One of my top priorities as mayor is to improve our school systems. I do not want to replace public schools with charter schools. I want to make the Saint Louis Public School system a world class educational system. 

• Retain Full Accreditation Status. I have been working for years to improve our schools. I appointed Richard Gaines to the Special Administrative Board of the SLPS. Through his leadership, SLPS gained full accreditation. I want to continue to have leaders, such as Gaines, involved with SLPS and continue to improve our schools.
  
  
• Take a Broader Approach to Education. We need more wrap around services with our schools. These go hand-in-hand. As mayor, I will work with area nonprofits and our healthcare providers to make sure our programs are meeting the needs of the students. I will add more programs so that students and their families have better access to healthcare, after school programs, tutoring programs and nutritional programs. We will see better results in the classroom. 
  
  
• Use Technology to Our Advantage. We need to have better use of technology in the classroom. I not only want to see wifi in the classroom, but free wi-fi throughout the entire City. I want to create a program where students are given a device to take home in the summer and work on educational programs. The device will connect to the wi-fi and be used to connect to classroom projects. The student will be engaged in learning all year round.
  
  
• Enhance Early Childcare Education. Early childhood education is essential to the growth of our children. As Mayor, I will work to lobby the State of Missouri for more funding for our early childhood centers in St. Louis.

The foundation of my Plan for Progress includes ending gun violence, implementing a smart and aggressive approach to public safety, and creating economic growth through well-planned, data driven, & equitable policies. We will create opportunities for everyone, expand mental health & drug rehabilitation, and increase our population.

Through the equitable economic growth strategy, we will increase the City’s population by 30,000 residents by 2030; exceed the national growth rate in jobs and payrolls among our key industries; close existing opportunity, employment, wage, entrepreneurship, and wealth gaps for women and people of color; achieve sustainable long-term tax revenue growth for the city; and address environmental inequality. 

My plan sets forth a vision to create collaborative opportunities for development and investment that benefit all the City’s people and neighborhoods

The framework is intended to link other related economic development plans, thereby creating a unified approach to equitable economic growth in the city.

The purpose is to position the City on a path toward a resilient economy to drive investment and growth in the city and position St. Louis to compete regionally and globally in its key economic clusters. 

This requires understanding potential opportunities to grow place-based, neighborhood-serving businesses like grocery stores, daycares, retailers and restaurants; and regional serving businesses such as facilities management, warehousing, and temporary help services. In doing so, the neighborhood focused economic growth strategy will increase foot travel and the regional serving businesses will draw more activity to the City. 

In addition, I will focus on growing industries that offer opportunities for residents - particularly in the healthcare sector, where more than half of those jobs are accessible to people who do not have a college degree. This will give a meaningful economic opportunity for a lot of St. Louis residents and workers and will work to achieve sustainable long-term tax revenue growth for the city. By advancing these industries, we can create a more vibrant and equitable economy.

COVID-19 has taken a major toll on us all. We have a long road to recovery, but I am confident we will come out of this stronger than ever. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated severe and pervasive health and social inequities in our City. It is impossible to change the course of the pandemic without tackling it in the hardest-hit areas of our City.  In order to identify and eliminate health and social inequities resulting in disproportionately higher rates of exposure, illness, and death, I will take on a citywide effort to address health equity. We must take swift action to prevent and remedy differences in COVID-19 care and outcomes within communities of color and other underserved populations.

COVID-19 Recovery Task Force. As a part of my recovery plan from COVID-19, I will establish a COVID-19 Recovery Task Force. The Task Force shall provide specific recommendations for mitigating the health inequities caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future. It will also focus on providing opportunities for residents to get connected health workforce training programs and other career advancement programs and more. 

