51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� After 10 long months of campaigning, Mayor-elect Cara Spencer on Wednesday began a race to assemble her government.

With less than a week before her inauguration, she has tapped Nancy Hawes, an attorney who鈥檚 held high-level jobs at some of the city鈥檚 largest firms, as chief of staff. Former Alderman Dan Guenther, a longtime ally, was expected to be her new liaison to the board.

Spencer, who defeated Mayor Tishaura O. Jones 64%-36% in Tuesday鈥檚 run-off, said Wednesday that key staff picks would be formally announced on Thursday.

Other significant changes are expected: Spencer has said she would fire Streets Director Betherny Williams after the city鈥檚 dismal response to the January snowstorm. And she said she would push to replace development chief Neal Richardson after a series of disagreements, most notably about the troubled North Side business grant program.

The decisions will ultimately be among the most important Spencer makes as mayor. She has big plans to fix broken city services, revitalize downtown and reverse population loss. But people who know 51黑料 politics, from professors to consultants to former officials, all say that no one succeeds in City Hall without good help.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anything more important,鈥� said Tim Person, who鈥檚 worked in city politics off and on for 40 years. 鈥淭he staff makes you look good.鈥�

Spencer said as much during the campaign. 鈥淣o matter how hard one person works, it鈥檚 not going to change a city,鈥� she said last month. 鈥淵ou need more than one person.鈥�

Thanks to a quirk in the calendar this year, there is just one week between the election and her inauguration date. She starts at noon on Tuesday.

So she began planning for the transition weeks ago 鈥� shortly after the March 4 primary.

That day, Spencer beat Jones by a wide margin. Within a couple of weeks, she hired the consultancy Wickham James 鈥� led by former Kansas City Mayor Sly James and his chief of staff, Joni Wickham 鈥� to help her prepare to govern. And she began serious conversations with potential hires.

Hawes, the attorney, was one of the first names to come up for the chief of staff role.

It鈥檚 an important job: Traditionally, the chief of staff is the mayor鈥檚 No. 2, their right hand, the last person in the room before a big decision is made. Everyone in the office reports to them, and they are responsible for keeping the mayor鈥檚 agenda on track.

Hawes brings an interesting background to the job. Her father was a prominent lawyer and Republican activist that U.S. Sen. John Danforth once called 鈥渢he brains鈥� behind his early campaigns. Hawes, a Democrat herself, earned her law degree from 51黑料 University 17 years after earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree 鈥� and as a single mother of three, she sometimes brought her kids to class with her.

She has since held high-level positions at firms like Armstrong Teasdale and Polsinelli, and served on a number of boards for community organizations, including the Muny in Forest Park and Gene Slay鈥檚 Girls & Boys Club in Soulard.

She met Spencer doing work on an initiative redeveloping homes for artists in Spencer鈥檚 ward, and was impressed first by her commitment to her constituents, and then by her willingness to take on notorious North Side developer Paul McKee, forcing him to and other developers to start paying city nuisance fines and fees.

Hawes served as Spencer鈥檚 treasurer during the campaign, and people who have met with her describe her as a good listener and a quick study.

Guenther, who Spencer helped get elected alderman in 2017 in the Benton Park area, and who currently serves as her aide at the Board of Aldermen, could be a key appointment.

It will be his job to navigate aldermen, especially President Megan Green and her progressive allies. Green backed Jones in this year鈥檚 election, and criticized Spencer throughout.

But Guenther, who was considered a progressive alderman and has been friends with both women, could be a bridge.

Guenther wouldn鈥檛 confirm his pick on Tuesday night.

Still, he said with a smile: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who else is going to fill that role.鈥