Sixth Ward St. Louis Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez isn’t on the ballot again until 2027—but she’s already facing stiff competition…. Or is that sniff? Nearly a dozen signs have popped up around Tower Grove South in recent weeks touting the candidacy of Shadow, a pretty pussy running for, yes, alderkitty—and her viral success has now led to at least two more local pets entering the race.
Shadow’s campaign manager, Mark Nycz, tells SLM that he launched her candidacy as a lark. She was a natural for it: Nycz says she’s one of those cats who talks to everyone and has even been known to stop by and invite herself into neighbors’ homes. “With the election drawing near and things heating up, I wanted to find a way to bring a bit of comical relief,” he explains.
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After Nycz deployed a little catnip to persuade Shadow to sit for a photo session, the race was on. He started with just two signs, but timed Shadow’s entry perfectly for her South City constituency: He put them up the night before the Tower Grove Park farmers’ market. They were an immediate hit. “I saw folks pulling over to get photos and tagging her on social media,” he says. “In the local FB groups people were asking where to buy them.” He reports that eight more neighbors have requested signs of their own.
That doesn’t mean Shadow has cleared the field. In addition to another cat mounting a grassroots campaign, Tower Grove South now has signs touting Vinny’s candidacy for alderdog. He’s proven himself willing to go negative. His signs read, “Keep the SHADOWS at bay!”
Velazquez, no stranger to the rough-and-tumble of St. Louis politics, is unfazed. “Well, you know politics is a dog-eat-dog world,” she says. She tells SLM she welcomes the competition—and has even amplified her chief rival on social media. “We should make a round of a-paws for civic engagement.”
As for the man who started the whole thing, he’s thrilled. “This campaign has really started to bring the neighborhood together and bring joy to so many,” he tells SLM. “My goal was to make a few folks laugh, but I never expected this.”
