Who’s Funding the Five St. Louis Mayoral Front-runners?
january 2017 | data-management & visualization | [link]This map was created and released just over a month before St. Louis’ March 2017 democratic primary for mayor. It profiles five mayoral candidates, highlighting donors to their campaigns. Because Mayor Slay, the would-be incumbent, stepped aside, this race marked a turning point in St. Louis history and policy.
partners: St. Louis Action Council
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The interactive graphic maps data from Missouri Ethics Commission filings from January 2016 through the primary. Donors are loosely grouped by industry.
Digital and print versions of the graphic were released in coordination with St. Loouis Action Coucil’s Mayoral Debate at St. Louis University. Map viewers often identified neighbors, co-workers, or familiar organizations in the cloud of donors.
“[The team] unveiled an ongoing research effort to document the ties between candidates and contributors, a resource that should prove invaluable to prospective voters.“ - The Riverfront Times, 30 Jan 2017
A common take away from the visualization was the stark difference in number of donors between canidates; Lyda Krewson, who eventually won the race, had the largest donor network by far, a significant portion of which were part of the local development industry. This visualization, in part, propelled conversations in many circles over the coming months about the development industry’s influence on her campaign and mayoralship.
After the city elected Lyda Krewson, I created an additional map to focus in on her donor base. Click here to view Mayor Krewson’s Donors since Jan 2016.
Attendees of St. Louis Action Council’s Mayoral Debate at St. Louis University examine the map of mayoral race donors.
Event poster by St. Louis Action Council