St. Louis Board of Aldermen
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is the lawmaking body of St. Louis, an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of 14 alderpersons who are each elected from one of the city's wards. The President of the Board of Aldermen is a separate position that is elected citywide, has the same voting power as the alderpersons, and serves as the body's presiding officer.
St. Louis Board of Aldermen | |
|---|---|
| City of St. Louis | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| Leadership | |
President | Megan Green since November 18, 2022 |
Vice-President | Shane Cohn since April 18, 2023 |
Floor Leader | Shameem Clark-Hubbard since April 18, 2023 |
Assistant Floor Leader | Rasheen Aldridge since April 18, 2023 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 14 ward-based alderpersons and 1 city-wide president (officially non-partisan) |
 | |
Political groups | |
| Authority | Charter of the City of St. Louis |
| Salary | $72,000/year (alderpersons) $80,000/year (President) |
| Elections | |
| Nonpartisan blanket primary using approval voting | |
Last election | April 4, 2023 |
Next election | April 1, 2025 |
| Redistricting | Legislative control |
| Meeting place | |
| St. Louis City Hall | |
| Website | |
| stlouis-mo.gov/BoardofAldermen | |
Alderpersons may introduce legislation known as board bills, which are subject to approval by the mayor if passed by the Board. The Board is responsible for setting the city budget and conducting oversight of city departments and agencies.
The Board meets in the north wing of City Hall, located in the Downtown West neighborhood. Regular elections to the Board of Aldermen are held in the spring of odd-numbered years. Beginning with the 2023 elections, the Board of Aldermen was reduced from 28 members to 14.
Composition
The Board of Aldermen consists of one representative from each of the city's 14 wards. The body's President is elected separately by a citywide ballot. Like the mayor, alderpersons representing odd-numbered wards are elected in odd numbered years following the United States Presidential Election, while the President of the Board and the alderpersons from even-numbered wards are elected in the off-years. All alderpersons serve terms are four years.[1]
Proposition R (2012)
Proposition R (2012) was a charter amendment passed in November 2012 to reduce the number of city of St. Louis alderpersons from 28 to 14. It was slated to take place 10 years in the future (effective January 1, 2022) and was passed by city voters on November 6, 2012, with 61 percent voting in favor (60 percent was needed for passage).[2]
Proposition D (2020)
Proposition D, a ballot measure to make municipal elections in St. Louis officially non-partisan, was passed by city voters on November 3, 2020 with 68 percent voting in favor.[3] Proposition D also changed St. Louis municipal elections to use approval voting, which allows voters to vote for as many candidates in a race as they would like, with each of their choices carrying an equal weight, meaning they do not rank the candidates.[4]
Proposition R (2022)
Proposition R (2022) called for an independent commission to draw boundaries between the wards of St. Louis and ensured that that the board was not able to change the election method without a public vote.[5] Prop R also strengthened ethics by creating new stipulations for conflicts of interest and required alderpersons to recuse themselves when such conflicts arise. Finally, it changed the "Board of Aldermen" to the gender-neutral "Board of Alderpersons."[6]
Powers
By custom and tradition, an alderperson has a great deal of influence over decisions impacting the ward they represent on matters ranging from zoning changes, to street resurfacing, to tax abatement to business licensing, etc.
By city charter, alderpersons are legislators. Alderpersons introduce laws and legislation known as board bills that can become city ordinances which can impact the quality of lives of city residents.
Committees
Since April 2023, the Board of Aldermen has had seven standing committees.[7]
| Committee | Chair |
|---|---|
| Budget & Public Employees | Cara Spencer (8th) |
| Health & Human Development | Pam Boyd (13th) |
| Housing, Urban Development, & Zoning | Shameem Clark-Hubbard (10th) |
| Legislation & Rules | Joe Vollmer (5th) |
| Public Infrastructure & Utilities | Anne Schweitzer (1st) |
| Public Safety | Bret Narayan (4th) |
| Transportation & Commerce | Shane Cohn (3rd) |
Qualifications
To become an alderperson, one must be a registered voter, twenty-five years of age, have been a United States citizen for at least five years, a resident of the city for three years, and for one year a resident of the ward from which elected. The President must be at least thirty years of age and a city resident for at least five years.[8][9]
Membership
While the office of alderperson is officially nonpartisan, all incumbents are either Democrats or independents. The last Republican to hold a Board seat lost re-election in 2011.[10] The following table is accurate as of April 18, 2023.
