ST. LOUIS — The day after voters cast ballots in historic primaries to choose the next Board of Aldermen, the results of one race were still up in the air. And the results of another had insiders thinking about the next mayor’s race — in 2025.
City elections officials spent the day hurrying to find and count provisional ballots in hopes they could resolve a tie in the 9th Ward, which includes the Central West End and the Grove.
Michael Browning, a grant specialist at Washington University, claimed the top spot in the contest, one of the most closely watched in the city. He received 1,003 votes, representing support from 49.78% of ballots.
But Aldermen Tina Pihl and Mike Gras were tied for the second spot in the April run-off, with 868 votes apiece. And it wasn’t entirely clear how the deadlock would be broken.
Elections board staff spent the day on Plan A: retrieving and reviewing provisional ballots cast by people who didn’t have proper ID at the polls Tuesday. If staff could match the signatures in the ballots’ envelopes to valid registrations, the ballots could count and tip the balance.
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By day’s end, Democratic elections director Ben Borgmeyer said staff had found some ballots from Ward 9 and begun reviewing them, but had no results to announce.
He noted military absentee ballots could come in as late as Friday.
But if that doesn’t work, things could get murky.
Republican director Gary Stoff said the new, voter-approved ordinance establishing nonpartisan “approval voting†in the city is no help. And this is the first time the issue has come up since its passage, so officials don’t have any precedent to follow.
A provision in state statute concerning ties in primary elections says a tie in a partisan primary can be resolved with a special election or, if candidates agree to it, by drawing lots. But Stoff said it wasn’t clear it would apply, and wasn’t keen on picking names out of a hat.
“I hope it doesn’t come to that,†he said.
Pihl said she’s staying focused on her campaign and work as an alderman while the process plays out. “There’s no reason to stop,†she said.
Gras said he’s not thinking too much about tiebreaker scenarios, either. “That sounds like a mess,†he said.
But he also said the whole debacle might have a silver lining for the ward. “A little bit of drama builds excitement,†he said. Hopefully that drives higher turnout in April.â€
Across town, Alderman Cara Spencer was enjoying a very different result that had tongues wagging about her making another run at the mayor’s office.
Spencer, who lost to Mayor Tishaura O. Jones by 4 percentage points in a clash of prominent progressives two years ago, came back Tuesday with an impressive showing. She won support from a higher percentage of voters than any other candidate with opposition.
At the same time, data analyst Shedrick Kelley, who appeared formidable after giving another incumbent a scare two years ago — and whom Jones endorsed — finished third and missed the run-off.
In an interview Wednesday, Spencer stressed that she’s focused on working for voters in the new 8th Ward, which runs from downtown and the near north riverfront all the way to the northeastern corner of Carondelet.
But her rhetoric would also fit neatly into a citywide mayoral campaign.
She said she wants to fight for downtown, which has been hobbled for years by high-profile shootings, drag racing and late-night mayhem that has at times fostered a sense of lawlessness in the heart of the region. She said she wants to fight to improve city services at a time when the administration is struggling to provide them. And she said she wants to fight to reverse the loss of population and businesses from the city in recent years.
The comments recalled similar remarks at a recent forum, where 8th Ward candidates were asked how they would work with Jones.
Kelley said he thought the mayor was moving the needle on key issues. Former Alderman Ken Ortmann said he would work with Jones just like anyone else in government who could help the ward. But after Spencer said she had worked with Jones on a number of issues, she ran down the city’s problems with things like trash pickup and population loss. “We have to change some things,†she said.
If Spencer does end up running for mayor, she’ll have a decent start on fundraising. She’s brought in more than $100,000 so far in this race, and says she hasn’t made a single phone call.
The aldermanic race isn’t over yet, of course. Spencer, who received support from roughly 74% of voters on Tuesday, will face Ortmann, who got 29%, in the general election April 4.
And Ortmann hopes to make it a race. “We’re not going to lay down,†he said.