LEWIS REED IS RUNNING ON HIS RECORD to become the next mayor of St. Louis, and he wants people to know that.
Reed, 58, is in his fourth term as president of the Board of Aldermen, having served in that post since 2007. He is upfront about his intent as mayor to focus on bread-and-butter issues such as crime and schools, in hopes of creating the conditions to add thousands of residents back to the city.
This year for the first time, all candidates for mayor will compete in a nonpartisan primary, which is set for March 2. Primary voters will be able to vote for as many candidates as they like. The top two vote-getters will compete in the general election on April 6.
Aside from Reed, the mayoral candidates are businessman Andrew Jones, Treasurer Tishaura Jones and 20th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer. McPherson contacted each candidate’s campaign for a telephone interview, but only Spencer and Reed agreed to them. (Spencer’s interview is available here.)
This is Reed’s third run for the mayor’s office. He spoke with McPherson in a Jan. 28 conversation that covered the city’s new development framework, policing, Lambert Airport, and the impending reduction of the city’s aldermanic wards from 28 to 14. An edited and condensed version of the conversation follows.
McPherson: Let’s assume in April 2021 we have Mayor Lewis Reed taking office. What kind of message do you want to send to developers and investors who might be considering a project in the city?
Lewis Reed: First, I’d tell them that St. Louis is open for business. I would point them to the Equitable Economic Development Framework, which I’ve worked to put in place while I’ve been president of the Board of Aldermen, so they understand our guiding principles and what our goals are.
One of the things we talk about in that framework is increasing the population of the city by 30,000 people by 2030. We want to exceed the national growth in the rate of job creation and payroll amongst our key industries. We also want to close the opportunity gaps, the employment gaps, the wage gaps, entrepreneurship gaps and the wealth gaps of people of color throughout our city. That’s going to help address some of the issues of public safety. And we want to create sustainable, long term tax revenue growth.
As mayor, what are some of things you could do yourself to achieve that goal of population growth?
It is absolutely essential that we have quality public education. The first thing people look for is to have that base. And they then say, OK, once I have access to quality public education, now I will look at whether I want to go to charter schools, whether I want to go to private schools, etc. As the mayor there are many, many things you can do, even though the schools do not fall directly under your control, to help shore that up.
The other major issue you’re addressing is violent crime in our city. I know people were upset when Centene said, ‘well, we are not going to be able to move forward with some of our development plans, because we’re losing talent because of the violent crime rates in the city of St. Louis.’
“We have no idea how many students are choosing not to attend our local universities after their parents look up the crime rate in the city of St. Louis.”
We have to own that, we have to understand it, and make changes to address it. It’s not just hitting corporations like Centene. We have no idea how many students are choosing not to attend our local universities after their parents look up the crime rate in the city of St. Louis. This affects everybody who lives not just in St. Louis and the region, but the entire state.
When you talk about the access that parents want to have to quality public education, what role do you see for charter schools?
My focus as mayor of the city will be establishing that quality public education first. Everything else is secondary to that.
Right now when people look at the test scores for some of the public schools, they look at it and they say, ‘well, the schools are underachieving, because these kids are not achieving the scores on the tests in comparison to other communities across the state.’ But the areas we’re looking at have more concentrated poverty than the other areas; have suffered from more lack of development; have higher unemployment. Until we address those things in a holistic manner, we’re not going to see the achievement we hope to see from our schools.
If we look at census data, everything we see tells us the people are who leaving tend to be African Americans with children. What attempt would you make to retain those people or get them back to the city?
Some of the things within that economic development framework will help us. To achieve that population increase of 30,000, we’re going to have to address the issues of African-American families with kids leaving the city. But to do that, we’re going to have to get our arms around the public safety issues.
When the average unemployment in the city of St. Louis is hovering between 5 and 6 percent, the unemployment rate among young African-American males is upwards of 20 percent. Why is it that young African-American males are the ones that we see getting arrested for gun violence, robberies and all these other things? Because they’ve been cut out of the equation. It becomes really important not just that we create jobs and create opportunity, but link them to that opportunity. Deliver wraparound services to the families that need them.
What would you focus on early in your administration to try and get a grip on this crime problem?
