ST. LOUIS — City Treasurer Tishaura Jones has a money lead over Alderman Cara Spencer as the two mayoral candidates launch their final week of campaigning for the Tuesday, April 6 election.
Committees backing Jones raised about $871,000 and spent about $686,000 through the Thursday cutoff date, according to reports filed Monday.
Groups supporting Spencer reported raising more than $796,000 and spending about $654,000. The report totals include money donated and spent during both the primary and general-election portions of the campaign.
Jones’ money edge grows when $85,000 in spending to promote her election by a national organization promoting Black candidates, Collective Future, is added to her side’s total. Because the group is a nonprofit, it isn’t required to disclose its contributors.
People are also reading…
Under the city’s new nonpartisan electoral system, Jones and Spencer — the top two finishers in the four-candidate March 2 primary — qualified for the general election.
Among large donors helping Jones were developer Michael Staenberg, who donated $7,600, and theLOUpac, a committee largely funded by Anheuser-Busch that kicked in $12,600.
Those amounts include contributions to both Jones’ campaign committee and a separate pro-Jones committee called 314 Forward.
314 Forward also got $10,000 from Leadership Counts, a committee that earlier this year aided the mayoral campaign of Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who finished third in the primary and didn’t qualify for the general election runoff.
Among other recent big donors to 314 Forward included Dallas-based Cochran Redevelopment Partners, which gave $5,000, and Nexus PAC of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, which gave $7,500.
Among recent large Jones campaign committee contributors were Steve Stogel, president of DFC Group, $2,600; Jeff Rainford, a former top aide to then-Mayor Francis Slay, $2,000; Centene CEO Michael Neidorff, $2,600; restaurateur Ben Poremba, $5,200; and Jamala Rogers, a longtime leader of the Organization for Black Struggle, $2,600. Rogers also gave $2,600 earlier.
Ben Cohen, the Vermont-based co-founder of ice cream giant Ben and Jerry’s, gave $590 to Jones.
Alderman Tom Oldenburg of the 16th Ward contributed $1,000 to Jones and Joyce Aboussie, the longtime top aide to former Rep. Richard Gephardt, donated $2,600.
Gateway to Progress, a pro-Spencer PAC, got recent donations of $10,000 each from Post Holdings Inc. and Hermann Capital Management. The Holland Law Firm gave $10,000, and one of its members, Eric Holland, $5,000.
Spencer’s campaign committee pulled in donations from, among others, longtime lobbyist and former city official Bill Kuehling, $2,000; developers Pete Rothschild and Jeff Tegethoff, $2,600 each; and Starwood Group LLC, $2,600.
Lux Living LLC gave Spencer’s campaign $2,500, as did the firm’s CEO, Victor Alston. Barbara Eagleton, widow of the late Sen. Thomas Eagleton, contributed $1,000 in recent weeks.
The city firefighters union gave $10,000 to help Spencer. Meanwhile, the Firefighters Institute of Racial Equality, which represents Black firefighters in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, donated $2,600 to Jones, increasing the group’s total to $5,200. Both candidates also got financial support from various other labor groups.
Former Mayor Vincent Schoemehl and former Aldermanic President James Shrewsbury gave $2,600 each to the Spencer effort, increasing their respective totals to $5,200.
Members of the Taylor family prominent in Enterprise Holdings reported giving $10,200 to help each candidate.
Also giving to committees for both candidates were Commerce Bancshares and executives of Schnuck Markets.
Roy Pfautch, a longtime financial backer of Republican candidates, gave $9,800 to the pro-Jones effort and $5,200 to pro-Spencer committees. Both candidates are Democrats.
