Mayor-elect Cara Spencer announces staff hires, transition team

5 days ago

0 3 minutes read

ST. LOUIS – Two days after unseating incumbent Mayor Tishaura Jones, Mayor-elect Cara Spencer is holding a media event outside St. Louis City Hall to discuss her plans as she transitions from an alderwoman to the city’s chief executive.

Prior to Thursday’s media event, Spencer’s transition team said the mayor-elect already made three hires for her administrative staff. Nancy Hawes was named chief of staff, Emily Thenhaus will serve as deputy chief of staff, and Beverly Isom will be Spencer’s communications director.

Spencer told reporters her administration will make transparency a priority. She promised to work to build trust with communities that might have doubts about her ability to represent them.

“We’re really looking forward to making partnerships, new partnerships in particular, to build bridges and to build success across communities that haven’t necessarily seen success in the past,” she said.

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The mayor-elect was also asked about her campaign promise to remove fencing around city hall. The fencing went up when homeless encampments formed on grassy areas outside the building. Spencer said she’s working on a plan to remove the fencing.

“That’s going to be built with partnerships with some of the folks providing services to the unhoused community, making sure that we’re all working in concert together,” Spencer said.

Spencer said she’s spent the hours following Tuesday night’s election meeting with various community leaders.

“We met with the chiefs of the fire department, the police department, have had conversations with the governor, the county executive, and many other regional leaders, making sure we’re sharing visions,” she said.

Spencer and her transition team have also met with Mayor Jones and her administration.

“It was generous of her team to sit down with us and share some things and we’re grateful for that opportunity,” Spencer said.

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When asked if she would like to see current St. Louis Police Chief Robert Tracy remain on the job, Spencer expressed support for the chief. She said her administration would also be looking for any legal avenues to challenge the recent move by state lawmakers to shift more control of the department to governor-appointed board.

When asked if she would be making changes to the leadership of the St. Louis Development Corporation, an agency that’s come under fire for its use of ARPA funding, Spencer said there are still technical and legal issues to navigate.

Mayor-elect Spencer will be sworn in on Tuesday, April 15. She’ll become the forty-eighth person to serve as the city’s mayor since the office was formed in April 1823.

Members of the mayor-elect’s transition committees include (listed in alphabetical order):

Pastor Andre Alexander – President, Tabernacle Community Development Corporation
Patrick Brown – Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman, President & CEO, Ameren Corporation
Anna Crosslin – Retired President & CEO, International Institute of St. Louis
Haliday Douglas – President & CEO, St. Louis Public Schools Foundation
Audrey Ellermann – President, Covenant Blu Grand Center Neighborhood Association; President, Brickline North CDC
Bill Etling – Senior Vice President, Nestlé Purina North America
Bridget Flood – Executive Director, Incarnate Word Foundation
Dr. Alexander Garza, MD, MPH – Chief Community Health Officer, SSM Health
Leslie Gill – President & CEO, Rung for Women
Lesley Hoffarth – President and Executive Director, Forest Park Forever
Peter Hoffman – Managing Attorney for Neighborhood Advocacy, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Dr. Stacy Gee Hollins, Ph.D. – Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Dean, Anheuser-Busch School of Business, Harris-Stowe State University
Robert Holmes – Chairman & CEO, Commerce Bancshares St. Louis
Tim Huffman, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor, Saint Louis University
Laura Hughes – Founder & CEO, Fleur De Lis Development Corporation; Board Member, International Institute of St. Louis
Jon-Pierre (JP) Mitchom – Director of Equity and Inclusion, Saint Louis Priory School
Julie Murphy – Managing Principal, JFM Strategies, LLC
Brian Phillips – Assistant Vice Chancellor, Washington University Medical Center; Investment Committee, Arch to Park
Jeff Pittman, Ph.D. – Chancellor, Saint Louis Community College
Don Pohl – President, Ranken Technical College
Gabriela Ramírez-Arellano – VP, Entrepreneurship, Cortex Innovation District
Dr. Will Ross, MD, MPH – Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine and Principal Officer for Community Partnerships, Washington University School of Medicine
Steve Smith – Founder & CEO, New + Found
Jayvn Solomon – Founding Director and Creative Strategist, Lotus Labs & Loutopia
Dr. Cheryl Watkins, MBA – President & CEO, YWCA Metro St. Louis
Stephen Westbrooks – Executive Director of Southern Region, IFF
Michael Wolff – Former Judge and Chief Justice, Missouri Supreme Court; Professor and Dean Emeritus, Saint Louis University Law School
Paul Woodruff – Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, St. Louis Community Credit Union