Francis G. Slay

Mayor, City of St. Louis

Francis G. Slay was sworn in as the 45th Mayor of the City of St. Louis on April 17, 2001. He was re-elected by a large margin in April 2005.

Mayor Slay believes that St. Louis can be the kind of great city that attracts residents and businesses from throughout the region – and from other regions – if its civic, commercial, and political leaders work together to improve the quality of life in its unique neighborhoods and the responsiveness of its business climate.

The Slay Administration and its public and private partners have received national and international recognition for St. Louis’s renaissance. Key initiatives have focused on improving the quality of life in neighborhoods, the revitalization of Downtown, public education, poverty and the efficient and equitable delivery of city services. In May 2007, Downtown St. Louis's revitalization was the subject of a Preserve America Presidential Award, the nation’s highest award for historic preservation.

Former US Senator John Danforth calls Mayor Slay “one of the City’s greatest mayors.” Under his leadership, neighborhoods are being rebuilt. More than $4-billion has been invested in the City. Because of the renewed confidence in the City and its future, property values have gone up by almost 70%. Best of all, for the first time in five decades, the City’s population is growing.

Under Mayor Slay, the City is rebuilding its retail business base. Small and large retailers have rediscovered the city as a great place to do business. In the last two years, more than 60 restaurants have opened in the City. As the Boston Globe put it, “Something remarkable has happened in St. Louis.”

After years of neglect, Mayor Slay has forced the issue of improving public education front and center. Most recently, he supported state intervention to improve the St. Louis Public Schools. Under his leadership, the City has put in place a housing first plan that has resulted in a reduction in the number of homeless people. The mayor’s program to reduce children’s exposure to dangerous lead paint has won national acclaim.

Mayor Slay believes it is his job to be a good steward of tax dollars. To make City government more efficient, Mayor Slay implemented the CityView program, which holds managers accountable and has saved taxpayers millions of dollars.

Prior to being elected Mayor, Francis G. Slay served as a St. Louis Alderman for 10 years, then as President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen from 1995 to 2001.

An attorney by trade, Slay joined the law firm of Guilfoil, Petzall and Shoemake in 1981, where he practiced for 20 years and became a partner specializing in commercial law and corporate litigation.

Mayor Slay received his law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law. He holds a degree in political science from Quincy College and is – for any St. Louisan who would want to know -- a graduate of St. Mary’s High School. Mayor Slay’s chief interest in college – besides, of course, his academic studies – was soccer.

The second oldest of 11 children in a household where public service was encouraged, Mayor Slay, who turned 50 this year, is the son of Francis R. and Anna Slay. The Mayor and Kim, his wife of 26 years, live with their children, Francis, Jr., and Katherine, and three dogs in the same south city neighborhood in which he grew up.