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Lyda Krewson to become St. Louis’ first woman mayor

St. Louis Public Radio | By Jo Mannies
Published April 4, 2017 at 10:30 PM CDT

A woman will take over the St. Louis mayor’s office — a first in the city’s more than 250-year history.

DemocratLydaKrewson, the28thWard alderman since 1997, beat Republican Andrew Jones and four other candidates in Tuesday’s general election.

Her victory was expected in the majority-Democrat city and it was greater thanher 888-vote win in the seven-way Democratic primary.Krewson won with 67.54 percent of the vote.

"As runners say, we ran through the tape tonight," Krewson said. "We shattered a ceiling tonight. And together, we made an historic moment right here in the city of St. Louis."

She said she'll begin assembling her mayoral staff Wednesday, but hasn't conducted any interviews yet. She also said that public safety remains her top priority.

First thing is to build a smart energetic team that wants to really help move the agenda forward. It’s two weeks until the swearing-in," Krewson said. "That’s not very long.”

Krewsonhad the backing of outgoing Mayor Francis Slay, as well as several other prominent city leaders.

A historical side note:Krewsonwon the office 130 years to the day thatArgonia, Kansas’, Susanna Salter became the first woman to be elected mayor in the United States.

The other candidates in the general election were:JohnathanMcFarland with the Green Party, Libertarian Robb Cunningham and independents Tyrone Austin and Larry Rice.Loading...

Follow Jo on Twitter: @jmannies

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Lyda Krewson poses with attendees at her election night watch party.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Lyda Krewson poses with attendees at her election night watch party.
Lyda Krewson hugs her husband, Mike Owens, after delivering her acceptance speech.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Lyda Krewson hugs her husband, Mike Owens, after delivering her acceptance speech.
Mayor Francis Slay greets attendees at Lyda Krewson's election night watch party.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Mayor Francis Slay greets attendees at Lyda Krewson's election night watch party.
Lyda Krewson dances with relatives, supporters and campaign staff after delivering her acceptance speech.
Carolina Hidalgo | St. Louis Public Radio /
Lyda Krewson dances with relatives, supporters and campaign staff after delivering her acceptance speech.
Missouri News
Jo Mannies
Jo Mannies has been covering Missouri politics and government for almost four decades, much of that time as a reporter and columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She was the first woman to cover St. Louis City Hall, was the newspaper’s second woman sportswriter in its history, and spent four years in the Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau. She joined the St. Louis Beacon in 2009. She has won several local, regional and national awards, and has covered every president since Jimmy Carter. She scared fellow first-graders in the late 1950s when she showed them how close Alaska was to Russia and met Richard M. Nixon when she was in high school. She graduated from Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, and was the daughter of a high school basketball coach. She is married and has two grown children, both lawyers. She’s a history and movie buff, cultivates a massive flower garden, and bakes banana bread regularly for her colleagues.
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