CLAYTON — St. Louis County Executive Sam Page on Thursday endorsed Terry Wilson, a Jennings councilman running to unseat Councilwoman Rita Heard Days in the August primary.
Councilwoman Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, and Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, also endorsed Wilson against Days, a former state representative who joined the council in 2019.
In return, Wilson endorsed Page, who faces a Democratic primary challenger in longtime police attorney and lobbyist Jane Dueker.
Meanwhile, Councilman Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, said in a tweet Thursday that he would join a fundraiser for Days with St. Louis Aldermanic President Lewis Reed. Reed, a Democrat, had been a 2019 candidate for mayor against Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, whom Page had endorsed.
The alliances are hardly a surprise to county political observers after more than a year of bitter division between Page and Days.
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Days broke with a four-person Democratic majority in 2020 over disputes between Page and her predecessor on the council, Hazel Erby, while also slamming the county’s COVID-19 response in north St. Louis County.
Since 2021, Days has led a bipartisan majority that includes Fitch, Councilman Mark Harder, R-7th District, and Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-4th District.
Webb unseated former Page ally Rochelle Walton Gray in 2020. In early 2021, Page sued to block the election of Days as council chair instead of Clancy. Days and the new council majority prevailed. The relationship between the four and Page has not improved since then, and they have clashed on a range of issues, including mask mandates and the spending of federal pandemic aid.
Wilson on Thursday said his endorsement from Clancy and Dunaway was “demonstrating he will have allies on the council to help get things done for North County.â€
Wilson, who announced his campaign last summer, is director of the and a former Jennings School District board member.
He was part of a group of North County officials who, in August, issued a flyer supporting a countywide mask mandate in response to a County Council 5-2 vote to reject a mask order by Page. Days and Webb joined three council Republicans to reject the mask mandate. Weeks later, they reversed course, and joined Clancy and Dunaway in voting 4-3 to uphold the mask order.
Wilson said he was “proud†to have Page’s endorsement, though he said he and Page “have not always seen eye to eye.â€
That appeared to refer to his 2020 endorsement of Mark Mantovani, a Ladue businessman who was among three Democratic challengers to Page in that year’s August primary. Wilson appeared in a Mantovani campaign ad blasting Page’s COVID-19 response, including a decision to spend $2 million in federal aid on an emergency morgue. Page defeated the primary challengers to win election to complete two years of a term vacated by Steve Stenger.
On Thursday, Wilson said in a statement that Page “has shown great leadership throughout the pandemic with providing direct assistance to North County including direct rental assistance, utility assistance, free COVID testing, vaccine deployment, and more.â€
“Sam Page is a leader that shows up in North County and works with local leaders to listen and to solve problems, Dr. Page understands that community policing and fighting crime are our top issue for many of us in North County and he has taken steps to making our communities safer. We have not always seen eye to eye on issues but Sam Page is always willing to work with me to find solutions and get things done. Our campaign is powered by the people for the people and I am proud to have County Executive Page on our team!â€
In a statement, Page said Wilson “isn’t interested in political headlines.â€
“Terry’s work with Beyond Housing, on the Jennings School Board, and as Councilman in Jennings has shown me that he serves the community with passion, integrity, and dedication,†Page said. “He isn’t interested in political headlines. He is interested in getting results for the people.â€
Wilson’s campaign also listed endorsements from a group of North County mayors: Jennings Mayor Yolanda Austin, Wellston Mayor Nathaniel Griffin, Berkeley Mayor Babatunde Deinbo, and Dellwood mayor Reggie Jones.