Current St. Louis County Executive Sam Page is not seeking relection, and the race to succeed him is officially underway. Five candidates across three political parties — three Democrats, one Republican and one Green Party member — are vying for the seat.

As the Democratic side alone saw more than one candidate file, it will be the only competitive primary on Aug. 4. The winner of the three Democratic candidates — Brian Williams, Jake Zimmerman and Angela Walton Mosley — will face the two remaining contenders in the Nov. 3 general election: Republican County Councilman Dennis Hancock, R-Fenton, and Green Party candidate JD McFarland.

Williams was born and raised in St. Louis County, sharing with The Call that his reason for serving and giving back to the community is family, particularly his mom and grandmother.

Elected in 2018, Williams is a member of the Missouri Senate, representing the state’s 14th district.

Zimmerman, too, was born and raised in St. Louis County. He has been St. Louis County assessor since 2011 — the County’s first elected assessor in over 50 years. 

Previously a Missouri state representative, Zimmerman represented Missouri’s 83rd District from 2007-2011. He was also an assistant attorney general under Governor Jay Nixon and legal counsel to Governor Bob Holden for the last two years of his administration.

Mosley did not respond to The Call’s request for an interview. She has been a state senator since 2021 — representing Missouri’s 13th District, encompassing northeastern St. Louis County — and serves as the Democratic minority caucus chair. She comes from a family of politicians.

Though not in a competitive primary, Dennis Hancock’s name will appear on Republican voters’ ballot this August.

He was elected to the County Council in November 2022, representing the third district, which encompasses Fenton and Sunset Hills as well as portions of West County. Prior to serving on the council, he was the mayor of Fenton from 2001-2013.

McFarland did not respond to The Call’s request for an interview. He previously ran in the 2017 St. Louis city mayoral race as a Green Party candidate. 

The Call sat down with Williams, Zimmerman and Hancock individually for conversations about each of their campaigns.

Why did you decide to run for county executive this year?

• Williams: “St. Louis County makes up 45% of the economy, meaning we drive the economy for the entire state of Missouri … As a county I grew up in and have lived in my entire life, I felt that we could tell our story better, and it was important to have vision that prioritized working families, that prioritized public safety, that prioritized creating avenues for folks to go into the workforce and not become financially insecure in the process … We believe that a lot of families are feeling the squeeze county-wide, so we want to make sure that we really lean in on affordability. The last piece is the fact that we should be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Our job is to make government feel close to county residents and not feel like it’s a burden and a liability, especially when it’s very challenging times for families to make ends meet.”

• Zimmerman: “I take a lot of pleasure in doing a boring job well, with pride and with integrity. I would observe that St. Louis County politics could stand to be a little more boring right now. One thing that I think I bring to the table is that when you see me on the front page of the paper, be it yours or anywhere else, it’s not the kind of squabbling nonsense that we’ve seen plenty of in county government. If you see me picking a fight  … They are all the story of somebody with money, power, influence … who think they can get away with something.”

• Hancock: “I’ve seen up close and personal just how dysfunctional the county government is. I’ve concluded that it comes from weak leadership at the top. We have a county executive who doesn’t play well with others. He doesn’t have the skill set that it takes to be a governmental leader. He doesn’t work with the council on anything except to hand us something and say, ‘Do this.’ That’s not the way government works. There are co-equal branches of government. For him to basically want to be the dictator and not work with the council, especially through some of the difficult issues that the county is facing, it seems that there’s a better way of doing it.”

What makes you stand out from some of the other candidates in this race for county executive?

• Williams: “I’m not Bill Belichick, so I don’t watch the other team practice. However, I believe that my ability to work in Jefferson City — across the aisle in a bipartisan way to deliver for St. Louis County, a region that makes up 45 percent of the (state’s) GDP — means I have a record of not only delivering for this region and this county, but also convincing colleagues who don’t live here to recognize that areas like South St. Louis County and St. Louis County should be a priority if we want our entire state to thrive. St. Louis County government has been stagnant. We have not seen any growth. There are areas that really are concerned about public safety and crime, and most importantly, we have been broke. I think it’s going to be important to have someone who understands how to balance a budget, who has a strong relationship with public safety, who recognizes the importance of protecting working families, but also ensuring that St. Louis County is an affordable place to live.”

