The three major black democratic mayoral candidates, Tishaura Jones, Lewis Reed and Antonio French, threw away the best chance St. Louis had of having full black leadership in power positions including control of the police department. The chief of police reports directly to the director of public safety and the director of public safety reports directly to the mayor. Everyone but the candidates themselves seemed to understand that they were splitting the vote.
How is it possible that three intelligent, seasoned politicians didn't understand they would split the black vote so severely that none of them would win? The vote was split even in my own household, which has three registered voters. Although, Tishaura Jones came surprisingly close to Krewson, she still needlessly lost the primary.
Black St. Louis voters turned out in strong support only to be disappointed because our elected officials couldn't work together. Our elected officials need to be smarter than this; the black community has too much to lose. This loss feels like a betrayal. Instead of working together, these candidates created a divide and conquer scenario, and allowed a lesser-known candidate to beat them all.
These candidates demonstrated they were thinking only about their own political future and not what was best for St. Louis' Black Community or the City of St. Louis in General. Jamilah Nasheed who had officially declared she was running for Mayor, was the only viable black candidate that demonstrated a team spirit and common sense when she withdrew from the race.
The two white democratic candidates had a combined 32.5% of the vote. The three major black candidates had a combined 64.5% of the vote, with Tishaura Jones receiving 30.4. The second and third place black candidates, Reed and French, had a combined 34.1% of the vote, more than the combined totals of the two white candidates. It's almost a statistical certainty that Jones, Reed or French running without the other two major black candidates opposing them would have won.
The election results are below as reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
St. Louis Mayor (Democratic)
222 of 222 precincts reporting (100.0%)
| Name | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey L. Boyd | 1,429 | 2.7% |
| Antonio French | 8,460 | 15.8% |
| William (Bill) Haas | 257 | 0.5% |
| Tishaura O. Jones | 16,222 | 30.4% |
| Lyda Krewson | 17,110 | 32.0% |
| Jimmie Matthews | 145 | 0.3% |
| Lewis Reed | 9,775 | 18.3% |
Andrew Jones, the winner of the republican primary, is the only black candidate still in the race for mayor.