Distribute vaccines fairly, orderly, and expeditiously. There are many concerns related to the vaccine distribution. Many are concerns related to the issues of mobility and access. We need to make sure that when the next round of vaccines come into our possession that it is distributed efficiently and effectively.  I’m currently working with the City Department of Health to coordinate a better line of communication and collaboration between the Health Department and the members of the Board of Aldermen related to the vaccine distribution process. I am also working with the Missouri State Department of Health to coordinate mass vaccination sites in areas of town where people may not have easy access to the current vaccination sites. As Mayor, I will continue to ensure the vaccines are distributed as fairly, orderly and expeditiously as possible 

Build back and grow Small Businesses. COVID-19 has changed the way that our businesses operate, especially with newly adopted work-from-home practices. We need to use this to our advantage and accelerate the development of local and state tools to assemble and clean land and create marketable turn-key sites that can support growth. Making better use of land in the city can also help boost commercial property tax revenues, which currently account for only a small portion of city revenues. I will continue to help fund our small business sector and help them recover from this looming recession. 

Housing and Mortgage Assistance. As Mayor, I will work to provide additional funds for Residential Rental & Housing Assistance programs and work to increase the amount of funding in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. 

Together, we will get through the pandemic and build a path forward for our city. The foundation of my Plan for Progress includes ending gun violence, implementing a smart and aggressive approach to public safety, and creating economic growth through well-planned, data driven, & equitable policies. We will create opportunities for everyone, expanding mental health & drug rehabilitation, and increase our population.

EQUITABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH STRATEGY

A Plan to:

-Increase the City’s population by 30,000 residents by 2030.

-Exceed the national growth rate in jobs and payrolls among our key industries.

-Close existing opportunity, employment, wage, entrepreneurship, and wealth gaps for women and people of color.

-Achieve sustainable long-term tax revenue growth for the city.

-Neighborhood Focused Development to bring fresh food, safe greenspace, and attainable jobs to every neighborhood.

-Address environmental inequality

-Equitable delivery of city services

-Create an Environment for our children to thrive

 AGGRESSIVE FOCUS ON VIOLENT CRIME

−Cure Violence model as a proactive approach to prevent violent disputes

−Latest technology to solve murders, assaults, and kidnappings

−Build Trust and Increase Rewards for more citizen engagement

−A government-wide approach to public safety that will align departmental strategies and projects with a focus on reducing the causes of violent crime

EXPAND SOCIAL SERVICES & TREAT GUN VIOLENCE AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

−Expand Cure Violence, Cops & Clinicians, and other non-police approaches to crime

−Route 911 calls to social workers when police are not necessary

−Expand services for Mental Health, Drug Rehab, & Re-Entry programs

−Shift social service and mental health burden from Police to trained professionals

REBUILD AFTER COVID

−Distribute vaccines fairly, orderly, and expeditiously

−Build back and grow Small Businesses

−Fund Residential Rental & Housing Assistance 

−Remove Racial Health Disparities

−COVID regulations based on science

−Expand Mental Health Services for school age children

ENHANCE OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

−Retain Full Accreditation Status

−Take a Broader Approach to Education & Invest More in Wraparound Services

−Use Technology to Our Advantage & Expand Broadband throughout the City

−Enhance Early Childcare Education 

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Thank you for supporting Lewis Reed for Mayor! 

Lewis E. Reed began his public service career working for the City of St. Louis as the 6th Ward Alderman. As Alderman, Reed drafted and passed the legislation to revitalize the Lafayette Square neighborhood and worked with the neighborhood to make the redevelopment decisions.   

By adopting a real vision for the 6th Ward, Reed sponsored legislation and worked to create development plans that ultimately resulted in over $1.7 billion of new development to the City of St. Louis and added hundreds of new housing units throughout the 6th Ward and contributed to the rebirth of Washington Avenue, which created the numerous loft living spaces available today.
 
In 2007, he became President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and the first African-American elected to be President of the Board of Aldermen in the history of the Board. As President of the Board of Aldermen, he manages and leads the entire Board of Aldermen towards working for the residents and the future of the City of St. Louis. He is currently serving his fourth term and is the longest serving President of the Board of Aldermen in the City's history. 

