ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.– St. Louis County Executive Sam Page will separate himself from his medical practice starting today. The move comes one day after voters in St. Louis County gave resounding approval to a ballot measure that bars the County Executive from having outside employment.

“Dr. Page will follow the Charter, as amended by voters yesterday,” a campaign spokesman confirmed to Spectrum News Wednesday afternoon. While election results will not be certified until April 19 at the latest, Page’s campaign said he was separating himself from his medical practice effective Wednesday.

Critics have pressed Page, an anesthesiologist, with a medical practice tied to Mercy Hospital, for what they believe violates the county charter even before Tuesday’s election. The issue has led to court fights for access to documents detailing how much work Page has done as a doctor, particularly since the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020. 

Page did not address Tuesday’s results in a thirty-minute “State of the County” address delivered Wednesday on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The speech was to have been held in January but was delayed due to COVID.

Page faces an August primary challenge from lawyer Jane Dueker, who declared her campaign on the final day of filing, saying the county needed someone who was dedicated to the job on a full-time basis. While there were no overt references to the campaign or the ballot question, Page did speak of tuning “out the noise meant to distract us,” and staying the course.