Cara Spencer (born 1977/1978) is an American politician and the mayor-elect of St. Louis. She serves on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen as alderwoman of Ward 8; she represented Ward 20 from 2015 to 2023.
Spencer ran in the 2021 St. Louis mayoral election, finishing second in the primary election, then losing the general election to Tishaura Jones. In the 2025 election, she defeated Jones. She will be the city's third consecutive female mayor.
Early life and education
Spencer grew up in South St. Louis City and St. Louis County. She is a graduate of Parkway South High School, located in west St. Louis County. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Truman State University.
Before becoming an elected official, Spencer did mathematical modeling for the St. Louis-based company Tessellon.
Politics
Spencer serves on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, representing Ward 8, which consists of Downtown St. Louis, Soulard, and Lafayette Square. Between 2015 and 2023, she represented Ward 20, which included the South St. Louis neighborhoods of Dutchtown, Gravois Park, Marine Villa, and Mount Pleasant.
Board of Aldermen - Ward 20
Spencer was elected an alderman in April 2015 after defeating incumbent Craig Schmid, who had held the seat for two decades, in the Democratic primary election. She then defeated independent candidate Stephen Jehle and Green Party candidate Vickie Ingram in the general election.
During her first term in office, she was the primary sponsor of legislation that enacted stricter campaign finance laws, imposed stricter air pollution standards than state requirements on asbestos in demolitions, required absentee landlords to pay fines for building code violations, imposed fines on payday lending operators, and protected victims of drug overdose by enacting the 1st municipal good Samaritan law in the US, granting immunity to drug possession charges to anyone calling 911 for help during an overdose. Spencer co-developed and helped implement the "mow-to-own" program allowing residents to obtain an adjacent city-owned lot by mowing it for one year. Spencer helped stop the St. Louis Lambert International Airport from being privatized.
In 2016, an ethics complaint was filed against Spencer by attorney Jane Dueker, alleging that Spencer failed to disclose a personal financial interest related to legislation she introduced regulating payday lending. The case was dismissed.
Spencer was re-elected in 2019.
In August 2020, Spencer was the target of a petition to recall her from her position as Alderwoman. The petition was organized by Metropolitan Strategies and Solution, a consulting firm that supported privatization efforts.
Spencer serves as the chair of the aldermanic Health and Human Services Committee for the city of St. Louis.
2021 St. Louis mayoral election
On January 13, 2020, Spencer announced her intention to run for mayor of St. Louis in 2021. The 2021 election was the city's first use of approval voting. Spencer, along with Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed, were endorsed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board in a joint endorsement (since voters could now select more than one candidate in the primary election). Spencer was also endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Advocates of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri and former St. Louis Mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl.
Spencer, alongside St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones, advanced to the general election after the primary on March 2, 2021. Spencer was defeated by Jones in the general election held on April 6, 2021.
Board of Aldermen - Ward 8
Following the city's 2021 redistricting and reduction of the number of wards, Spencer was elected alderman for Ward 8 in 2023. She serves as Chair of the Budget and Public Employees Committee, and Vice-Chair of the Transportation and Commerce Committee.
2025 St. Louis mayoral election
On May 23, 2024, Spencer declared her second bid for mayor of St. Louis in 2025, challenging the incumbent Jones. On March 4, Spencer won the nonpartisan primary for mayor of St. Louis, earning 68% of the vote. On April 8, 2025, Spencer defeated Jones in the general election, receiving 64.2% of the popular vote.
References
External links
- Official website
