It suddenly feels like November in St. Louis (brrrr!), but high time for that, really: October’s warm weather lingered longer than we deserved. And while cold winds may seem bracing, they’re just the thing to get us thinking about turkey, holiday activities (see below for a show that's sure to thrill anyone who loves both Christmas and C.S. Lewis), and, yes, the big election ahead in 2025.
And if you’re trying to read the tea leaves heading into the race for St. Louis mayor, a poll that has City Hall talking offers some tantalizing clues. Ryan Krull found out not only who’s behind it, but what it portends for the three main candidates in the race. You may want to read on with a big grain of salt. After all, if there’s one thing we know after that last election, it’s that anything can happen. Buckle your seatbelts—again.
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Michael Butler (courtesy photo), Tishaura Jones (photo by Joe Martinez), Cara Spencer (courtesy photo).
THIS JUST IN
Poll shows high unfavorability for Jones
A blurry screenshot of a poll result has made the rounds among political insiders in recent weeks as the race for St. Louis mayor heats up. Taken in September, the poll commissioned by the St. Louis REALTORS organization asked 500 city residents about then-upcoming ballot propositions to change the city’s charter.
The poll also asked respondents, however, to weigh in on Mayor Tishaura Jones, Alderwoman Cara Spencer, and Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler, all of whom are running for mayor. The results found Spencer with by far the highest favorability rating, with 48 percent feeling favorable toward her, 14 percent unfavorable, 14 percent with no opinion, and 23 percent not knowing who she is. That’s in comparison to Jones, whose numbers came in at 42 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable. Five percent of those surveyed had somehow never heard of the mayor, and the remaining eight had no opinion. Butler’s favorables outweighed his unfavorables (18 to 11 percent), but he has significant ground to make up: Another 45 percent had never heard of him.
The net unfavorables for the incumbent bolster what Butler toldSLM earlier this week: After knocking on thousands of doors, he believes the people of St. Louis are pissed.
A spokesperson for Jones’ campaign tells SLM that it's aware of the poll. “Mayor Jones is excited to continue making our city the vibrant, affordable, Midwest gem, a place that people want to continue to call home. We've been talking to voters for the past three years about what they need from their government and plan to continue meeting people where they are to have those important conversations,” said Rosetta Okoshon, adding, “This will be a spirited race.”
The poll, conducted by American Strategies from September 8–11, reached 250 people online and another 250 by a combination of mobile phone and landline. At least one city politico isn’t reading too much into it, saying that a poll taken in fall 2024 “means pretty much nothing in March and April 2025.” —Ryan Krull
Attorney Jory Lange is representing victims of an E. Coli outbreak along with the Simon Law Firm in St. Louis. Courtesy photo
DEEP DIVE
Rockwood E. Coli outbreak triggers lawsuits—and potential for compensation
Houston-based attorney Jory Lange specializes in food safety cases, and the St. Louis area is keeping him busy. Lange represents 335 people who were sickened after a shigella outbreak tied to a Longhorn Steakhouse in Fairview Heights, Illinois, last month. And yesterday, in connection with St. Louis-based Simon Law Firm, he filed his second lawsuit in connection with the recent E. Coli outbreak tied to Rockwood Summit High School. He anticipates more to come.
Lange doesn’t handle these cases as class actions; experience has taught him that the particulars of each client’s suffering should stand alone. His Rockwood clients include an adult who attended two events where the food was handled by Andre’s Catering, the local firm that county officials have linked to the outbreak, and a student who ended up in the emergency room with diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. (Andre's has pushed back on any connection between its work and the outbreak.)
Why It Matters: So far, 94 people with connections to Rockwood events have been sickened, some severely so. Children are especially susceptible to a type of acute kidney failure tied to E. Coli; Lange says one child in the Rockwood matter is currently in the hospital dealing with just that. He says, “I don’t think most people don't understand how bad E. Coli O157 is.”
What’s Next: Lange expects sizable paydays for clients who were sickened at Longhorn Steakhouse, but acknowledges the Rockwood cases may be more complicated. “One thing we're going to have to see is, one, how much insurance does Andre have? And then two, what was the source?” Think of the raw onions that led to a recent E. Coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s: The illness wasn’t caused by bad food handling or a sick employee; instead, a supplier provided a contaminated product.
If that’s the case for Andre’s, the catering company would still be liable for the food that it served under Missouri law, but it would also have a case against the supplier. “They could say, You need to compensate us for whatever we lost in our business,” Lange says. “We see that all the time.” Another big question the lawyers will be investigating is the size of the company’s insurance policy. —S.F.
