ST. LOUIS — Opponents of airport privatization rallied around Alderman Cara Spencer on Monday to push back against a petition drive to recall Spencer, a vocal critic of airport privatization. The petition drive is headed by the same company that gathered signatures to put airport privatization on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Josie Grillas, a spokeswoman for STL Not for Sale, said the petition drive is meant to intimidate elected officials and activists opposing a plan to lease St. Louis Lambert International Airport to a private operator.
“It’s time we as a community stand up and say this is unacceptable, that we will not stand for this manipulation of democracy in St. Louis,†Grillas said at a rally with Spencer, Alderman Dan Guenther, D-9th Ward, and residents of the city’s 20th Ward in south St. Louis.
The group, which says private Lambert operators would put profits ahead of public interest, vowed to support Spencer in canvassing the ward and helping anyone who signed the petition legally retract their support.
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Their opposition to the recall effort also drew support Monday from Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Comptroller Darlene Green, and Aldermen Annie Rice, Jeffrey Boyd, Megan Green and Brandon Bosley.
“Today it’s Cara Spencer, but it could be another ward a different day and we are here to say that if you oppose privatization, if you believe in the public’s interests, STL Not for Sale has your back,†Grillas said.
The petition drive is run by Metropolitan Strategies and Solutions, a company hired by the privatization committee to gather signatures to get airport privatization on the same Nov. 3 ballot. That effort was largely funded by Pelopidas, a firm tied to political megadonor Rex Sinquefield.
Metropolitan Strategies and Solutions was also hired to work on the city government’s previous study of Lambert privatization that was halted last December by Mayor Lyda Krewson.
LeJuan Strickland, the company’s owner, said Friday that Pelopidas isn’t involved in the recall effort, which is self-funded. He denied he was trying to influence aldermen to vote for a similar Lambert privatization measure.
Strickland, who is Black, has said that Spencer, who is white, hasn’t done enough to engage with residents of the Black-majority ward. Advocates for privatization have touted a potential $1 billion that a Lambert lease could provide, some of which could help address racial and economic disparities in the city.
In a lengthy statement, Strickland on Monday repeated a challenge to Spencer to offer alternatives to airport privatization for funding improvements to poorer, Black areas in the city.
“I am not doing this out of vengeance or malicious intent because she does not believe in a public-private partnership at the airport,†Strickland said. “I am doing it because she has not offered any other alternatives that could generate revenue that could bring about transformational change in the economically depressed parts of the city, including parts of her own ward. … Minorities in this city have been getting the short end of the political stick for so long, and I do feel that it is time for the minority residents of the 20th Ward to choose representation that is more reflective and responsive of their needs and values.â€
Strickland said accusations that the recall petition was started at the behest of Sinquefield were “a racist trope.â€
â€Some of my critics are saying that I am a henchman for Rex Sinquefield,†Strickland said. “As if a Black man from St. Louis cannot have an independent thought or must be a puppet to some old white man? It’s time to retire these age-old and racist tropes.â€
Spencer, who is running for mayor next year, has said the airport plan would not be an effective way to aid poorer areas and that privatization backers are motivated by profit. The recall effort is run by people outside her ward who are giving residents spurious reasons for signing the petition, Spencer said.
“We have a rich billionaire who is paying people presumably to flood the streets of the 20th Ward ... lying to the general public about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it,†Spencer said, referring to Sinquefield.
“Recalls are designed specifically for residents to stand up to egregious acts of misconduct by their elected officials,†she said.
Tony Turner, a Black resident of the ward, was among a handful of residents who spoke in support of Spencer. The alderman has been responsive to residents’ concerns and active in improving the ward, he said.
â€She really does the thing that needs to get done,†he said. “I’m with her 100%.â€
Curtis York, a Black business owner who runs Kuts by Kurtis barbershop on Cherokee Street, also voiced his support.
“She put my faith back in being involved in our own community,†he said.
In a statement, Comptroller Darlene Green, also a vocal opponent of airport privatization, said the petition drive was an attempt to intimidate voters.
“We must reject any and all attempts to threaten or harass elected officials who will stand up to special interests,†Green said.
Spencer has represented the ward since 2015, when she unseated longtime Alderman Craig Schmid in the Democratic primary. In March 2019, she defeated a primary challenge from Satia Hutton by a 40-point margin, winning 70% of the vote, or 660 votes.
“If residents in the ward thought Ald. Spencer should not be there, then she would have been voted out,†Alderman Brandon Bosley, D-Ward 3, said in a written statement opposing the recall effort.
“Myself and Ald. Spencer may not always see eye to eye on issues, but she stands for what she believes in and I can support any legislator like that. I do not support her recall and I do not think it is being done for legitimate reasons.â€
To qualify the recall for the ballot, petitioners need to gather more than 1,100 signatures of 20th Ward registered voters, according to the Election Board.
Updated at 8:40 p.m. Monday with comment from LeJuan Strickland.
