User:Meljohn314/Lewis reed

Lewis E. Reed (born on October 9, 1962) is a native of Joliet, Illinois and the President of the Board of Aldermen for the City of St. Louis (2007 - present).

Early and Professional Life
Reed attended Southern Illinois University on a wrestling scholarship. He majored in Mathematics and Computer Science.

He went on to become the Director of Networks and Telecommunications for the Edison Brothers Stores’ world wide operations, where he responsible for an annual budget in excess of 3 million dollars. He also was the Manager of Data Networks for SSM Health Businesses, a billion dollar health care organization, where he developed and managed an annual budget in excess of 2.5 million dollars, and developed technology solutions.

Public Service
Reed was elected Alderman of the Sixth Ward in 1999. He was the first African American Alderman ever elected to this position.

As Alderman, Reed led the revitalization of Lafayette Square and Gate District which were part of the growth of the area including more than $1.7 Billion of investment in redevelopment and economic growth creating more than 400 new jobs.

Reed was elected President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen on April 3rd, 2007. He is the first African American in St. Louis history elected to this position. Reed was reelected on April 5th, 2011 with over 90% of the vote.

Reed has announced plans to run to retain his post as President of the Board of Aldermen in 2015 and has not ruled out running a second time for Mayor. President Reed ran against incumbent Mayor Francis Slay in 2013, but was unsuccessful.