• Zimmerman: “On the Democratic side, you’ve got three people who are all capable public servants. Three people who have all served in Jefferson City. All of us have a voting record. You could judge all of us by what we voted on. The thing that differentiates me … I’m the only person who has actually represented all of St. Louis County … I’m not shy about showing up for town hall meetings in South County — including, by the way, those hosted by Republican elected officials. I’ve been yelled at by plenty of people who don’t love my policies at places like Jefferson Barracks Park. I keep showing up and I keep doing it because I represent this community and that’s important to me. I’ve done the work and people here know me. The second argument… I run an office of 150 public servants with a $20 million budget … I’m the only person in this field on the Democratic side who has been the CEO of a public business. I’m the only person who’s had to balance a budget. I’m the only person who has inherited an agency that was in the red, that was spending more money than it was taking in, and had to fix that.”

• Hancock: “I think it comes down to experience. I have the experience that I can walk into the job on day one. I don’t need on-the-job training. When you look at my track record as a mayor, we balanced our budget every year. We had a high level of services that we provided … When you look at the role of county executive, you have to have somebody who understands what it is and how to make it work, and that’s where somebody who’s never done that job before will struggle. My fear is that because of where we are right now in St. Louis County, with our budget situation and other issues that we deal with, you need somebody who can deal with it. We don’t need somebody who has a flashy grin and looks good in a suit. I’m an old dog and I’ve been down this road multiple times. I know how to get this stuff done and I know what it takes.”

Do you have any current working relationships with elected officials in South County? If not, how would you work to grow those?

• Williams: “I have a relationship with a bipartisan coalition of leaders from the legislature in the state house and the state senate. Also, I’ve been proud to get to know municipal leaders. In the region I represent now, we have 46 municipalities, so I’m proud to have a relationship with the Municipal League, and I participate every year in different events where I’ve gotten to know local municipal leaders in South County. And, most importantly, I’ve worked with members of the County Council in different capacities.”

• Zimmerman: “Doug Beck is a staunch supporter of mine, and I’m proud to have his support in this campaign. That’s great, but I’m a Democrat and you’d kind of expect that. The thing I take just as much pride in is that when those Republican members of the County Council have invited me to show up at something, I show up at something. When (Missouri Representative) Jim Murphy invites me to show up at something, I show up.”

• Hancock: “Mike Archer and I have a great working relationship. I obviously have relationships with council members in Fenton; I know of several of them in Sunset Hills and Crestwood and all over that part of the county.”

How do your overall campaign goals relate to voters in South County?

• Williams: “South St. Louis County is one of the largest unincorporated areas in the county. It’ll be a priority for me to ensure that this part of the county feels seen and heard. We should be very intentional in making sure that they get the services that they deserve.”

• Zimmerman: “Folks in South County often have felt a little bit ignored by leadership in Clayton. I have heard … ‘no one pays attention to us, we’re the last to know, we’re the last to get anyone to care’ … What people want out of St. Louis County government right now (is) to stop worrying about who is on which side and worry about who’s working constructively for everyone. There are big significant issues here. Skyrocketing property values in places like Lemay and Affton, for example … There’s a real challenge with middle-class housing in this town, and the epicenter of it is in South County. There’s challenges in making sure that the money that comes to the port authority from the casino is fairly spent. There’s public safety challenges … For many of your readers, county government is their municipal government. If the trash isn’t getting picked up the only person you have to call is your county elected officials and so that’s another reason why I just kind of think you got to work extra hard in this part of the region.”

• Hancock: “I live in Fenton, and so I consider that to be part of South County. I talk to a lot of people all over the county, but I’ve talked to a lot of people in South County because I think they’ve been ignored for some time. What I’m finding and what I’m hearing from them is they just want to make sure that their tax dollars that they worked hard for are not being wasted. They want to make sure that the money isn’t being spent foolishly on high-in-the-sky projects … For those people who live in unincorporated areas, the county executive is their mayor. I’m the only person in this race that has any experience as a mayor, and I think that when I was a mayor, I built a pretty good track record.”