Join Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed for a virtual Town Hall

To participate in the Wednesday, Jan. 20 Town Hall or the Thursday, Jan. 21 Town Hall

- Register Online through Zoom Here

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

- Dial in to the meeting by calling phone number: 312-626-6799 

Webinar ID: 849 2462 4011

Please submit any questions for the Town Hall for St. Louis Seniors to [email protected] or call 314-900-2002

You can also watch the town hall LIVE on Facebook

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.”

Throughout the years, we've accomplished a lot of good for St. Louis. But, there is still more work to be done.

Below are just a few of the items we've accomplished together:

• Public Safety. Launched the initiative and secured funding to bring the Cure Violence program to St. Louis. The program is proven to reduce homicides by 50% or more. He also formed a partnership with Crimestoppers to create a robust marketing campaign specific to solving homicides in the City to help get murderers off the streets and increased the reward amounts for tips related to solving homicides. Reed also established a partnership with the St. Louis Fire Department and Lock It For Love to provide free gun locks to residents of the City. 
  
  
• Tackled Illegal Guns. Worked with MOMs Demand Action for Common Sense Gun Laws and Everytown for Gun Safety to sponsor a law that established reporting requirements for failed background checks on gun sales. It passed unanimously by the Board of Aldermen. He also sponsored a gun buyback for the City and removed more than 7,500 weapons from the streets.
  
  
• Police Reform. Sponsored and passed an ordinance establishing a police use of force policy including: banning no knock warrants, reporting requirements for use of force incidents, training mandates, financial and management audits of SLMPD. The law passed unanimously. 
  
  
• COVID-19. Established a special committee of the Board of Aldermen to handle issues specific to COVID-19, including the oversight of CARES Act funds. Reed also hosted multiple free COVID-19 testing sites and public safety resource fairs in North St. Louis. He also secured an additional $1.2M in funding for small businesses to help recover from the affects of COVID on their business. Gathered unanimous support from the Board of Aldermen and pushed for the Governor to initiate an executive order to classify grocery workers, pharmacy technicians, sanitation workers and janitors as first responders.
  
  
• Supported Victims of Crime. Annually joins families who have lost loved ones in the City to violence for a special candlelight vigil to honor their lives and bring awareness to solving crimes in our City. President Reed also facilitates the Crime Victim Compensation program through his office. The program can provide eligible crime victims with up to $50,000 for items such as funeral costs, counseling, lost wages etc. due to being a victim of crime. 
  
  
• Police Body Cameras. For years, Reed pushed for the implementation of body cameras within our police department. In 2020, he initiated the process of making a selection of a vendor for body cameras and pushed for the implementation. 
  
  
• Sustaining our Environment. Sponsored the "no idling law" for the City. 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. In 2019, the Board of Aldermen passed the most aggressive building codes for the City of St. Louis to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our City. 
  
  
• Economic Development. President Reed passed legislation to establish Ordinance 70748, which directs the St. Louis Development Corporation to create a plan to advance our City forward and generate more revenue. Reed spearheaded legislation that produced the best Minority Participation contract this City has ever seen. He also sponsored and passed legislation that will increase facilities for youth, aid in the revitalization of the Northside and tackle issues of family and domestic violence in our City. He supported legislation and the established a first ever fund for stabilizing vacant city-owned buildings. This effort, known as Proposition NS for "neighborhood stabilization," will generate up to $6m each year for direct investments in highest-need neighborhoods, attracting private investment in areas that have declined for many decades. 
  
  
• Small Business Support. On June 1, hundreds of businesses in our City were damaged. Within 24 hours, Reed organized a citywide cleanup, called Restore STL, to help these businesses. And within a week, he raised more than $40,000 to help them repair and restore. 
  
  
• MLS4THELOU. Against all odds Reed successfully led the effort within city government to bring major league soccer to St. Louis. Although initially the idea was met with resistance from city leaders, Reed ultimately garnered overwhelming support successfully pushing through the adoption of the measure. 
  
  
• 21st Century Education. President Reed launched a partnership with Sprint and the Sprint 1Million Program to address the “Homework Gap” for some area students. The program was introduced into the St. Louis Public Schools. 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.​
  
  
• Revitalizing Washington Avenue. 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.
  
  
• Government Transparency. He was the first to bring transparency to the Board of Aldermen requiring all meetings to be recorded and streamed live online. 
  
  
• Bike St. Louis. 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. 
  
  
• Juneteenth. Sponsored a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a paid holiday for City employees. 2021 will be the first year for the day to be a recognized city holiday. 

"For years, I have had a front row seat to the Mayor’s office. I have led the City through some of the most difficult times in recent history. I want to continue to build upon those accomplishments as your next Mayor. I will hit the ground running, on DAY ONE.

I am the only candidate with a proven record of working to reduce crime in our City; taking illegal guns off the streets; creating good high paying jobs; supporting our workers and small businesses; standing up for homeowners who are at-risk of foreclosure; increasing government transparency and accountability; protecting our environment; and preserving the unique character of our neighborhoods and much more.

Over the years, we’ve achieved many things together. But, there is still more work to be done. Together, we will make St. Louis a better place for all of us to live, work, and play."

-Lewis E. Reed

President, Board of Aldermen
Candidate for Mayor