City Council Winners: Kramer and Lawrence React

Creve Coeur voters knew going into Tuesday's election that no matter the result, two new faces would be elected to City Council. Now, according to unofficial St. Louis County Board of Election results, we know that those faces are Cynthia Kramer and Ellen Lawrence.

In Ward 1, Kramer defeated Caldwell by a margin of 467 to 201 votes, 69.60 percent to 29.96 percent. There were three write-in votes.

Kramer, a Planning and Zoning Commissioner, sought to position herself as one who could work with others in a collaborative fashion and did not stake out a set of specific actions or policy goals.

"Wow," Kramer said when informed of the result late Tuesday night. "It's really an honor that people put faith in my candidacy. I look forward to serving them."

Caldwell, a member of the city's Employee Pension Fund Board, campaigned on his experience as a city watchdog and supported campaign positions he has articulated on his website which has chronicled City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission meetings in recent years.

Caldwell could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. His campaign had pushed back against a late mailing in the campaign, funded by a woman, Donna Dill, who does not live in Creve Coeur. The same woman paid for a late mailing in last year's Mayor's race critical of candidate Laura Bryant.

Kramer has said she knew nothing about the mailing, which among other things, attacked Caldwell over snow removal on his street. Caldwell has strenuously denied the accusation. "I don't get involved in disputes between neighbors," Kramer said.

Kramer succeeds Beth Kistner, who was term-limited and could not seek re-election.

In Ward 2, Lawrence defeated Jay Steinback by a 382 to 119 tally, which translates to a 75.64-23.56 percent split. There were four write-in votes, according to unofficial St. Louis County election results.

Lawrence, a scientist by trade and now a principal in an executive search firm, campaigned on being an advocate for Ward 2 residents. She had concern about protecting neighborhood character while at the same time supporting a move to look at a permitting process which might be keeping new business away from the city. She spent several stints during the day Tuesday greeting voters at the Creve Coeur Government Center. Lawrence praised Steinback for running a clean campaign and said she ran what she called a "no regrets" campaign.

"I couldn't be happier," Lawrence said Tuesday. "I'm absolutely thrilled," she added saying that the real point of running wasn't to win the election, but to be of service to the community. She credited her ability to reach out and meet people for showing voters that she would go the extra step. She called the campaign "a really wonderful life experience."

Steinback also saw the potential to add a business perspective to council and by and large, supported exisiting city policies and programs while saying he'd put his business experience to work to look for areas for efficiency. Steinback, 34, funded his own campaign and was decidely low-key about the process.

In a statement to Patch, Steinback wrote, "Let me be the first to congratulate Ellen on a fantastic campaign and wish her the best of luck with serving on the council. I believe Ellen will certainly put the time into the position and hope that she takes the time to consider both sides of an issue before passing judgement." 

Current Ward 2 Councilwoman Tara Nealey decided not to run for re-election.

Ward 3's Charlotte D'Alfonso and Ward 4's Scott Saunders ran unopposed and were each elected to second terms on the council. 

The election must be certified before members can be sworn in.