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ST. LOUIS — For nearly 30 years, Comptroller Darlene Green has been a fixture at City Hall.

The closest she came to losing a campaign was in 1996, when she narrowly beat alderman Jim Shrewsbury in a special election. That was less than a year after then-Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., appointed her to finish the term of then-Comptroller Virvus Jones — current Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ father — who went to prison on federal tax charges.

Green has cruised to reelection ever since, winning over 60% of the vote or facing no opposition. But now, she is facing perhaps her strongest challenge since that 1996 special election.

One challenger is Donna Baringer, who represented southwest St. Louis first as an alderwoman for nearly 14 years and then in the Missouri House for the last eight. She argues it’s time for change in one of the city’s most important offices. And political newcomer Celeste Metcalf touts her accounting background in the private and public sectors, including jobs in state government, City Hall and St. Louis Public Schools.

Voters will go to the polls Tuesday to pare the three candidates to two, who will face off in another election April 8.

The comptroller holds real power in the city’s system of spending and budgeting. The position comes with a vote, along with the mayor and aldermanic president, on the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which sets the budget and approves all contracts. The comptroller also signs off on contracts and manages the city’s finance division and internal audits.

Green points to the city’s financial health, good credit rating and growing financial reserves in recent years as evidence of her stewardship and “conservative� budgeting policies. The city’s rainy-day fund has grown from about 5% of general revenue when she took office, Green said, to more than 26% as of last summer.

Her experience navigating tough budget years, particularly through the 2008 financial crisis, could soon come in handy, Green said. Lean years could be ahead as federal pandemic aid dries up and city earnings tax receipts fall because of remote work. Another concern is the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze grants and other federal funding that flows to local governments.

“What we need is a person in government, an independent, elected comptroller... that understands the need and how we’ve done it in the past,� Green said.

Baringer, though, pointed to recent problems in the comptroller’s office, including payment delays to city vendors and reports that Green often wasn’t in the office, something Baringer said was “well known� when she was in City Hall a decade ago.

“There’s so much, and just the little that’s come out in public should be enough for everyone to say it’s time for change,� Baringer said. “After 30 years, I think it’s time for a fresh set of eyes, a fresh set of ideas.�

Metcalf, who worked in the internal audit section of the comptroller’s office in early 2019, echoed the concerns about vendor payments and argued that her background can ensure the city’s finances are better managed. Metcalf has touted her work as a certified public accountant and as an auditor at KPMG, as well as overseeing finances in Jefferson City and City Hall.

“What we’re missing at City Hall is a good accounting infrastructure,� Metcalf said. “I know we bought a new accounting system, like five years ago, but for whatever reason, it’s not functioning.�

‘Not really a politician’

Before Bosley appointed her as comptroller, Green, 69, worked for two years as the city’s budget director and, prior to that, in finance in the Circuit Court clerk’s office.

Green was a surprise choice for comptroller and considered more of a bureaucrat than a politician. She still holds onto that brand.

“I’m not really a politician,� Green said in an interview. “I’m really one who is an accountant, doing an accountant’s job and protecting the taxpayers’ dollars.�

Her political instincts, though, have been on display for the last year. Over the summer, she beat back discussion of a charter proposal to eliminate the Board of Estimate and make the comptroller more of an independent city auditor. By the end of the public process, even the mayor’s office threw its support behind Green — and against a proposal that could have begun to strengthen the city’s weak-mayor system.

But not long after, Green began distancing herself from Jones as discontent grew over the city’s handling of a North Side grant program. Green made an extraordinary appearance at the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to voice her concerns in the weeks following Post-Dispatch coverage of the grants.

And last month, after a winter storm left many residents upset over the city’s snow plowing and response to lingering ice, Green asked why the city hadn’t hired emergency plow contractors. She then marched to the mayor’s office with a television news crew.

Green said the episodes show the value of the comptroller as a standalone office. A finance director who reported to the mayor wouldn’t have spoken out about the grant program and pandemic aid money, she said.

“With these (federal) dollars and the manner in which the North Side grants have been handled, I can tell you that an independent voice is certainly what we have needed,� Green said. “It has made a difference.�

As for the questions about how often she is at City Hall, Green said she is “mindful� her job is “24-7,� and she is always available when needed. And, she said, leaders shouldn’t be behind a desk all day.

“Whether I am in the community or in the office or in my home, I am working,� Green said. “These jobs call you to be in the community.�

Green has also faced criticism, and grumbling among city employees, for the implementation of a new accounting system over the past three years. She has blamed the city’s consultant on the project, Accenture, for some of the problems.

