ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Mark Mantovani announced Wednesday that he is again running for the office of St. Louis County Executive – a position he narrowly lost to Steve Stenger in 2018 by about 1,100 votes.
The St. Louis County Council appointed Sam Page to County Executive in April 2019 after Stenger was federally indicted on a pay-to-play scheme. He’s since been sent to prison and Page has announced he will be running for the office as well. County Assessor Jake Zimmerman has also announced his candidacy.
In a video announcing his candidacy, Mantovani appeared to take a dig at Page.
“Real leadership requires more than the mere absence of corruption,” he said.
More than 90,000 county voters voted for Mantovani during the last Democratic primary in August 2018, but his 49.7% of the vote was not enough to nudge out Stenger’s 50.3%.
In his video message he outlined his background as an “experienced Chief Executive, civic leader and job creator.”
He said the county is also seeing “levels of violent crime, poverty and segregation that are unacceptable.”
“We all know these things to be true, yet we keep electing the same politicians and expecting them to create transformational change.
“But the fact is, if you change nothing, nothing changes.”
Speculation that Mantovani was planning another run at the office has been brewing for weeks.
Page appointed him to the regional Board of Freeholders, which is supposed to be discussing ways the city and county governments could combine or work more efficiently together.
But he stepped down from that board in January, saying he was “considering a run” for County Executive.
“I don’t aspire to have a political career,” he said in the video. “I’ll seek no other office.
“I’ve never measured success by elections won or offices held. I measure success by ideas advancing, results delivered, jobs created and lives changed.”
Mantovani's opponents weighed in Wednesday.
“Being county executive today is a tremendous opportunity to make lives better," Page said. "Mark and I have very different experiences and outlooks. I look forward to the campaign"
Zimmerman added, "I welcome Mark Mantovani to the race. St. Louis County stands at a critical crossroads and I look forward to comparing my record against Mark's and Sam’s any day.
We have very different visions and views. I’m proud to be a progressive Democrat committed to reform. And I’m clear about where I want to lead the County as well as the absolute need for transparency. Now, voters will have a choice between a progressive leader and others who want to take St. Louis County in a different direction."
Mantovani, 65, retired as CEO and chairman of the marketing firm Ansira in 2016.
Mantovani was raised in Affton and his wife is from Rock Hill.
Filing for the Democratic primary in St. Louis County takes place from Feb. 25 through March 31.
St. Louis County has long been ruled by Democrats, so the winner of the primary is expected to become the next County Executive.
The primary is Aug. 4.