The Mayor's Blog

St. Louis mourns the passing of Gwendolyn Stephenson, a nationally-known administrator whose leadership and aptitude to solve problems vastly improved two different college systems. Dr. Stephenson was an educator who best work was performed, not in classrooms, but in boardrooms encouraging excellence in her faculties and partnerships from the business communities that would employ her students.

The major landmarks of her life are familiar ones: she grew up in the Ville;... Read More

The observance of Memorial Day, the most solemn day on our civic calendar, gives us a moment to consider a powerful phrase from the Old Testament: “Remember! And do not forget.”

Remember! And do not forget.

REMEMBER how it important it is that we Americans – new Americans or descended from those who once were new, Americans of diverse backgrounds, Americans young or old – share a common set of civic values:... Read More

This is a disappointing announcement, but it is neither unexpected nor tragic.

While it has been great having one of the remaining few downtown department stores in the country, we all knew that overall retail shopping trends meant that its days in downtown St. Louis were numbered. Department stores have yet to find successful urban business models, though ours certainly tried. I commend the Macy's team for its efforts.

Ten years... Read More

I would always rather see a building reused than demolished. For the past twelve years, I have taken a firm but reasonable line on demolitions. As a rule, we do NOT allow any demolition unless the building has little significance - or the building is a true danger to health and safety or it stands in the way of a development that will significantly advance the City’s status as a quality place to... Read More

With patience, compromise, and a mayoral staffer who liked burritos and cupcakes, food trucks – I mean the sort of brightly painted mobile kitchens that now pop up on street corners during lunch and after concerts – have found a home in parts of the city. The "patience" part was important because not everyone (including their brick-and-mortar competitors, health officials, and motorists competing for parking) initially (or, yet) welcomed them. But, a staffer working... Read More

The grandson of a lawyer and the son of a doctor, Dr. Leslie F. Bond, Sr., grew up in a city and in a country that sought to limit his accomplishments because of his race.

They failed. Badly so. Dr. Bond became, without question, our leading citizen. A chronicle of Dr. Bond’s life in St. Louis contains a whole litany of “firsts.” A recitation of his distinguished career in the... Read More

The news from Boston is tragic – and still incomplete. Police Chief Sam Dotson tells me that the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department has identified no threats against our city, but that his officers remain vigilant. President Obama has promised “the full weight of justice” will fall on those responsible. We must take from that the consolation we can.

There really is not much we can do, except to extend our... Read More

Winning a fourth term isn’t the history. What we do over the next four years is how we are going to make history.

I’ll start my term with a city of many strengths on which to build and many assets to be leveraged. We have become cleaner, healthier, safer, more open to diversity, better educated, more urban, and more fun. We have a great philanthropic community, good medical centers, strong neighborhoods,... Read More

I would like it to be harder for a criminal in the City of St. Louis to get his hands on a gun. And I would like it to be easier for police officers, prosecutors, and judges to get gun criminals off our streets. It is far too easy for criminals to get guns here – and there are too many of them in our neighborhoods(both guns and criminals).

We have people who... Read More

On Saturday, March 23rd, the City of St. Louis will join 7000 or so other cities around the world observing Earth Hour. The lights at City Hall – and at my own house – will be turned off from 8:30-9:30 pm, an hour less of energy consumption that will signal the City’s commitment – and my own – to addressing climate change. I know that turning off a few lights in St. Louis... Read More