Remember in 2019, when then–St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger resigned after being charged with corruption and we thought the year couldn’t get any wilder? “Hold my beer,” said 2020. But here we are, headed to the polls to vote in a primary that’ll help decide who gets to finish out Stenger’s term. County voters haven’t elected a Republican to the post since the late 1980s, so the winner of the Democratic primary is favored to win the November election. Here, meet the candidates.
Elias Stein
ST. LOUIS COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Dr. Sam Page
In April 2019, the St. Louis County Council chose its chairman, Democrat Dr. Sam Page, to serve as county executive until the election. Page—a physician who left his anesthesiology practice to lead the county—was less than a year into the role when COVID-19 hit and has had the unenviable challenge of guiding St. Louis through it.
Cleaning up county government and restoring public trust were high on the checklist when Page took over after Stenger. What no one could anticipate was the pandemic. “We made some very tough decisions early that put St. Louis County in a much better place than the rest of the country and the rest of the world,” Page says. In March, less than a week after the county’s first case of COVID-19 was announced, Page banned gatherings of more than 250 people and declared a state of emergency, with a cascade of tighter restrictions following in the days and weeks after. These actions, he believes, lessened the loss of life and will allow the local economy to recover quickly. Now, amid a national conversation, he sees systemic racism as one of the greatest problems in the county. His role? “I can lead by example,” he says. “It’s very important that, first of all, the 4,000 employees in county government work in a place that they believe treats them fairly and addresses all these issues of equity.”
Mark Mantovani
Often labeled as a businessman and entrepreneur, the retired Ansira executive—who grew the $5 million business into one that pulled in more than $120 million—thinks of his experience as much more diverse. He has been a lawyer and a Harvard fellow. He was also this close to defeating Stenger in 2018.
Asked to reimagine St. Louis County, Mantovani points to such problems as stagnant population growth, low economic mobility for lower-income St. Louisans, inequities for people of color… “On almost every scale, St. Louis has underperformed,” he says. If he had to pick one? “The racial disparities and lack of economic growth are tied together, in my view,” he says. “I don’t think we can progress, leaving as many people behind as we are.” Tapping into his experience as a CEO with a board of directors, Mantovani would, if elected, assemble a group of advisers across education, business, labor, and other sectors, forcing him to communicate his objectives and the metrics for measuring progress and holding him accountable. He would also convene a task force similar to Operation Ceasefire to address the problem of gun violence.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY ASSESSOR
Jake Zimmerman
The county assessor is rarely the most popular guy in town, but that’s almost a point of pride for Zimmerman, who has been in charge of calculating property values in the county since 2011 and often has to go up against powerful special interests in his day-to-day work.
On the issue of inequity, Zimmerman recognizes the complex issues facing the county, but he starts with the police. “This is a multifaceted challenge, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” he says, “and in this case, the step is some basic accountability. We can start right now. We can implement the 8 Can’t Wait recommendations, and not just in the St. Louis County Police Department: We can use our bully pulpit to make sure that it’s implemented throughout the St. Louis region.” Asked about a COVID-19 response plan, Zimmerman says he would have sent more resources, such as testing, to areas that have populations living with more comorbidities, including neighborhoods north of Delmar. “[We] have to acknowledge up front that the need is going to be greater in some parts of this community than others,” he says.
Jamie Tolliver
The self-described new woman on the block, a single mother of two, is earning her doctorate in education leadership, having already racked up an associate’s degree in early childhood education, a bachelor’s in business administration, a master’s in education administration, and certifications as a nursing assistant and life coach.
Tolliver, who lives on the Delmar Divide, stresses the importance of listening. “People will absolutely tell you what it is that they need—if you’re listening,” she says. “I never want to be that type of elected official who gives people only what it is I think would serve them best, without [listening to] what it is they actually need.” Tolliver wants even more transparency in the county, and that plays into environmental justice: Are those who live in communities with demolition and construction always informed of possible threats to their health? Tolliver also believes that police officers are being asked to do too much. “They’re being called for things like homelessness or responding to someone with mental health issues,” she says. “I’m not saying, ‘no police.’ I believe that all recruits need to be better trained, but I also believe that their job description should not entail things that they are not trained for.”
FYI: The Democratic primary for St. Louis County executive is scheduled for August 4.
