Tishaura Jones, currently treasurer of St. Louis, Missouri, defeated Alderman Cara Spencer in Tuesday's mayoral race with more than 50 percent of the vote. The mayor-elect told Cheddar that her first priorities will be to continue mass vaccination efforts and to address the persistent public safety issue that plagues the city.
"St. Louis, unfortunately, just had its most violent year on record in 2020 with over 260 murders by gun violence, and also, we are tops in the nation per capita for police-involved shootings, and so we need to totally transform our public safety department, declare gun violence as a public health crisis, which addresses the root causes, and brings everyone to the table," Jones said.
She also noted the importance of continuing to provide financial support to the community as the country works through the coronavirus pandemic. She said $500 million in federal aid was granted to the city, and those funds will be used to help families cover rent and mortgage expenses.
Small businesses are also eligible for help, Jones added.
"We had several town halls during the election, and we want to continue those conversations with our small business owners, not only just to make sure that they get back on their feet but also to expand opportunities for people who want to open businesses," she said.
"We want to be helpful and provide the tools and resources that they need as well as technical assistance and to make sure that we create an economy where people not just survive but thrive."
Jones is slated to be sworn in on April 20, when she will then join two other prominent Black Americans, Comptroller Darlene Green and President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed, the three offices that control St. Louis' top fiscal body called the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. Once Jones is sworn in, it will be the first time in the city's history that the board will be headed by three Black Americans.
"I'm excited to serve with two people that I have respected for decades. Comptroller Darlene Green has a ton of institutional knowledge and as current treasurer, I'm a member of the department of finance so I've had an opportunity over the last eight years to really learn from her and get some wisdom from her as we lead, together, our city's finances," Jones said.
"And President Lewis Reed and I were friends for decades as well. We used to work together before we got into politics, and so I look forward to serving with both of them and developing solutions, short and long term, to move our city forward."
When it comes to transitioning into the role of mayor, Jones said she's learned a number of things since she began working for St. Louis, which includes having patience when it comes to the speed at which city government operates, not airing closed-door disagreements in the public, and being compassionate while still enforcing the law.
Mona Zhang, states cannabis policy reporter at POLITICO Pro joins Cheddar News to discuss major factors that caused Canada's retail marijuana sales to drop last year.
The January 6 committee has asked Ivanka Trump to give voluntary testimony, saying there's evidence she was in "direct contact" with her father on the day of the capitol insurrection. I's unclear whether she will comply with the invitation, but it marks the first time the House committee has sought testimony from a member of the former president's family. Bradley Moss, national security attorney, joined Cheddar News to discuss what the committee hopes to learn from Ivanka and what the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's Jan. 6 materials means for the investigation.
Terrell Jermaine Starr, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council and host of the Black Diplomats podcast joins Cheddar News to discuss Russia's attempt to invade Ukraine.
With an increasing number of teachers and staff calling out sick by the day, the state of Oklahoma is turning to an unusual solution. Republican Governor Kevin Stitt has issued an executive order that permits state employees to work as substitute teachers. Shaily Baranwal, founder and CEO of Elevate K-12, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the stance of the U.S. and its allies should Russia make any forays into Ukraine, a seeming response to President Biden's remarks that should Putin engage in something short of a full invasion, there might be some indecision among allied nations regarding what to do. Ariel Cohen, a senior fellow at the think tank Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar to discuss the difficulty faced by Blinken wrangling unity as tensions run high in the region. "There'll be a smaller incursion, and the president implied, there'll be a weaker response because our European allies have created this horrible situation where they are dependent on Moscow for their gas supply," Cohen explained.
During a nearly two-hour press conference on Wednesday, President Biden spoke on his accomplishments and challenges from the first year of his presidency, and what his administration hopes to accomplish in the coming year. However, his approval ratings are underwater as COVID remains a big concern for voters — as does inflation, noted Tom Bevan, co-founder and president of polling aggregator RealClearPolitics. "The public thinks [inflation] is priority number one, and the administration is concerned about it, they talk about it, but they're not spending enough time on it as far as the public is concerned," said Bevan.
The drama surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic continues after he was deported from Australia over the weekend due to the nation's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Djokovic was forced to leave the country on the eve of what was to be his first match in defense of his Australian Open title after three judges ruled in favor of his removal and revealed their reasoning for doing so. Adding to his woes, a law recently passed in France is putting his chances of defending his French Open title in jeopardy. The director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication, Jane McManus, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fallout.
As the midterm elections get ever closer, candidates have been getting creative with their campaigns to stick out and to connect with voters. Gary Chambers, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Louisiana, has definitely attracted attention with an advertisement featuring him smoking a blunt, making a point about the inequity of anti-cannabis laws. "We wanted to bring the seriousness of the moment," he said of the ad. "But we also wanted to make sure that people understand that there are 19 states that are legal right now but Black people and brown people are being over-incarcerated in mostly Southern and Midwestern states in America for cannabis possession."
If some members of Congress have their way, there might finally be a 'TLDR' on sites' terms of service, introduced by the terms-of-service labeling, design, and readability act – or TLDR for short. With this act, users will actually understand what they're agreeing to or the many ways in which their data is being used before pressing 'accept.' J.D. sat down with co-sponsor of the bill and Senator Bill Cassidy, to discuss.
