A Missouri mayor publicly criticized her white voters, accusing them of turning their backs on Black women in leadership after voting her out in favor of a new, white candidate.
Tishaura Jones, the former St. Louis mayor, suffered a staggering 28-point defeat to Mayor Cara Spencer last month, marking one of the worst losses for an existing mayor in the city’s last 50 years, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
However, the 53-year-old politician blamed her loss to racial bias amongst her voters, accusing them of booting her from office because she is Black.
‘I think St. Louis needs to have a conversation with itself about why it no longer trusts Black women to lead,’ Jones said in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio on Thursday.
‘My dad always told me – and it’s an old phrase – that Black women have to work twice as hard to get half as much,’ she added.
‘Well, I feel like we work five times as hard and get nothing in return.’
Just four years ago, voters from St. Louis’s north side and its white progressive neighborhoods rallied behind Jones, propelling her into the mayor’s office.
Fast forward to last month’s re-election, and Jones’ voter base had ultimately crumbled – white progressive neighborhoods that once championed her shifted their support to Spencer, the very candidate Jones defeated in 2021.
Tishaura Jones (pictured), the former mayor in St. Louis, Missouri, publicly criticized her white voters, accusing them of turning their backs on Black women in leadership after voting her out in favor of a new, white candidate
Jones suffered a staggering 28-point defeat to Mayor Cara Spencer (pictured) last month, marking one of the worst losses for an existing mayor in the city’s last 50 years
Jones believes her loss had far more to do with race – and the fact that Spencer is a white woman – than with her record in office, asserting that ‘St. Louis needs to have a conversation with itself about why it no longer trusts Black women to lead’
Jones’ ousting follows the loss of three other Black female leaders from office, a point she highlighted during the interview
Explanations for the shift varied – disappointment in her activist base, missteps with grant programs, etc.
However, voters on both the north and south sides repeatedly voiced frustration with Jones’ handling of basic city services – from trash pickup to pothole repairs – as well as her response to the massive snowstorm that hit the state in January.
What may have swayed voters was Spencer’s straightforward yet resonant promise to St. Louis: a swift return ‘back to basics’, Post-Dispatch reported.
Yet Jones believes that even her Black voter base on the north side turned away from her, claiming they held unrealistic expectations during her four years in office.
In the radio interview published Thursday, Jones expressed frustration that voters overlooked a major achievement during her tenure – the city’s homicide rate dropped by 40 percent from a record high in 2020 to a 10-year low last year.
‘That’s what the people wanted back in 2021,’ Jones’ said during the segment. ‘And then they moved the goalposts to potholes and trash and snow removal.’
She also emphasized her efforts to begin revitalizing north St. Louis after decades of decline, but said she was never truly given the opportunity to deliver lasting change for city residents.
‘There’s no patience there,’ Jones said. ‘The expectations there are so high to deliver and deliver immediately to address the decades of neglect in four years, and that is impossible.’
In the radio interview published Thursday, Jones expressed frustration that voters overlooked a major achievement during her tenure – the city’s homicide rate dropped by 40 percent from a record high in 2020 to a 10-year low last year
In last month’s re-election, Jones’ voter base had ultimately crumbled – white progressive neighborhoods that once championed her shifted their support to Spencer, the very candidate Jones defeated in 2021
What may have swayed voters was Spencer’s straightforward yet resonant promise to St. Louis: a swift return ‘back to basics’
But for Jones, it wasn’t just about the city’s day-to-day issues. She believes her loss had far more to do with race – and the face that Spencer is a white woman – than with her record in office.
During the interview, Jones shared that when she campaigned in south city – a neighborhood that supported her in the previous election – no one could provide a clear reason for why they were voting her out of office.
‘And if you can’t give me a reason or something that I have particularly done, then the only default is race,’ Jones said, according to the Post-Dispatch.
Jones’ ousting follows the loss of three other Black female leaders from office, a point she highlighted during the interview.
Cori Bush, a former US Representative, was voted out of office in 2024. Darlene Green, the former Comptroller, also lost re-election last month. Kim Gardner, the former circuit attorney, resigned in 2023 in the midst of a controversy.
Jones asserted that not only do the residents of St. Louis need to reflect on their views of Black women in power, but the Democratic Party – especially the progressive Democrats – must also have that same conversation.
She said she wasn’t sure about the future of the progressive movement she once led, adding that she didn’t know anyone who could carry on the work she had already started.
According to her, others lack consistency and loyalty, according to the Post-Dispatch.
Despite her comments on the radio show, Jones revealed that she has mostly tuned out of politics since her defeat, Post-Dispatch reported. Although she teased a ‘comeback’ on social media, she never hinted at anything political.
Additionally, she shared that she’s almost finished with a children’s book she began writing while in office and is now exploring new career paths, including consulting, writing another book or starting a podcast.