Back in 2018, I passed an ordinance which directed the creation of a public safety plan, to create a data-driven strategy. That’s absolutely essential. Once implemented, it will act as an overarching framework. You have various aspects of public safety. You have the prevention piece, you have the response piece, and you have the forward-looking piece: the piece that comes where you’re measuring the outcomes and you’re adjusting your framework moving forward.
“We’re going to have to address the issues of African-American families with kids leaving the city. But to do that, we’re going to have to get our arms around the public safety issues.”
People mainly think about public safety through the lens of police officers. But it’s a lot more nuanced than that.
I started Cure Violence in the city. It took six years, [in] a legislative role, to drive that process and finally get it in place. There needs to be a heavier emphasis on that, because it allows us to get out front on the public safety issue. It allows us to provide intervention directly into the households.
I’ve been working with Moms Demand Action to take illegal guns off the streets. At the state level, they look at gun laws, and they address it in a one-size-fits-all model. The gun laws we need in the city of St. Louis are far different than what they need in the rural areas across the state. We need to work with our state delegation, be able to work across party lines.
Among Republican elected officials, especially around the St. Louis area, who are some of the best prospects for you to cooperate with?
I would not throw anybody out of the tent. There’s always a way to come together around common issues. It takes patience and a lot of time educating and informing people from different areas.
Do public safety director Jimmie Edwards and police chief John Hayden keep their jobs in a Lewis Reed administration?
That’s not something I can answer as a candidate. If [I’m] successful in running, and I say I’m committed to firing them, the City of St. Louis would lose that lawsuit because you’re dismissing them with absolutely no basis. Other candidates will take a stance, because they don’t understand the ultimate implications of something like that. But that’s not a question it would be advisable to answer.
What is your message to rank-and-file police officers in the city?
I understand the job they’re doing is a very difficult and tough job, especially during this point in time in America. There are huge divisions between communities of color and police departments in general. There’s a need to heal. And it’s going to take some adjustments to get there. The people who put on the uniform, that go out and do a good job for us, I value their work.
For the people who have violated that trust, there will not be any tolerance. Not only are they hurting the relationship between themselves and the community, but they’re hurting the relationships between the entire department and the community.
I will be working to bridge that divide between the community and law enforcement, which is why I pushed body cameras. It’s been a long road to get there, because of all the entrenched opposition on the other side. But we got it done. All the studies show that when a body camera is present, the interaction between law enforcement and the community becomes a more productive interaction, as opposed to one that ends badly.
“One of the things I’ll do instantly is move to smaller [policing] districts, and I will put a policy in place that officers aren’t transferred willy-nilly.”
When we look at ways to get the community and law enforcement working together better, we have these huge [policing] districts right now. Officers have to crisscross these, and they’re transferred from district to district. That means the community never gets the opportunity to build a relationship with the officer.
One of the things I’ll do instantly is move to smaller districts, and I will put a policy in place that officers aren’t transferred willy-nilly between districts. I’ll also put in place policies that will allow us to begin to evaluate officers based on the relationships and interactions they’ve forged in that community.
How many districts should the police department have?
At least nine. Right now we’re at six.
Let’s step back and look at downtown. How would you say downtown is doing these days?
With COVID-19, not too good. We rely very heavily on tourism dollars and hotel stays from Cardinals game and Blues games, and soon from Major League Soccer – which is going to be awesome.
As the next mayor, one of the things I will spend quite a bit of time getting my arms around is the new move to decentralize workplaces. COVID is changing things — not just for now. It’s going to usher in some long-term changes. We have a lot of office space downtown; we can’t afford for that space to be empty.
The good thing is, we have this framework to lean on. It’s flexible, to allow it to adapt to issues like this.
There’s more than one plan out there. What do you make of the draft 2030 Jobs Plan that Greater St. Louis Inc. has put out?
When I talk about the Equitable Economic Development Framework, the reason we call it the “framework” is it takes into account the fact that there are other plans out there. It provides that framework and goals, so that you can consider those [other] plans, and roll them into an overall strategy.
