ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page gives his victory speech after beating Mark Mantovani to be reelected as county executive during his election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton.Â
Jordan Opp, Post-Dispatch
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page and his family celebrate onstage after being re-elected as county executive during his election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
Jordan Opp
Republican ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive candidate Mark Mantovani, right, laughs with Keith Krieg, left, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, during Mantovani's election watch party inside the Drury Inn in Brentwood. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
Jordan Opp
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page, second from left, speaks with Creve Coeur Councilwoman Nicole Greer, far left, and Creve Coeur Mayor Bob Hoffman, second from right, during Page's election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton.Â
Jordan Opp, Post-Dispatch
Republican ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive candidate Mark Mantovani leans in to hear on grandkids Beatrice Kelley, left, and Maria Mantovani on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, during Mantovani's election watch party inside the Drury Inn in Brentwood. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
Jordan Opp
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page, left, discusses incoming results with advisor Paul Hampel, right, during Page's election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
Jordan Opp
Mark Mantovani (pictured left) and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page.
BRENTWOOD — Republican Mark Mantovani, a late entry in the race for ºüÀêÊÓƵ County executive, gained ground on Tuesday night against Democrat Sam Page, but couldn’t overcome the incumbent’s early, wide lead.
By evening’s end, with all polling places reporting, the tally stood at Page, 52%; Mantovani, 46%. Green Party Candidate Randall Holmes had about 2% of the vote.Â
In a concession speech shortly after 10 p.m., Mantovani thanked voters for their support and said he felt it was a worthy effort despite the challenges of running a two-month campaign.
“To the people of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, I would continue to implore you to challenge yourself and the community to address our long term and historic challenges: economic stagnation, racial and social equity, and the fragmentation of our local governance structures,â€Â Mantovani said.
Page thanked county voters and promised to deliver on a balanced budget, equity and jobs.
“I can say that all campaign battles are finished and the punches thrown, forgiven and forgotten,†he said, repeating a refrain from the primary.
It was an unusual election season for ºüÀêÊÓƵ County’s top job. Page banked on his roughly three-year record as County Executive to get reelected, while Mantovani, a former Democrat, attempted to woo voters with bipartisan appeal.
Page, a 57-year-old anesthesiologist from Creve Coeur, was appointed in 2019 to replace former County Executive Steve Stenger, who was later indicted in a pay-to-play scheme. Page then won an election in November 2020 to finish Stenger’s unexpired term.
Mantovani, 68, is a retired Ladue businessman who ran and lost twice for county executive, first to Stenger and then to Page. But he was a last-minute pick for county Republicans: Katherine Pinner, an anti-vaccine and anti-mask candidate from unincorporated ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, won a surprise victory in the August primary, then dropped out a month later.
Shortly before the polls closed on Tuesday, supporters filed in to Mantovani’s election results watch party at the Drury Inn and Suites hotel in Brentwood.
There, Dave Clark, 68, a longtime family friend, said he and Mantovani share values and concerns about crime and the economy. Clark typically votes Republican, but supported Mantovani when he ran as a Democrat.
“The county executive is a CEO role more than a political role,†said Clark, a Kirkwood resident. “We need someone who can keep the county in check.â€
About a hundred people turned up at Page’s watch party at the Machinists Hall in Bridgeton, including Theda Person. Person, 50, works in Page’s administration on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Affton resident believes Page advocates for “positive change in the community.â€
“To be part of a team that wants everyone to feel welcome in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, as a Black, African-American woman, I really love that,†Person said.
Both Mantovani and Page visited polls Tuesday to talk with voters.
Parthia Long, 73, voted in a bright pink hat and matching lipstick Tuesday afternoon at Pagedale City Hall. The retired special education teacher said she went into the polls worrying about gun violence and the economy. She didn’t want to vote for either Page or Mantovani, but she chose “the lesser of two evils.†She declined to say who her choice was, but said it was “time for a change.â€
Maurice Jones, 62, of University City, was more explicit as he went in to vote at city hall. Mantovani lost Jones’ vote when he switched to the Republican party.
“Now I don’t know who he is or what he stands for,†Jones said. “He’s sort of wishy-washy.â€
It didn’t bother David Oswald, 80, who voted for Mantovani at the Zion United Methodist Church in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ County. Oswald, who backed other Republican candidates Tuesday said it didn’t bother him that Mantovani had run as a Democrat twice before. He remembers being surprised that the office was partisan when he moved to ºüÀêÊÓƵ years ago.
“What difference does it make what party he is?†said Oswald, of Shrewsbury.
Alex Kanter, a 69-year-old retired attorney from Webster Groves, said party makes all the difference, even at the local level. He believes local Republican candidates are aligned with the national GOP, and said he is alarmed by trends in the party toward what he described as anti-LGBTQ and anti-government tendencies. While Kanter wasn’t enthusiastic about voting for Page — he thinks Page’s administration should have been more transparent about jail deaths — he couldn’t vote for Mantovani.
“I’m not saying all Republicans are bad,†Kanter said. “I just got a little concerned when (Mantovani) switched to Republican because I’m not sure what his views are.â€
Still, Mantovani did manage to gain at least one crossover vote from a Democrat. Maplewood resident Emily Pelcak voted a straight Democratic ticket — except for Mantovani, for whom she had voted when he ran as a Democrat.
“I thought he was the better candidate before and I stuck with him,†she said.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County hasn’t elected a Republican county executive in 36 years. H.C. Milford was the last, succeeding Gene McNary who won a fourth term in 1986 but quit in 1989 to take a job in President George H.W. Bush’s administration. Milford was defeated by George R. “Buzz†Westfall in 1990, and Republicans have lost in every election since.
A primary win puts Page in line for a victory in the general election on Nov. 3.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page gives his victory speech after beating Mark Mantovani to be reelected as county executive during his election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton.Â
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page and his family celebrate onstage after being re-elected as county executive during his election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
Republican ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive candidate Mark Mantovani, right, laughs with Keith Krieg, left, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, during Mantovani's election watch party inside the Drury Inn in Brentwood. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page, second from left, speaks with Creve Coeur Councilwoman Nicole Greer, far left, and Creve Coeur Mayor Bob Hoffman, second from right, during Page's election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton.Â
Republican ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive candidate Mark Mantovani leans in to hear on grandkids Beatrice Kelley, left, and Maria Mantovani on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, during Mantovani's election watch party inside the Drury Inn in Brentwood. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Sam Page, left, discusses incoming results with advisor Paul Hampel, right, during Page's election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, inside Machinists Hall in Bridgeton. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com