ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Candidates for St. Louis Mayor debated on KMOX and Fox 2 News Monday night, covering a wide range of topics.
The most notable topics discussed by Alderwoman Cara Spencer and Treasurer Tishaura Jones were race relations and policing in St. Louis.
When the subject of police reform came up, Jones made her view clear.
"The police union needs to get rid of Jeff Roorda," Jones said. "Because he keeps up all the division between the police department and the circuit attorney. And so I have told the Police Officers Association that if they don't get rid of him they don't have a seat at my table."
Spencer said recommendations from the recent study on the police department that outlined an "enormous amount of redundancies and inefficiencies" should be implemented. And she says she's willing to work with St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner.
"We are missing a strategy for dealing with violence," Spencer says. "We don't have a strategy. And without a strategy we cannot possibly begin to be efficient and effective with addressing violence."
Jones says the department doesn't even know how many officers they have and says there needs to be a "top-down review" of all officers and bring in "alternative professionals to deploy the right professional to the right call." She also pointed out the "elephant in the room" is the fact that St. Louis has separate unions for Black and white firefighters and police officers.
In terms of racial equality in St. Louis, Spencer says the city has earned an infamous title.
"We are the most racially-segregated city in the United States," Spencer says. "It's the mayor's job to set that table to have those conversations, those tough conversations about our racist past."
Jones says she would re-establish the position of deputy mayor for racial equity and community engagement.
"We have not addressed race head on and because we have not, a lot of times people say things that they don't think are racist and when you point out that they are racist, they get defensive," Jones says.
You can hear the full debate from Tuesday night at the top of this page.
The mayoral election in St. Louis is set for April 6.
© 2020 KMOX (Entercom). All rights reserved