As of 2020, its population was 301,578.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of St. Louis uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for St. Louis, Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | Missouri | |
| Population | 301,578 | 6,154,913 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 61 | 68,746 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 45.7% | 78.3% |
| Black/African American | 43.1% | 11.1% |
| Asian | 3.4% | 2.1% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Other (single race) | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| Multiple | 5.9% | 6.3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5.1% | 5.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 90.5% | 91.6% |
| College graduation rate | 40.2% | 31.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $55,279 | $68,920 |
| Persons below poverty level | 19.8% | 12.6% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
2023 battleground elections
- See also: Battlegrounds
This election was a battleground race. Other 2023 battleground elections included:
- Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2023
- Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2023
- Wichita Public Schools, Kansas, elections (2023)
See also
| St. Louis, Missouri | Missouri | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 St. Louis-Mo Gov, "Redistricting FAQ," accessed February 5, 2022
- ↑ The St. Louis Board of Aldermen will look much different after spring elections, "St. Louis NPR," January 6, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fox 2Now, "Tina ‘Sweet-T’ Pihl wins tie in St. Louis primary," March 10, 2023
- ↑ St. Louis-Mo Gov, "City of St. Louis Redistricting 2021," accessed February 5, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The St. Louis American, "Stranger than fiction: 'Aldergeddon' is here," January 16, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 LewisRice, "City of St. Louis 2023 Primary Municipal Election: Meet the Candidates," January 9, 2023
- ↑ St. Louis County Library, "The 1876 St. Louis City / County split and its effect on research," accessed December 18, 2014
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