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ST. LOUIS — Alderman Cara Spencer said Friday she will not be a candidate for president of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Board of Aldermen this November, a race that will fill the city’s top legislative job for just a few months before the regular spring election for a four-year term to the post.

Spencer, who captured 48% of the vote in the 2021 mayoral election, had been seen as a potential contender for the citywide job vacated this month by longtime president Lewis Reed, who resigned after he and two of his aldermanic allies were federally indicted for bribery.

Alderman Megan Green, a progressive Democrat who represents Tower Grove South, and Alderman Jack Coatar, a moderate Democrat who represents Soulard and Downtown, have already said they’re running.

Until Thursday, though, it wasn’t clear what exactly the election calendar would look like. And the clock is now ticking to get on the ballot.

After waiting for an opinion from the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ City Counselor’s office, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ election officials this week set a special Sept. 13 primary to narrow the field of candidates to two for the November general election in order to comply with a 2020 city ordinance instituting runoff elections. Green, Coatar or any other candidate must gather 1,175 signatures by July 15 to qualify for the ballot.

Spencer has criticized the process, saying the city’s laws for filling the vacancy “are a mess.� One of her supporters in last year’s election — James Wilson, the longtime city counselor for former Mayor Vince Schoemehl — wrote letters to the election board questioning its reasoning in calling the election.

“The rushed elections will put someone at the dais for just a couple of months before the regular and scheduled spring cycle,� Spencer said in a statement posted to Twitter Friday afternoon. “I believe it is a waste of money and shifts focus to a fight we don’t need to have.�

And she left open the possibility that she may be biding her time for a run in March for the full, four-year term.

“I will continue to serve as the Alderman of the 20th ward and focus on what’s ahead,� she said. “Like 2023 — which is right around the corner.�

Posted at 4:15 p.m. Friday, June 24.