St Louis County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026

A state senator from University City, term-limited out of the Missouri Senate, who in 2018 became the first Black man elected to that chamber in more than two decades, per STLPR. He points to criminal-justice bills passed from the superminority and says the county's budget problems call for an audit rather than a tax increase, per STLPR.

Priorities: Audit county finances rather than raise taxes, per STLPR · Invest in workforce development and youth employment, per STLPR · A more collaborative relationship between the executive and council, per STLPR

St. Louis County's assessor since 2011 and a former state representative who worked for Gov. Bob Holden and Attorney General Jay Nixon, per STLPR. He calls himself a fixer who wants detail-oriented governing and says he would end the county's reliance on one-time funds to plug budget gaps, per STLPR.

Priorities: End reliance on one-time funds to balance the budget, per STLPR · Require large developers, including data centers, to bring their own clean energy, per STLPR · Protect core services like public safety, health, and parks, per STLPR

A state senator from Florissant, first elected in 2020 and Senate Democratic caucus chair since 2023, from a family with deep St. Louis political roots, per STLPR. She has proposed a county call line to help residents with Radiation Exposure Compensation Act claims tied to Manhattan Project era waste, per STLPR.

Priorities: An experienced budget hire and an audit of county spending, per STLPR · A county call line for radiation compensation claims, per STLPR · Listening sessions with front-line county staff, per STLPR

The county's District 3 councilman since 2022 and a former 12-year mayor of Fenton with a 27-year career at Verizon, per STLPR and Spectrum News. He says he would balance the county budget without raising taxes, per Spectrum News.

Priorities: Balance the county budget without raising taxes, per Spectrum News · A change in county government's direction, per Spectrum News · Private-sector budget discipline, per Spectrum News

J D McFarland is on the county's certified candidate list for the County Executive, per the county election authority.

The county's prosecuting attorney since her late-2024 appointment to succeed Wesley Bell, after 18 years in the office, per STLPR. She says her focus on violent crime includes no longer seeking probation-only sentences for gun crimes, paired with pretrial job training and anger management alternatives, per STLPR.

Priorities: Focus prosecutions on violent crime, per STLPR · Pretrial support services as alternatives to incarceration, per STLPR · Managing the office through county budget cuts, per STLPR

A defense attorney with nearly 25 years of trial experience who served as the county's traffic court commissioner from 2022 until launching this campaign, per STLPR. He argues the office should evaluate cases individually rather than apply blanket charging policies, per STLPR.

Priorities: Evaluate cases individually rather than blanket policies, per STLPR · Restore fairness and public trust in the office, per STLPR · Working relationships with the council on budget and staffing, per STLPR

Theo Brown Sr. is on the county's certified candidate list for the Prosecuting Attorney, per the county election authority.

A state representative from St. Ann, term-limited out of the Missouri House, per STLPR. He wants an ombudsman post inside the assessor's office to give residents a direct contact and to work down a backlog of more than 21,000 pending property tax appeals, per STLPR.

Priorities: An ombudsman role for direct resident access, per STLPR · Working down the property tax appeal backlog, per STLPR · Detail-oriented accountability from his committee work, per STLPR

A former state representative from the Spanish Lake area with an applied math degree from Washington University and an MBA from UMSL, who also teaches and preaches at a St. Charles church, per STLPR. He campaigns on making the office's math understandable and challengeable, per STLPR.

Priorities: Public understanding of how assessments are calculated, per STLPR · Transparency and accountability in the office, per STLPR · Applying his math background to mass appraisal, per STLPR

David Messner is on the county's certified candidate list for the County Assessor, per the county election authority.

Austin Brown is on the county's certified candidate list for the County Assessor, per the county election authority.

The council's current chair, first elected to local office in 1985 and to the council in 2019, per STLPR. She points to affordable housing work in Wellston and development near the North Hanley MetroLink station, per STLPR.

Priorities: Affordable housing and economic development projects, per STLPR · The council's independent role in budget decisions, per STLPR · A working relationship with the next executive, per STLPR

A former state representative and senator with 16 years in the legislature, among the earliest political voices on radioactive contamination in north county, per STLPR. She says the council has not been diligent enough about contamination at redevelopment sites, per STLPR.

Priorities: Scrutinize redevelopment sites for contamination, per STLPR · Oppose new taxes on working families, per STLPR · Address mismanagement in county government, per STLPR

Ferguson's former two-term mayor, its first Black mayor, who joined that city's council in 2015 months after the shooting of Michael Brown, per STLPR. She advocates for the Save Lives Now regional anti-violence initiative, per STLPR.

Priorities: Easier resident acquisition of vacant properties, per STLPR · Funding the Save Lives Now initiative, per STLPR · Closer work with departments on the budget, per STLPR

A former state senator and representative who says he passed the state's first income tax cut in nearly a century, and a small business owner raising five children in west county, per a campaign announcement carried by The Missouri Times.

Priorities: Reduce what he calls wasteful county spending, per his campaign announcement · Tax relief and fiscal accountability, per his announcement · Legislative budget-oversight experience, per his announcement

A U.S. Army veteran who deployed to Afghanistan during the 2010 to 2011 surge and earned a Bronze Star, per his campaign site. He describes himself as focused on the bottom line, not politics, per his site.

Priorities: Affordable housing, utilities, and essential services, per his campaign site · Repair and maintain county roads and sidewalks, per his site · Fiscal responsibility and budget transparency, per his site

Lisa Clancy is on the county's certified candidate list for the County Council District 5, per the county election authority.

The District 7 councilman since 2015, who points to the POWERplex in Hazelwood and Gateway Studios in Chesterfield as regional growth wins, per his campaign site. He says he helped create the county's Veterans Treatment Court, per his site.

Priorities: Economic development projects, per his campaign site · Veterans services including the Veterans Treatment Court, per his site · Public safety including catalytic converter theft, per his site

A longtime Democratic Party volunteer who has served on the state party's committee and the county central committee, per his campaign site. He campaigns on fiscal discipline and transit, per his site.

Priorities: Fiscal discipline without new deficits, per his campaign site · Roads, bridges, and public transit, per his site · Public safety and emergency management, per his site