Lisa Clancy: A Proven Leader Who Gets Things Done
Lisa has spent her time on the County Council working for the people of the Fifth District. To learn more about her legislative accomplishments, go to her accomplishments page.
Tackling Racial and Gender Equity
Racial inequality is at the root of a lot of challenges our region faces. Lisa is committed to rooting out and exposing systemic racism and pushing for long-overdue change. In 2021, Lisa sponsored and passed a resolution calling out the impact of systemic racism – and white supremacy – on our community. She will continue to advocate for real policies, like improved access to early childhood education, police reform, and an equitable distribution of COVID-19 recovery funds, that will actively address systemic racism. There is much work to do, and Lisa is committed to doing it.
In 2020, Lisa sponsored and passed a resolution affirming that the rights of the LGBTQ+ community are human rights, and committing the Council to pursuing inclusive policy changes like a comprehensive gender expression policy, gender neutral bathrooms, and a prohibition on conversion therapy. In 2021, Lisa led the charge to make single-stall bathrooms gender neutral, and introduced legislation adding protections for gender expression to the County’s non-discrimination laws.
Working Hard for Working Families
Labor is the backbone of our workforce. Companies taking incentives from the County should be paying workers fairly. That’s why Lisa introduced prevailing wage legislation, which sets the base wage for contractors working with the County based on the average wage for the industry and the region – and followed it up with legislation providing for stricter enforcement mechanisms.
Promoting Access to Affordable, Quality Childcare
Early childhood education is both a public health and racial equity issue. As a working mother of two young boys, Lisa knows the struggles of finding affordable, quality childcare first-hand. She’s had to juggle her workload and caring for her son when his daycare wasn’t available.
The stresses that childcare put upon working families are real, and there is a significant need for local investment in early childhood education and services in the County. Lisa has been championing this issue for families, with her advocacy to improve access to affordable quality childcare earning her a 2019 Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis award for her work.
Advocating for Housing Rights
In her first year on the Council, Lisa spearheaded and passed St. Louis County’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund – a groundbreaking achievement for a first-term legislator. The goal of the fund is to make affordable housing more available in St. Louis County, helping single-parent families with children, households earning less than $35,000, older adults, and households experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, especially households with children
Lisa also championed the eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic, coupling the initiative to keep people in their homes with the availability of tens of millions of dollars in rental assistance available for both landlords and tenants.
Emphasizing Healthcare and COVID Recovery
The need for strong public health departments and expanded Medicaid was made even more clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lisa is committed to ensuring our public health department is fully supported and has the resources to help St. Louis Countians through this crisis and beyond. That’s why she drafted and sent a letter to the Director of the Public Health Department in 2021 asking for guidance on how the refusal of state government to expand Medicaid – and the needs of our community during and post-COVID – would impact the Department. As we learn more about the long-term consequences of COVID, it is clear that public policy makers will need to keep a close eye on the needs of every member of our community. Lisa is committed to doing just that.
Fighting for Reproductive Freedom – For All
Abortion is healthcare, and should be safe, legal and accessible to all. Lisa has pledged to use her voice to protect your reproductive freedom, and to make sure more families have the resources required to raise healthy kids. Lisa has been a champion of Medicaid expansion, affordable quality early childhood education, fair wages, and paid parental leave – as well as your right to make the decisions about what happens to your body. She serves on the Board of Pro Choice Missouri and has been endorsed by both Pro Choice Missouri and Planned Parenthood.
Rebuilding Trust in Government
You deserve an ethical and responsive government, but people’s trust in government was damaged by the corrupt administration of former County Executive Steve Stenger. Lisa has worked to increase transparency and accountability – calling for an investigation of the Justice Center, co-sponsoring a measure to increase the qualifications of the County’s auditor, and introducing legislation “anti-revolving door” legislation that would prohibit County Councilmembers from serving in County government roles for two years after their term expires.
Lisa believes it’s important for you to know what your government is doing for you. That’s why she publishes a regular newsletter, and keeps residents informed about what votes and issues are before the Council.
Spending COVID Recovery Funds Equitably … and Impactfully
St. Louis County stands to receive over $190 million in additional COVID recovery funds. Lisa firmly believes those funds should be spent equitably, ensuring that the most vulnerable in our community receive the help they need. But we also must spend those funds impactfully, putting resources into long-overdue projects that will impact the daily lives of St. Louis Countians.
We also must recognize the outsized sacrifice that certain members of our community made for the greater good. That’s why Lisa would like to explore using COVID funds to pay down the student loans of first responders, health care workers, and pre-K teachers who have served our community on the front lines of this crisis.