ST. LOUIS – When the final vote was tallied during Tuesday night’s midterm election, it was not just a win for Board of Aldermen President-elect Megan Green, but a historic night and a potential sign of things to come.
Green became the first woman elected President of the Board of Aldermen in the position’s 105-year history.
“I don’t think it really set in until the election results came in,” Green said. “People around me were saying, ‘You just broke a glass ceiling.’”
Green joins St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Comptroller Darlene Green to lead an all-woman decision-making team for St. Louis, a first for the city and a significant message from voters.
“I think that voters recognize that women know how to get things done,” Green said.
The shift in women holding high political office in the St. Louis area has been a fast one. In 2021, Jones became the second woman and first Black woman to hold the office of mayor. In 2020, Cori Bush became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in District One, which covers all of St. Louis City. Darlene, an African American woman, has held the role of city comptroller since 1995.
“It’s empowering, especially coming on the heels of the Dobbs decision, where so many of us are seeing our reproductive rights stripped away from us, and putting more women into power is a byproduct of that,” Green said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jones wrote in a statement: “The city’s top three decision-makers, for the first time in St. Louis history, will be women. That’s something we should celebrate, and I look forward to collaborating with President-elect Green and Comptroller Green to make St. Louis a place that works for everyone, no matter your background or the color of your skin.”
Green took over the position from Lewis Reed, who was indicted on federal corruption charges. She will only hold office until the March primary election, where she will have to campaign again for the position.