Regarding the STL 2030 Jobs Plan, I appreciate the fact they’ve gone to this extra effort to put it together. There’s was a little bit of controversy, because some folks said, ‘well, they didn’t include me.’ Does it have everything that everybody will want? No plan will ever be fully encompassing so everybody is happy with it. The region should cooperate in this whole issue of job creation.
They’re talking about 50,000 new jobs in the urban core over the next decade. Do you think that’s realistic?
It’s definitely realistic. One of the things that has not changed at all in the city of St. Louis, since we were founded: our location. We have the second-largest inland port in the country. We have some of the most interconnected railway systems. We have quick, easy access to major interstates. But we have not truly capitalized on that. If we capitalize on that, we could see a major job boom in the city of St. Louis.
“It is politically expedient, especially right now, to make a very general statement to say: ‘well, if you need an incentive in the Central Corridor, we’re not going to approve them.’”
Some people object to the amount of tax abatements and TIFs the city has given out to developers. How are you going to get these incentive programs under control?
We began this process already. I’ve been working with the [aldermanic] housing & urban development committee and the St. Louis Development Corporation [the city’s development arm] to begin changing how, when and why these incentives are given out. Those same tools will have to be used to redevelop, and to bring industry north of Delmar. If we begin to say we are going to eliminate the use of these tools, you are now victimizing the victims yet again.
But I don’t think anybody’s saying we should get rid of them altogether. People are saying we shouldn’t use them in the Central Corridor anymore.
No, there is a push right now [by activist group Action St. Louis] to say, ‘Eliminate the use of them altogether.’ That would be a mistake. In areas where we’ve already seen significant economic growth, they should fall under a much more stringent standard in terms of additional incentives.
It is politically expedient, especially right now, to make a very general statement to say: ‘well, if you need an incentive in the Central Corridor, we’re not going to approve them.’ Someone that would take that position has no true understanding of what it takes to create an economy and all the nuances that you run into when you’re evaluating and looking at these things, and looking to attract new industries to St. Louis.
I also want to ask you about Board Bill 221, which would combine the trustees of the city’s two firefighter retirement funds. Budget Director Paul Payne and Comptroller Darlene Green have raised concerns about the impact this could have on the city’s finances, because it could undermine pension reforms from almost a decade ago. Twenty aldermen are co-sponsoring the bill. Why are you one of them?
Because it’s a good bill. There is instantly a savings that will come into play. The reason we changed these things before is because the economy had crashed, during the 2008 crisis, with all the mortgages. Our pension obligations were going through the roof because the economy was down. Right before that, the city had lost a lawsuit that required the city to fully fund the pension systems. By the time we got all those ordinances moving, the pension systems were starting to rebound. I don’t see any issue with having these systems under common management now.
Turning to more general issues: If you’re in the mayor’s office, would you take steps for another citywide vote on ward reduction?
The mayor [current mayor Lyda Krewson] just vetoed that. By the time the mayor’s race ends, our focus will have to be on carrying through with the voters’ original wishes. Part of what we need to do is really get about working on all the processes of redrawing that [aldermanic ward] map.
It is absolutely essential that that map is drawn with the elected officials having community hearings. There has to be some ownership. If you remove that, in a map that’s going to cut the number of elected officials in half, we’re going to be tied up in lawsuits for eons. There’ll be cries of racism and all sorts of things if we do not handle these things correctly. The only map in the history of the city of St. Louis, that was drawn where we had 100 percent of the members of the Board of Aldermen co-sponsor it, and unanimously vote for it, was the one that I orchestrated through the last redistricting.
About Lambert Airport: Are you going to take another stab at leasing it to a private operator?
With the airport, there are some realities people need to come to grips with. Airports all across the country — LaGuardia Airport in New York, the airport in Kansas City — they are expanded and built through P3s: public-private partnerships, where a private entity will bring financing into the airport and say, ‘You need a new terminal built? I will finance the building of that new terminal. And once I’ve financed that terminal, I’m going to [manage] the operations in that terminal until I recoup my investment plus agreed upon profits.’
People should view an airport like a shopping mall. It’s a shopping mall where you park planes. But because our airport sits in St. Louis County, the taxes generated from that airport go to St. Louis County, not the city. Meanwhile, the city is carrying $650 million in debt on the airport.