| Ward / Position | Map | Member | Took office | Corridor | Major neighborhood(s) served | Current term expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President |  |
Megan Green | 2022 | At-large | 2027 | |
| Ward 1 |  |
Anne Schweitzer | 2021 | South | Carondelet, Patch, Bevo Mill | 2025 |
| Ward 2 |  |
Tom Oldenburg | 2017 | South | St. Louis Hills, Princeton Heights, Boulevard Heights | 2027 |
| Ward 3 |  |
Shane Cohn | 2009 | South | Dutchtown | 2025 |
| Ward 4 |  |
Bret Narayan | 2019 | South | Dogtown, Lindenwood Park | 2027 |
| Ward 5 |  |
Joe Vollmer | 2003 | South | The Hill, North Hampton, Southwest Garden | 2025 |
| Ward 6 |  |
Daniela Velázquez | 2023 | South | Tower Grove South, Shaw, Compton Heights | 2027 |
| Ward 7 |  |
Alisha Sonnier | 2023 | Central/South | Tower Grove East, Benton Park West | 2025 |
| Ward 8 |  |
Cara Spencer | 2015 | Central/South | Downtown, Soulard, Lafayette Square | 2027 |
| Ward 9 |  |
Michael Browning | 2023 | Central | Central West End, Forest Park Southeast | 2025 |
| Ward 10 |  |
Shameem Clark-Hubbard | 2019 | Central/North | Skinker-DeBaliviere, West End | 2027 |
| Ward 11 |  |
Laura Keys | 2022 | Central/North | JeffVanderLou, O'Fallon, Midtown | 2025 |
| Ward 12 |  |
Sharon Tyus | 2013[lower-alpha 1] | North | The Ville, Penrose | 2027 |
| Ward 13 |  |
Pamela Boyd | 2017 | North | Wells Goodfellow, North Riverfront | 2025 |
| Ward 14 |  |
Rasheen Aldridge | 2023 | Central/North | Downtown, St. Louis Place, Hyde Park | 2027 |
List of presidents
The president presides at all the meeting, preserves decorum and determines all questions of order. The president appoints standing and special committees and serves as an equal member of all committees. The president assigns bills to appropriate committees and refers bills, when ready, to the Engrossment Committee. The president directs action from the broad elevated podium in the front and center of the semi-circulate position.
| Party | President | Tenure | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Louis P. Aloe | 1917 | 1924 | [11] | |
| Republican | Walter J. G. Neun | 1924 | 1935 | ||
| Democratic | William L. Mason | 1935 | 1941 | ||
| Republican | Michael J. Hart | 1941 | 1943 | ||
| Republican | Aloys P. Kaufmann | 1943 | 1943 | ||
| Republican | Edgar S. Nicolai | 1943 | 1945 | ||
| Republican | Albert L. Schweitzer | 1945 | 1947 | ||
| Republican | Charles Albanese | 1947 | 1955 | ||
| Democratic | Donald Gunn | 1955 | 1959 | ||
| Democratic | A. J. Cervantes | 1959 | 1963 | ||
| Democratic | Donald Gunn | 1963 | 1968 | ||
| Democratic | James Noonan | 1968 | 1969 | ||
| Republican | Joseph Badaracco | 1969 | 1975 | ||
| Republican | Paul Simon | 1975 | 1980 | ||
| Democratic | Eugene Bradley (interim) | 1980 | 1980 | ||
| Democratic | Thomas Zych | 1980 | 1987 | ||
| Democratic | Thomas A. Villa | 1987 | 1995 | ||
| Democratic | Francis G. Slay | 1995 | 2001 | ||
| Democratic | James F. Shrewsbury | 2001 | 2007 | ||
| Democratic | Lewis E. Reed | 2007 | 2022 | ||
| Democratic | Joseph Vollmer (interim) | 2022 | 2022 | ||
| Democratic | Megan Green | 2022 (incumbent) | |||
Party composition
| Party composition | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year[12] | Democratic | Republican | Independent |
| 1945 | 8 | 20 | 0 |
| 1947 | 8 | 20 | 0 |
| 1949 | 13 | 15 | 0 |
| 1951 | 17 | 11 | 0 |
| 1953 | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| 1955 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1957 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1959 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1961 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1963 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1965 | 26 | 2 | 0 |
| 1967 | 22 | 6 | 0 |
| 1969 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1971 | 24 | 4 | 0 |
| 1973 | 25 | 3 | 0 |
| 1975 | 26 | 2 | 0 |
| 1977 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | 26 | 2 | 0 |
| 1981 | 26 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
| 2011 | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015[13] | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
Notes
- Tyus was previously an alderwoman from 1991 to 2003.
References
- "Laws and Lawmaking". stlouis-mo.gov.
- "Propositions pass to cut St. Louis aldermen, return local police control". St. Louis Business Journal. November 7, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
- "St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition D, Approval Voting Initiative (November 2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- "St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition D, Approval Voting Initiative (November 2020)". Ballotpedia.
- "Pro & Con: How Prop R would affect St. Louis' Board of Aldermen". STLPR. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
- "St. Louis, Missouri, Proposition R, Redistricting Commission, Public Vote to Change Voting Methods, and Conflicts of Interest Requirements Initiative (April 2022)". Ballotpedia.
- "Rules of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen 2023-24 Session" (PDF).
- "About the Board of Aldermen". stlouis-mo.gov.
- "St. Louis City Board of Aldermen Rules". Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
- McDermott, Kevin (April 9, 2015). "St. Louis Board of Aldermen will have all Democrats, two new faces". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Stein, Lana (2002). St. Louis Politics: The Triumph of Tradition. St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Historical Society Press. p. 255.
- Lana Stein--"St. Louis Politics" page 174
- "St. Louis Board of Aldermen will have all Democrats, two new faces". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 9, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
