ST. LOUIS—Two members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Cara Spencer and Joe Vollmer are off to “bigger and better things” and they received standing ovations along with words of appreciation during their last board meeting on Monday, April 14, 2025.

“Being an alder-person is truly an honor,” said Spencer, who’s represented St. Louis residents for a decade. “It’s an honor and privilege to be able to serve our citizens. We do some of the hardest work being so close to our communities. We’re the first person our residents call when a pothole doesn’t get filled or when something other breaks down in city government structure.”

Joe Vollmer is retiring after serving for decades.

“Most of you were in grade school when I got elected,” said Vollmer, who’s represented St. Louis citizens since 2003. “It’s been my honor to represent the people in my neighborhoods—as an alderman, you’re boots on the ground, face to face with the problems every day. You are the person that they call. In fact, (Vollmer pulls out his cell phone) as I’m standing here, I have two abandoned cars and three speed bump requests at this moment. You truly can help people and make a change in their lives so they can believe that government can work and the city can work for them.”

Vollmer intended to retire a few years ago but a bribery scandal involving then-President Board of Aldermen, Lewis Reed, resulted in Vollmer taking up interim President of the board until Megan Green was elected.

“(Vollmer) got the work done. He did it with a smile and usually a pretty good joke,” said Thomas Oldenburg, Alderman for the second ward. “It’s also been a pleasure to witness your love of this city. You wear it and you wear it every day. It’s inspiring.”

Mayor-elect Cara Spencer will be sworn in on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, for a four-year term as the Mayor of St. Louis.

Mayor Tishaura Jones and the Board of Aldermen frequently pointed fingers at each other for the past couple years over various city problems.

Spencer spoke to the importance of the two working together.

“Our city’s success depends on all of us working together and I'm not moving far. I'm just moving across the hall,” said Spencer. “My door is always open, it's so important that the board of Aldermen and the Mayor's office agree on the big initiatives. That we figure out the overlap in values, where we want to see our city go and to work together to do that.”

While congratulating Spencer, many aldermen spoke about looking forward to working with her and to her past successes as an alderwoman including her fight against the privatization of the airport and how she handled the CVPA shooting.

“I think that you’ll care about all parts of the city. I know your kindness. I know your backstory,” spoke an emotional Sharon Tyus, alderwoman for ward 12. “I’m very proud that you’re going to be the next mayor of the City of St. Louis—I think you’re going to be one of the ones I’m proud of because I think you’re going to show the city that you represent the city, the entire city, not the progressives, not the blacks, not the whites, not the conservatives, all corners of the city.”

“We share a mutual interest and love of this city and its success,” said Shane Cohn, aldermen for the third ward. “You have my support in room 200 and I look forward to working with you the next four years.”

“I’m going to miss your scrappiness,” said RaSheen Aldridge, alderman for ward 14. “I look forward to working with you as you transition into room 200 to move our city forward, to move our community forward and try to positive ways to bring positivity to the City of St. Louis.”

Spencer later announced hiring decisions including Major Shawn Dace to be her director of Public Safety, a position held by Charles Coyle under Mayor Jones.

The other announced hiring decisions are listed below.

New members of Spencer’s administration:

• Major Shawn Dace, Director, Public Safety
• Connie Johnson, Director, St. Louis Agency on Training & Employment (SLATE)
• Robert Herleth, Interim Chief Operating Officer
• Julian Nicks, Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer
• Dan Guenther, Liaison to Board of Alderman
• Michael Garvin, Interim City Counselor

Members of the Mayor Jones’ Office that will continue to serve:

• Gilberto Pinela, Director, Office of New Americans
• Jonathan Strong, Interim Chief Inclusive Growth Officer
• Casey Millberg, Director, Policy
• Rasmus Jorgensen, Interim Deputy Director, Communications 
• Rochelle Pruitt, Executive Assistant to Mayor 
• Denise Roberts, Executive Secretary
• Krizia Lopez, Workforce Innovation & Strategy Lead (Bloomberg Fellow)

Additional civic leaders serving on transition advisory committees. The most current list includes: 

• Pastor Andre Alexander - President, Tabernacle Community Development Corporation
• Patrick Brown - Chief of Staff, Office of the Chairman, President & CEO, Ameren Corporation
• Kathy Connors - Executive Director, Gateway180; Chairperson, St. Louis City Continuum of Care
• Anna Crosslin - Retired President & CEO, International Institute of St. Louis
• Brad Dean - President & CEO, Explore St. Louis
• Haliday Douglas - President & CEO, St. Louis Public Schools Foundation
• Audrey Ellermann - President, Covenant Blu Grand Center Neighborhood Association; President, Brickline North CDC
• Dara Eskridge - CEO, Invest STL
• Bill Etling - Senior Vice President, Nestlé Purina PetCare North America
• Bridget Flood - Executive Director, Incarnate Word Foundation
• Dr. Alexander Garza, MD, MPH - Chief Community Health Officer, SSM Health
• Leslie Gill - President & CEO, Rung for Women
• Jessica Hicklin - Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Unlocked Labs
• Lesley Hoffarth - President and Executive Director, Forest Park Forever
• Peter Hoffman - Managing Attorney for Neighborhood Advocacy, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
• Dr. Stacy Gee Hollins, Ph.D. - Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Dean, Anheuser-Busch School of Business, Harris-Stowe State University
• Robert Holmes - Chairman & CEO, Commerce Bank of St. Louis
• Tim Huffman, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, St. Louis University; Founding Board Member, House Everyone STL
• Laura Hughes - Founder & CEO, Fleur De Lis Development Corporation
• Jake Hummel - President, Missouri AFL-CIO
• Adella Jones - Chief of Staff, Office of the Chancellor, University of Missouri - St. Louis
• Larry Middlebrook - Former St. Louis Ward 2 Democratic Committeeman
• Jon-Pierre (JP) Mitchom - Director of Equity and Inclusion, Saint Louis Priory School
• Julie Murphy - Managing Principal, JFM Strategies, LLC
• Brian Phillips - Assistant Vice Chancellor, Washington University Medical Center; Investment Committee, Arch to Park
• Jeff Pittman, Ph.D. - Chancellor, Saint Louis Community College
• Don Pohl - President, Ranken Technical College
• Gabriela Ramírez-Arellano - VP, Entrepreneurship, Cortex Innovation District
• Dr. Will Ross, MD, MPH - Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine and Principal Officer for Community Partnerships, Washington University School of Medicine
• Jan Sandweiss - President, Laclede's Landing Neighborhood Association
• Tamara Sheffield - SVP & Chief Financial Officer, Forest Park Forever 
• Steve Smith - Founder & CEO, New + Found
• Jayvn Solomon - Founding Director and Creative Strategist, Lotus Labs & Loutopia
• John Stiffler - Executive Secretary-Treasurer, St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council
• Deanna Venker - Chief Operating Officer, St. Louis County
• Dr. Cheryl Watkins, MBA - President & CEO, YWCA Metro St. Louis
• Stephen Westbrooks - Executive Director of Southern Region, IFF
• Aaron Williams - Senior Project Manager, Penn Services; Board Chairman, 4theVille
• Michael Wolff - Former Judge and Chief Justice, Missouri Supreme Court; Professor and Dean Emeritus, Saint Louis University Law School
• Paul Woodruff - Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, St. Louis Community Credit Union

Click here for a running list of volunteer leaders and more about the committees.