Building Inclusive Democracy. Building Inclusive Democracy. Building Inclusive Democracy. Building Inclusive Democracy. Building Inclusive Democracy. Building Inclusive Democracy.
Questions from the People.
Did you support Proposition D?
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
Yes.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
No.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
No.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
No.
Questions from the People.
Do you think further reforms to the city’s electoral process are necessary? If so, please describe your proposed changes.
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
I am the only mayoral candidate to endorse Proposition D in the last election, which nearly 70% of voters supported in the November election. Ultimately, Proposition D empowers St. Louis voters with more choices and ensures that the next mayor has to win the support of the majority of voters. I would love to see publicly funded elections. Black women have a more difficult time raising money than nearly any other demographic of politicians. Publicly funded elections would allow campaigns to be more a discussion of the issues and would be focused less on fundraising and money. Also, if a candidate receives over 50% of the vote in the primary, they shouldn’t have to run again in the run-off.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
Yes, the process now requires all candidates to undergo a significant petition signature gathering process prior to exercising their right as a citizen to run for office. This is just one of the many oversights that will have to be corrected in this poorly written ballot measure.
This new process has kept three minority candidates, an African American female, an African American male, and a Tunisian immigrant, off of the ballot. That is not fair. That is not Democracy.
A change that will really make a difference is allowing voting to happen on Saturday instead of Tuesday.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
I think that the nonpartisan, top-two runoff that we passed with Prop D can lead to more effective representation and lead to more policy focused elections. An additional, urgent step we need to take is to create a citizen-led redistricting commission. We should also be reforming our campaign finance laws to limit the amount of dark money in our elections and bring transparency to independent expenditures. As an Alderman, I proudly brought Clean MO campaign finance limits to the city, a much needed reform to our elections.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
No.
Questions from the People.
The Revised City Code requires the establishment of a Citizen’s Advisory Committee to allocate the city’s capital fund. Do you support reforming the City Code and allocating the capital fund - including ward capital - according to a participatory budgeting process?
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
Yes.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
As mayor, I would comply with the city code.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
No.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
No.
Questions from the People.
Would you support the establishment of a city Office of Participatory Budgeting to facilitate community engagement and provide expert support to residents? Please explain.
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
I’ve supported a participatory budget process for years. I would, as mayor, hold regular town hall meetings, like I have during this campaign, where all people in our City will have the opportunity to give their input and suggestions for how we can improve. While I’m not sure we need an entirely new office, we definitely need a mayor who listens, and I pledge to be that mayor. On my campaign website, we took time to collect people’s input and incorporated that input into our platform. I will bring that same strategy to the mayor’s office. We didn’t start this campaign with a platform for Saint Louis. I had some ideas, but I needed input from people just like you reading this document right now.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
Yes, I would support this.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
As I have campaigned around the city, I have heard from residents in all wards that they don’t think our current city services are working. I would create an official method for the public to participate in the budgeting process that would allow these residents’ to have a direct impact on the city’s budget. Listening to their voices would also lead to our budget dollars being allocated in a more efficient and equitable manner.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
No. Budgeting basically provides a model of how a business might perform. It produces a guidepost. The proposal would drive inefficiency and slows productivity.
Questions from the People.
Please explain your position on ward reduction and what you will do as Mayor to ensure equitable redistricting.
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
Over 70% of the people voted for ward reduction in 2012, and we should respect their wishes. When the Board of Aldermen goes from 28 wards to 14 wards, the process needs to be fair and equitable. It is unfortunate that leadership at the Board of Aldermen has not laid out a clear plan for an equitable and transparent redistricting process. I will work with the Board of Aldermen to establish an independent commission for equitable redistricting. It is essential that community input is sought, and we must follow best practices for fairness and transparency.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
As President of the Board of Aldermen, I led the last redistricting process in the City of St. Louis with great success. Every member of the Board of Aldermen signed on to the bill in support, and no African American wards were lost, as was previously thought would happen. As Mayor, I will go with whatever the voters decide in terms of size and work to ensure this same type of fair process exists. I feel that, practically, reduction will make the current job of aldermen north of Delmar that much more difficult.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
I am in favor of reducing wards to make sure that we break down some of the divides our city is plagued with and supporting the will of the voters. We have a drastically lower population than we used to, and we should adjust the structure of our government accordingly. We need to take redistricting out of the President’s hands and put it in the hands of a citizen led redistricting commission. Politicians should not be able to choose their voters, it is voters who should be the ones choosing their elected officials.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
The citizens voted. It is our job to use the tools to design the plan. There are many sophisticated tools that take all variables into account. That’s the easy part. Political and personal desire is not a factor; the people spoke with their vote.
Questions from the People.
As Mayor, will you support moving the city’s primary elections to August, and the general elections to November?
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
Yes.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
That may be something to consider. It may turn out that a change like that would make it too difficult to educate voters on local choices. That may be information overload if it coincided with a presidential election.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
Yes.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
Yes.
Questions from the People.
Would you expand the city’s absentee voting infrastructure? If so, how?
Treasurer
Tishaura Jones
I would. We shouldn’t be taking steps to make voting easier just during a pandemic. As mayor, I will encourage the Board of Elections to continue the robust satellite voting options that we saw in 2020. I believe that we should have no excuse absentee voting like they do in places all across the country. I believe we should have no excuse, mail-in and early voting. These are safe ways to cast you vote, and Missouri needs to catch up. I will also be an advocate and a leading voice in our state for a national investment in the improvement of our election processes and at the state level for the expansion of Missouri’s absentee and early voting options.
BOA President
Lewis Reed
I don’t know if that is up to the office of Mayor. I am all for increasing voter participation. Any system that is fair and increases voter participation will have my support.
Alderwoman
Cara Spencer
I would like to expand the city’s absentee voting infrastructure. I would pursue policies like expanded satellite voting locations during absentee periods and distributing ballot drop boxes around the city. I would support any opportunity to expand access to voting. Unfortunately, without significant reforms at the state level, we will be limited in what we are capable of doing.
Candidate
Andrew Jones
No.
The People’s Plan. Building Our St. Louis. The People’s Plan. Building Our St. Louis. The People’s Plan. Building Our St. Louis.