Slay wins St. Louis Democratic primary

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay is on the verge of becoming St. Louis' first-ever four-term mayor after winning the Democratic primary Tuesday.

Unofficial final results had Slay with 54 percent of votes and aldermanic president Lewis Reed with 44 percent. Former Alderman Jimmie Matthews got about 1 percent.

There are no Republican candidates, and Slay will be heavily favored over Green Party candidate James Eldon McNeely in the April general election. McNeely was unopposed in the Green Party primary.

At a downtown victory party, Slay said he relishes the chance to make history.

"We're going to make St. Louis a better place, a more inclusive place," Slay said.

Slay, 57, has cited the accomplishments of his 12 years in office, including efforts to rebuild neighborhoods, improve downtown and make the city more tolerant.

Reed, 49, the city's first-ever black aldermanic president, has called Slay "divisive" and was critical of the city's high crime rate. Reed also was critical of the exodus of several corporations from the city.

"What we have done is raise the consciousness of this city so that when people look at St. Louis and we look at St. Louis, we know what the challenges are," Reed said in his concession speech.

Slay was first elected in April 2001 and won re-election by large margins in 2005 and 2009. He is an attorney who served as an alderman and aldermanic president before becoming mayor.

Among his goals is for St. Louis to become part of St. Louis County. St. Louis is currently unique in Missouri -- a city that is its own county.