Tishaura Jones

Tishaura Oneda Jones (/tɪˈʃɑːrə/ tish-AR-ə; born March 10, 1972) is an American politician who served as the 47th mayor of St. Louis, Missouri from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Missouri Democratic Party, Jones previously served from 2008 to 2013 in the Missouri House of Representatives, and as Treasurer of the City of St. Louis from 2013 to 2021.

Born in St. Louis to a former city comptroller, Jones studied at Hampton University in Virginia, returning to St. Louis upon graduating in 1994. Following a failed attempt to start a restaurant that left her bankrupt, she entered nursing, graduating from the Saint Louis University College for Public Health with a Master of Health Administration in 2001 and working for Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital for two years.

A self-described progressive, Jones entered politics in 2002, when she was appointed to the Democratic Party Central Committee for St. Louis's eighth ward. In 2008, she was elected to represent Missouri's 63rd District in the state legislature, defeating independent candidate Nels Williams with 85.4 percent of the vote. She ran unopposed for re-election to the House in 2010.

In 2012, Jones ran for St. Louis Treasurer and won the general election with 77.9 percent of the vote. She was re-elected to the office in 2016 and 2020.

Jones was elected as Mayor of St. Louis in the 2021 mayoral election, narrowly defeating St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer with 51.7 percent of the vote, becoming the first African-American female mayor in the city's history. In the 2025 mayoral election, a rematch of the 2021 election, Jones lost to Spencer in a landslide, garnering 35.83% of the vote.