Photography by Brave.Luxe
A MESSAGE FROM ST. LOUIS SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
See the heartwarming, new musical remix of A Christmas Carol from November 26–December 22
Experience the Dickens classic like never before! Christmas Carol: The Remix is a non-stop music and dance-filled adventure your entire family will enjoy. Coming soon to Grand Center.
Utilities say they need help replacing lead pipes (Missouri Independent): A new federal rule issued in October says lead pipes need to be replaced within 10 years, but local officials say it could cost billions—and take far more than a decade.
Boeing says it will lay off 692 Missouri workers (KSDK): The layoffs represent less than 10 percent of the aviation giant’s local workforce and are part of a 17,000-employee reduction across the U.S.
GOP lawmakers contemplate ways to alter abortion rights amendment (stltoday): Missouri legislators indicate that they’re considering a ban on abortion after a heartbeat is detected, among other options—legislation that could set up a court battle after voters approved a sweeping constitutional amendment two weeks ago.
BRANDED CONTENT
9 steps to take if you’re a personal injury victim
Being a victim of a personal injury is overwhelming. Follow this helpful checklist from Rosenblum Schwartz Fry & Johnson to ensure your rights are protected, and get on the path to recovery.
Gregory Williams Welsch kicks off another run as C.S. Lewis at Westport Playhouse next week. Courtesy photo
Around Town
🏛️ THE JURY IS OUT
The local neo-Nazi responsible for orchestrating two swastika flag-waving demonstrations—one in Town and County in October and another in Columbus, Ohio, last weekend—could be brought to justice in St. Louis. Unfortunately, the punishment is likely to be slight. The charge pending against Anthony Altick, 38, stems from a municipal ordinance violation for littering. In August of last year, court documents say, Altick drove around a leafy subdivision in Ballwin tossing from his car Ziploc bags full of what court records describe as “Jewish information, swastikas, political information," weighted down with beans. Police canvassed the street and found numerous bags in the area, and a neighbor’s surveillance camera showed Altick in the act. Further evidence suggesting Altick's culpability included videos he posted online that allegedly showed him targeting homes with the antisemitic material. Altick was hit with the littering charge roughly a year after the incident, in July 2024, and has subsequently missed at least one court date. Ballwin prosecutors didn’t get back to us on what could happen next, but the violation could trigger incarceration of up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. —R.K.
☕THE POLITICAL TEA
Chris Andoe, editor-in-chief of Out in STL, may be better known around town as a raconteur than an activist (his one-man show headlined the St. Lou Fringe Festival in 2023, and his books offer a dishy look at the local LGBTQ scene). But his roots are indeed in activism, dating back to a local protest that he organized against Dr. Laura Schlesinger in 2000, after she suggested that “a huge portion” of gay men were pedophiles. “I really started off being political, but as we became more mainstream, that really wasn’t as necessary,” Andoe says of his community. With Donald Trump’s election and a more conservative Supreme Court, he’s convinced that it’s necessary again. To that end, Andoe has organized tonight’s LGBTQ Legal Summit, which will offer free advice from local firm Marler Law Partners about shoring up legal rights even if gay marriage is invalidated. Happily married since 2016, Andoe worries about the road ahead. “We’re really in uncharted territory,” he says. “But the community is coming together in all kinds of ways.” The session kicks off at 6 p.m. at St. Paul United Church of Christ. —S.F.
🎭 THE THEATER SCENE
Gregory Williams Welsch’s one-man show Christmas with C.S. Lewis returns to Westport Plaza next week for the third consecutive year—and Welsch couldn’t be happier about spending two weeks in St. Louis. His sister is former University City mayor Shelley Welsch, and the performance schedule will allow him to spend Thanksgiving with her. “It's kind of against conventional wisdom to bring the show back to the same place two years in a row,” he says, much less three. “But they decided since I’m a hometown boy, they could do it.” A graduate of St. Louis University High School and Mizzou, Welsch lives in Nashville but is frequently on the road performing. In recent years, that’s meant playing Lewis in the aforementioned show and sometimes Lewis' dear friend J.R.R. Tolkien in Lewis and Tolkien. (Read more about that complicated relationship in WashU prof John Hendrix’s wonderful new graphic novel, The Mythmakers.) Christmas with C.S. Lewis depicts Lewis holding forth on Christmas Eve about that friendship, his experiences in World War I, his marriage to Joy Gresham, and British holiday traditions. Unusually, the lights are up during the performance, suggesting the audience members are guests in Lewis’ home as he monologues. “For my sake and for reality sake, we have to keep the house lights up, so I can actually see them,” Welsch says. “It makes it a lot more intimate.” This being St. Louis, we can’t help but suspect this “hometown boy” will spot a familiar face or two during the show’s run. The play runs from November 29–December 15. Tickets are available at Metrotix. —S.F.
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