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The Missouri Bellwether

Lewis Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen

Lewis Reed’s handy election win this spring hints at big changes for local politics. Not only is Reed the first African-American aldermanic president in the history of the city, but his hip specs, sharp suits and tech savvy also set him apart from the old-schoolers holding court at Beffa’s cafeteria. Formerly alderman of the 6th Ward, he earned a degree in math and computer science at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville and worked for years in the information-technology field; it’s not surprising that Reed was the guy who penned the technology bill that radically overhauled the city’s computer system (so think kindly of him the next time you pay your parking ticket online).

“I think that certainly I will be looking within the city for ways to leverage technology so that we can operate more efficiently,” he says, “so that information is more readily available and people don’t have to take a day off work to go down to City Hall and troll through the archives to find what they need.”

Reed’s also the founder of Bike St. Louis, a program he organized with the help of his fellow aldermen and the Great Rivers Greenway District. After $1.2 million in grants, 70 miles of cycling routes were laid down throughout the city; now, county municipalities like Webster Groves and Maplewood are joining up with the group. Though cycling is beloved by progressives because it reduces carbon emissions and allows people to get to know their city in a way that’s impossible when they’re in their cars, Reed says that the ultimate goal of BSL is to clean up the streets—and St. Louis’ image.

“The thing that was really key there is this notion of being able to drive down the perception of crime,” he says. “No matter how safe or unsafe our city actually is, if people perceive our city to be a stagnated urban environment, they will not invest here, both in terms of living here or moving businesses here. Now, especially on nice days, you see droves of cyclists—and when you see cyclists riding throughout a major city, you get a feeling that this is an urban environment on the move ... that this place is happening.”