Tishaura Jones is the Treasurer of the City of St. Louis, Missouri. She served as a Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the years 2008 to 2012, representing the 63rd District.
Jones' political career began in 2002, when she was appointed Democratic committeewoman of the 8th Ward for the city of St. Louis. Since 2004, Jones has served as Sergeant-at-Arms for the St. Louis City Central Democratic Committee.
Jones was first elected to the Missouri House in November 2008, when she defeated Independent candidate Nels Williams, 85.4% to 14.6%; there was no Republican challenger for the seat. Jones ran unopposed in 2010, to win her second term. She made Missouri political history in November 2010, by becoming the first black woman elected to serve as the House Assistant Minority floor leader. In the House, she served on several committees, including Elementary and Secondary Education, Health Insurance, and the Special Standing Committee on Election Contests. When not involved with her legislative duties, Jones was the Vice-President of Public Finance at Blaylock Robert Van, LLC.
Treasurer of the City of St. Louis
In 2012, Jones ran for the position of Treasurer of the City of St. Louis. In August, during the campaign, she said that her first step would be to bring in a private auditing firm, calling to get rid of the "ghost workers" and a "total house cleaning". In November 2012, she won the general election, with 78% of the vote. One of the "ghost workers", Fred W. Robinson, was convicted of wire fraud charges and submitting false time sheets, and sentenced to two years in prison. Jones was re-elected to a second four-year term in November 2016, with 76% of the vote.
2017 St. Louis Mayoral Election
On November 17, 2016 Jones announced her candidacy for Mayor of St. Louis in the 2017 mayoral election. In the primary elections on March 7, 2017, Jones finished in second place with 30.4% of the vote, losing to Lyda Krewson, who won with 32% of the vote. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated her loss could have been prevented with “a dose of humility,” which would have made her more appealing to voters, which Jones described as ego, patriarchy and sexism, while others suggested the presence of other African-American candidates split the black vote, resulting in her loss. Krewson would go on to win the election on April 4, 2017 with 67.54% of the vote.
