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On Tuesday, February 21, the Tishaura O. Jones campaign released a list of more than 50 local progressive activists and organizers that endorsed Jones for St. Louis mayor.

They include activist attorneys Thomas Harvey, Brendan Roediger, Blake Strode and Maggie Ellinger-Locke; education advocates Brittany Packnett and Faith Sandler; activist clergy Rev. Mike Kinman and Rev. Cassandra Gould; community organizers and activists Kayla Reed, Kristian Blackmon, John Chasnoff, Mustafa Abdullah and Brittany Ferrell; 15th Ward Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green; and 5th Ward Committeeman Rasheen Aldridge.

At a time of dangerously regressive trends on the state and national level, St. Louis cannot afford to engage in business as usual, they said in a collective statement.

Joness bold vision and moral clarity speak to the urgency of this moment and offer precisely the type of leadership that our city needs to embark on a path toward equity, justice and opportunity for all of St. Louiss residents.

The statement continues:

We know that this moment requires the fresh new approach that Tishaura Jones offers. As individuals and organizations whose work centers on marginalized and historically underserved communities, we also know the difference between true commitment and empty promises. We are neither persuaded by those who speak of divisions between the haves and have nots, but stand as obstacles to living wages for workers; nor by those who claim to represent a challenge to the status quo while using the power of their office to penalize those who speak out in protest; nor by those who promise a commitment to economic justice while criminalizing the homeless and increasing public funding for a failed police-and-incarcerate model of criminal justice. Such equivocation and doublespeak is not, and never has been, good enough.

Ultimately, we are invested in the outcome of this race not because we are invested in the individual candidates themselves, but because we are invested in the crucial issues facing St. Louis. We are invested in eradicating poverty and homelessness in our city. We are invested in ensuring worker justice. We are invested in providing a quality education to every child. We are invested in dismantling all manifestations of systemic racism. As Jones herself wrote in her much-discussed letter to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board, St. Louis needs to change. We know this as truth, and we believe Jones is the right woman to lead the city in bringing this change.

The municipal primary election is Tuesday, March 7. Absentee voting is underway.

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More than 50 local progressives endorse Tishaura Jones for St. Louis mayor - St. Louis American