St. Louis County Executive Sam Page reiterated that he didn't think he did anything wrong by sending out a mailer that's at the center of his indictment. But the Democratic official declined to say whether he will seek out another term amid the political tumult.
He made the remarks at an event Wednesday, which was one of the first press availabilities for Page since a grand jury indicted him late last month.
Page is facing two misdemeanor election offenses and two counts of felony theft “by deceit” over the spending of county money. At issue is a mailer his office sent out about Proposition B, a failed countywide initiative that would have allowed the St. Louis County Council to fire his department heads.
Even though the majority of the council is generally hostile to Page, few of the members have called for him to step down until the legal process runs its course. Page is due in court later this month.
When asked if he would consider stepping down, Page replied: “I'm not going to answer any questions. And I understand you have a job to do, and you have to ask these questions, but you also have to understand that this isn't the place for that.”
“And there'll be a time and a place, but it's not right now,” Page said. “But right now I'm going to do the work of running the county. I don't think I did anything wrong, and we'll cooperate with this investigation. But there's a lot of work to do in St. Louis County, and I'm going to keep doing it.”
Page declined to say if he plans on running for another term as county executive. State Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, announced his candidacy last week – and other Democrats, including Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, D-St. Louis County, could jump into the 2026 contest.
“I won't be making any announcements, as I always do, about my plans for the next election cycle until the end of the year,” Page said. “I'm always prepared. But I'll make a formal announcement when we're closer to the election.”
Councilman Dennis Hancock officially kicked off his county executive bid earlier this week. The Fenton Republican told St. Louis Public Radio earlier this year he would forgo reelection to his county council seat to run for the countywide post.
