On Tuesday, Ferguson City Councilman Wesley Bell pulled off a monumental upset in the St. Louis County primary election, unseating the 27-year tenure of St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch.
“People keep saying ‘you shocked the world,’” Bell said after his victory. “No, we shocked the world. People showed up and showed out.”
According to reports, Bell ran his campaign on criminal-justice reform, promising resources for treating addiction and mental health issues and ending mass incarceration with a new focus on serious crimes.
The new change in the prosecutor position is a huge step for the county, especially in the wake of the fatal 2014 shooting of Michael Brown. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In fact, that same year, McCulloch ran unopposed to secure his seat for another four years and faced criticisms for the decision to not indict Brown’s shooter, Darren Wilson.
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Now, with Bell in the seat, the county will be able to focus on new plans for the future. He will run unopposed in November, as Republicans did not field a candidate in the primary.