In his time in office, President Reed has passed thousands of laws for the City of St. Louis. He has championed many causes and continues to work tirelessly for the people of St. Louis. He founded Bike St. Louis, a bike lane program that promotes active and civic wellness throughout the City of St. Louis. Today, it has over 130 miles of bike path throughout the City and County. 

Most recently, President Reed has been responsible for passing legislation addressing crime prevention and creating opportunities for at-risk youth. He worked to increase funding for our recreation centers. In 2018, President Reed sponsored and passed legislation that will grow economic opportunities for the City, increase facilities for youth and will aid in the revitalization of the northside.

He's fought for police reform and sponsored a bill that passed unanimously that established a use of force policy for SLMPD. He also successfully brought body cameras to our officers for their safety and to improve community relations. 

He also brought the online neighborhood community platform, Nextdoor, to the City of St. Louis to help engage the community and prevent crime. He has created a $1 million recurring youth crime prevention fund, and he sponsored a Gun by Gun buy-back program, which allowed for weapons to be sold back to the City to be destroyed by the police. In one day, the program removed 7,500 guns off the street. 

He was the first to bring transparency to the Board of Aldermen requiring all meetings to be recorded and streamed live online. He also passed the first cyberbullying law in the City of St. Louis.

President Reed has been working hard to create funds for seniors. By sponsoring Prop S, and after voter approval, seniors are able to live independently for as long as possible with assistance from these funds.

In 2018, President Reed stood up for the “Dreamers” and sponsored legislation which recognized and took a stand against President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The legislation encouraged Congress to pass a legislative solution to protect those who are affected by the President’s decision to terminate the program. 

President Reed has been a champion for our environment. In 2017, President Reed joined in support of the Paris Climate Agreement and he sponsored legislation to commit the City to 100 percent clean energy in the form of wind and solar and energy efficiency measures within the electricity sector by 2035. Since then, the City has taken steps to make equitable, cost-effective changes for our environment and residents. 

Last year, President Reed launched a partnership with Sprint and the Sprint 1Million Program to address the “Homework Gap” for students within our public school system. The program allowed high school students who do not have reliable Internet access at home reach their full potential, by giving them mobile devices and free high-speed Internet access. More than 1,500 students were able to complete their homework at home and learn during the summer months. President Reed also played a key role in obtaining accreditation for the St. Louis Public Schools. 

President Reed has taken steps to tackle the issues of family and domestic violence in our community by establishing a domestic violence fund and partnership with the St. Louis Family Violence Council. 

Before entering public service, Reed had a successful career in the private sector. He was the Director of Networks for the Edison Brothers Stores’ worldwide operations. He also served as the Manager of Data Networks for SSM Health Businesses. He attended Southern Illinois University on a wrestling scholarship where he majored in Mathematics and Computer Science.  

In 2007, President Reed was selected by the Aspen Institute in a national search for the very best, brightest, and most promising members of America's emerging political leaders and named as an Aspen-Rodel Fellow. He has received many awards including: St. Louis Magazine, Cool 13; Gateway Classic, Citizen of the Year 2008; St. Louis Argus, 2007 Distinguished Citizen; St. Louis Port Council, Able Helmsman Award; 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Conference, Man of the Year; Cardinal Glennon Hospital, Champion for Children; and the St. Louis Business Journal, 2009 Inclusive Leadership. 

President Reed lives in the Compton Heights neighborhood with his wife of over 20 years. He has two sons and two daughters and a one grandson.

The city Board of Aldermen overwhelmingly approved a resolution Friday that outlines tax incentives for a proposed Major League Soccer stadium downtown.

Vice News: With 50 US Cities Committed to 100 Percent Clean Energy, 2018 Presents New Renewable Challenges

St. Louis, for example, is just beginning that journey. In October 2017, city aldermen unanimously passed a resolution to transition to renewable energy by 2035. City Council President Lewis Reed was the resolution’s sponsor and he told VICE Impact it’s an issue with personal as well as political resonance.“I suffer from chronic allergies and I have two kids with asthma,” he says. “So I have always been a staunch advocate for having a cleaner environment and using more renewable sources of energy.”