ST. LOUIS  — Aldermanic President Lewis Reed is now a declared candidate for mayor, saying he will sign up to run in the March 2 primary when the filing period opens Monday.
Reed, who on Nov. 6 had said he was highly likely to run, announced his candidacy in a late Saturday night.
In the message, he thanked people who contacted him asking to sign petitions to get him on the ballot.
"I've heard you loud & clear," Reed said. "I am excited and honored to file for office on Monday."
Ó£ÌÒÊÓƵ - THANK YOU!
— Lewis E. Reed (@PresReed)
Thank you for all of the messages, emails and phone calls asking to sign my petition to be on the ballot in March. I've heard you loud & clear. I am excited and honored to file for office on Monday to run as your next Mayor!
Reed joins City Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Alderman Cara Spencer and Dana Kelly as candidates to succeed Mayor Lyda Krewson, who said last week she wouldn't seek a second four-year term.
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Other candidates also may enter the race.
Reed did not detail any policy proposals in his brief statement but had said in November that the city has a "massive opportunity to turn the corner in a big way'' and that it's a lot easier to do that from the mayor's office.
Reed, 58, has run twice before for mayor. In 2013, he was defeated by incumbent Francis Slay in the Democratic primary. In 2017, he finished third behind Krewson, the winner, and Jones, who came in second in the primary. In those years, Slay and Krewson won easy victories in the general election.
Under a new system adopted by city voters earlier this month, candidates for municipal offices will be listed without party labels on the ballot.
The top two vote-getters in the primary will face each other in a runoff in the April general election.
In another change, people can vote — or "approve" — as many candidates for an office as they want in the primary under a procedure called "approval voting."