Green said the integration of the new system continues and that the city has cut the time to pay invoices to an average of one week. Green conceded there are still some “kinks� in the system but said they’re improving.

Green, after decades in office, was sitting on a war chest of more than $100,000, having spent about $70,000 already, for this re-election campaign. Recently, she received donations from the Service Employees International Union and from several attorneys who worked for her office or the entity that issues city bonds, which she controls. They include $2,500 from Charles Saulsberry, $5,000 from Herb Hardwick and his Kansas City-based firm, and $2,500 from Karen Jordan of Denton’s.

‘Your job is to be a leader’

Baringer, 62, has leveraged her time in city politics to nearly match Green’s campaign spending power, outraising Green with $111,000 in contributions, compared to the incumbent’s $37,000 for this election. Baringer has also outspent Green, with $99,000 in expenditures reported. But she had less left in the bank — about $50,000, according to finance reports filed Monday.

She has raised money from an array of smaller donors. Her larger contributors include Schlafly Beer founder Tom Schlafly ($1,000), developer Michael Staenberg ($1,000), and car dealers John Schicker and Don Brown ($1,000 each). The St. Louis Police Officer’s Association contributed $2,600.

Baringer pointed to staffing issues in the comptroller’s office — a third of the 105 budgeted positions were vacant as of last summer, according to city reports. She also claims some former employees have told her they left out of frustration and would like to come back.

“We’re talking about an office completely understaffed, completely overwhelmed,� Baringer said.

Baringer is the only candidate without a formal accounting background. But she said she has plenty of experience scrutinizing budgets, including time on the budget committee of the Board of Aldermen and the fiscal review committee in the Missouri House, which analyzes the cost of legislation.

“I’m not an expert on everything, but I can find one,� Baringer said. “This is an elected position, and your job is to be a leader in that position.�

Baringer worked in community development in south St. Louis before winning an aldermanic seat in 2003. She spent nearly 14 years representing the old 16th Ward, centered in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood, before she won a seat in the Missouri House in 2016. She was term-limited out of the House after last session.

Even though she was in the minority party as a Democrat, Baringer said she had good relationships with everyone she worked with in Jefferson City, connections that could prove helpful for St. Louis.

She’s also open to changes at the comptroller’s office. For instance, Baringer said the Gateway Transit Center — the downtown Amtrak and Greyhound Bus station — that has long been under the comptroller’s office should move under the city’s new transportation department.

But first and foremost, Baringer said, the office shouldn’t be an impediment to city business. She said she would make sure contracts are executed promptly and vendors paid quickly.

“I’m gonna look at what doesn’t need to be in that office, I’m gonna look at how to better improve what is in the office and then, of course, make sure that there are not hurdles coming from anywhere within the comptroller’s office for anything that’s beneficial to the city of St. Louis,� Baringer said.

‘A CPA is not a politician’

Metcalf, 68, is running for elected office for the first time.

She is standing on her past work as a CPA and her accounting jobs in the public and private sectors. Most recently, she worked in internal audit in St. Louis Public Schools. She said she was fired a year ago for using profanity after she confronted district leaders about accounting and spending practices. Just a few months later, the school board ousted the superintendent in the wake of Post-Dispatch reporting on the district’s spending and hiring practices.

Early in her career, Metcalf worked at KPMG and in accounting for the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. In the 2000s, she came back to the area and worked to stabilize East St. Louis’ finances after the firm she worked for, Jefferson Wells, was hired to manage the city’s finance department while under state oversight. Later, she took a job in state government overseeing federal aid from the 2009 stimulus package, and then as director of the Missouri Office of Equal Opportunity.

Metcalf, of the Visitation Park neighborhood, has her own accounting firm and has worked as a contractor for several city offices, including treasurer, license collector, board of public service and recorder of deeds. She also had a brief stint in the comptroller’s office as an internal auditor. She declined to discuss her experience there.

She said she would focus on the basics of financial management if elected.

“I’m not getting into politics,� Metcalf said. “A CPA is not a politician. A CPA has to remain independent and objective.�

Metcalf wants to beef up the internal audit division and says it was “unacceptable� that the city struggled to pay invoices on time. Besides ensuring the finance department has proper controls, she said she would focus on economic development, given the comptroller’s role overseeing development incentives.

“I’m development friendly,� Metcalf said.

Metcalf has raised nearly $18,000, most of it in-kind goods and services she contributed to her own campaign. She spent about $12,000 and had about $2,000 cash on hand as of Monday.