“People should view an airport like a shopping mall. It’s a shopping mall where you park planes.”
Ultimately, the airport is made less healthy because of the debt that we don’t really have any immediate way of paying down. We want to put the airport in a healthier position so we can lower our landing fees and be competitive for other airlines.
If the airport was in the city, we could do a P3 like other cities did, because then we would receive that additional tax revenue. I think we need to look to the county, and say: ‘We need a payment in lieu of taxes, we need something, of all that revenue that you’re taking on an annual basis, but then we have the burden of the debt.’ That’s just not right.
In terms of policy, what are the biggest differences between you and each of your Democratic opponents: Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer?
Between me and Tishaura Jones: When I think about economic development, I’m not thinking about prostitution. I’m not thinking about bringing back strip clubs. That’s not going to really grow the economic base of St. Louis, and it’s not going to inspire our young people to grow up and be all that they can be.
I’ve been at this for 20 years. Right now, I’ve passed more legislation than anybody in St. Louis. Whether you’re looking at the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; at funding of the drug courts; at taking marijuana laws in the city and making them a municipal violation so people aren’t being locked up for small amounts. Well, that was me. The Washington Avenue loft district — those were my bills when I was alderman of the 6th Ward. It didn’t exist before then.
Regarding Alderwoman Cara Spencer: I’ve watched every vote she cast. I’ve watched every vote she was scared to cast and walked on. Even during these online meetings, where she’ll turn her video off so she doesn’t have to cast a tough vote. To be mayor of the city of St. Louis, you’re going to have to make some tough decisions, and you can’t hide. You have to own all of it. You have to own the mistakes even more so than your successes. And that’s what I’ve done as the president of the Board of Aldermen.
Even this Workhouse issue — I keep telling people you have to respect the voters enough to tell them the truth. When we passed the bill [to close] the Workhouse with unanimous support, we charged the Director of Corrections with developing a responsible plan for closing the Workhouse. At the time, the COVID numbers in the city were decreasing. They weren’t spiking like they were later in the year. [Later in the year] the inmates took over an entire unit in the Justice Center. They said ‘You’re not going to pile us two per cell when I can go to the Workhouse and have my own cell.’ Thank God we had the space to put them back in the Workhouse.
“I keep telling people you have to respect the voters enough to tell them the truth.”
People who continue to spin the false narrative that there’s room in the Justice Center, and there’s something clandestine going on — what they’re doing with that kind of spin-doctoring online is the same kind of thing that Trump did to get the people to go out and attack the Capitol. They know that the things they’re talking about [are] false.
Someone said to me the other day they think Lewis Reed is actually the status-quo candidate in this race. Do you agree with that?
No. Would the status-quo candidate have pushed for body cameras? No. Would the status-quo candidate have put an ordinance in place so we could ban chokeholds, ban no-knock warrants, and put a provision in place so police officers are now required to inform on their fellow officers if they see them engaging in an illegal act? No. I did that.
Would the status quo candidate require the city to put a framework in place to change how we incentivize projects, and change how we engage with the community, so that we can create more prosperity for everybody? Would the status-quo candidate have put more financial incentives in place to help homeless people and people who are struggling to make ends meet?
Cops and clinicians? We’ve done that. Minority and women-owned business inclusion law? We’ve done it. Civilian oversight of the police department? It got done under my leadership.
During the last mayoral election, I carried [legislation to upgrade] the Scottrade Center [now the Enterprise Center]. Some sports events were no longer going to be considering that facility because it was just so out of date. The speaking points on that project weren’t popular, just like the soccer stadium thing.
What happened after we got Scottrade Center done? We got the 2020 NHL All-Star game, and all these things we had talked about. That benefits everyone. You’re going to have to have a mayor who understands that: that is bold enough and committed enough to a vision to carry it through, as opposed to one that takes their policies and positions based on what’s being said on Twitter and Facebook. –McP–
[Like this story? Be notified by e-mail every time McPherson publishes a new item by dropping a note to Editor Jack Grone at jgrone@mcphersonpublishing.com. There is no charge for McPherson’s content, and I will not sell or share your contact information.]
