Several Cities Omit Candidate Lists for April 7 Election | The Locally Times
While Sunset Hills posted its full candidate list on Jan. 15, public records in Webster Groves and Brentwood still lack names for the April 7 election.
As the April 7, 2026, General Municipal Election approaches, a review of official city records reveals a stark divide in the public availability of candidate information. Candidate filing closed in many municipalities on December 30, 2025, yet the accessibility of this data varies significantly by city. While some provide clear, comprehensive lists of who is running, several others offer incomplete records or no candidate information at all. This fragmented landscape requires residents in certain communities to conduct their own research to learn who is running to represent them, raising questions about the commitment of some local governments to proactive voter education. ## A Patchwork of Transparency The City of Sunset Hills provides a model for election transparency. According to a civic alert posted on its website on January 15, 2026, the city published a detailed list of all candidates who filed for the April 7 election, including the office sought, name, address, and email. The record shows Mayor Patricia Fribis is running for re-election and lists challengers and incumbents for aldermanic seats. In stark contrast, public records from the City of Webster Groves offer voters less information. An announcement confirms the offices on the ballot—one Mayor and three Council Members—but does not list the candidates, ending with a prompt to read more without providing the names. Similarly, a record from the City of Brentwood acknowledges the candidate filing period closed at 5:00 p.m. on December 30, 2025. The notice includes a header for a list of filed candidates, but the document itself contains no names, leaving a conspicuous gap. ## Information Behind an Extra Click Four other municipalities—Town and Country, Des Peres, Overland, and Arnold—house their candidate information one step removed from primary election announcements. This approach requires residents to navigate to other pages or documents to find the lists. For example, the Town and Country website provides a link to view the list of filed candidates, while Des Peres links to a page with information on the election cycle. Notices from Overland and Arnold, under a title regarding candidates for the April 7 election, prompt users to read on for details. A separate filing notice from Arnold instructs readers to view a full flyer. In each case, the list of candidates is not presented on the main election notice, creating an extra step for voters. ## A Ballot Without Candidates The most significant information gap appears in the City of Crestwood. The announcement details that the propositions were recommended by the 2025 Crestwood Charter Review Commission and approved by the Board of Aldermen. However, the city’s notice makes no mention of any candidates running for elected office. The record does not specify if any positions like mayor or alderman are on the ballot, nor does it clarify if this is because no seats are up for election or if the city has simply omitted the information. This leaves Crestwood residents informed about ballot measures but potentially unaware of candidates who may be running to govern the city. ## The Stakes for an Informed Electorate The different standards for publishing candidate lists create disparate levels of access to civic information. A resident in Sunset Hills can access a full roster of candidates and their contact information, facilitating research. A voter in Webster Groves or Brentwood knows which offices are on the ballot but must search elsewhere to find out who is competing for them. A voter in Crestwood, based on the city’s primary election notice, may not be aware of any candidate races at all. According to the St. Louis City Board of Election Commissioners, the deadline to register to vote is March 11, 2026, and in-person absentee voting begins on March 24. As these key dates approach, the lack of easily accessible candidate lists in several municipalities places the onus on individual voters to track down fundamental election information.