Democrat St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page, currently facing multiple felony indictments for the alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, announced Thursday he won’t be seeking re-election when his term expires in 2027.
Despite the charges looming over him, Page framed his exit as an act of “courage.”
“We need more leaders with the courage to say no to the circus and yes to the work,” Page said in a statement. “Leaders who understand that real strength isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room – it’s about being the most effective.”
“If the County Council is a circus, then he’s the ringleader,” St. Louis County Republican Councilman Mark Harder told The Heartlander.
While Harder noted rumors of Page’s exit had circulated for “a while,” he called the timing of the official announcement “surprising.”
In April, former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced two counts of stealing by deceit and two counts of election law violations against Page. The Democrat used over $35,000 in county resources to produce and distribute more than 50,000 political mailers intended to influence a local ballot initiative known as Proposition B.
According to Harder, Page’s legal woes are only the latest chapter in a string of mismanagement.
“I think it started back during COVID, when [Page], being a doctor, was very influenced by the medical field in this region, and shut down St Louis County when the surrounding counties of St Charles, Jefferson and others were wide open, and we took a huge hit from our sales tax.”
“When that happened, people started either shopping online – which we don’t recoup any sales tax – or they went to surrounding areas to shop and spend their money. And that went on for months and years, instead of being an emergency.
“We’ve had a budget deficit for a long time, but [COVID] was the start of our major problems when it comes to revenue for the county, and if you don’t watch the revenue and track it to your spending, you’re going to get into where we are right now, with a projected $80 million deficit.”
Republican St. Louis County Councilman Dennis Hancock and Democrat State Senator Brian Williams are the only other candidates to officially announce a run for St. Louis County executive.
“St. Louis County is about 60/40 in favor of Democrats, and so the Republican, whoever that may be, if it’s Dennis and he continues to want this job, then he’s going to have to convince some crossover voters that may have voted for Page, or maybe not, to vote for him in the coming year,” Harder said.
“We need leadership to get us out of this mess, and that’s not what we’ve been getting in the last number of months and years [from Page].”
The state’s criminal case against Page is slated to be heard in a Greene County courtroom on Friday, where a judge will weigh a defense to dismiss the case.
