Wesley Bell’s election to Congress on Tuesday means St. Louis County Executive Sam Page will get to pick a replacement for the county prosecutor.

Page announced Wednesday that his office will accept applications until Nov. 15. Applicants must be a Democrat, have lived in the county for three years and have been a licensed attorney for five years. A committee will screen finalists for Page to interview.

“There’s a whole lot of people in the community that are interested,” Page told reporters Tuesday night at a party for Bell after he won election to represent the 1st Congressional District. “There’s a whole lot of people who are advocating for specific characteristics of a prosecuting attorney, and there’s a whole lot of people who have specific people who they are advocating for. I’m just going to let the process work.”

Bell told reporters that he had been in “consistent contact” with Page about the selection and was pleased with the level of access he had.

“Now ultimately it’s going to be his decision, but whoever he names will have my full support,” Bell said. “We’re going to make certain that person has everything that they need to be able to hit the ground running.”

Bell added that he hoped Page would consider a member of his leadership staff.

“I think our office has been running very smoothly, and I’d like to see that continue,” he said.

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