Politics

Not many people who watch city politics were surprised when Board of Alderman president Lewis Reed announced that he will challenge Mayor Francis Slay in next year’s Democratic primary in April.

Reed officially threw his hat into the ring on Wednesday at Sqwires in Lafayette Square, part of his ward before he ran for board president.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Chris McDaniel joins Jo Mannies and Jason Rosenbaum from the St. Louis Beacon to discuss a few political issues.

On today’s podcast: We start off with an update on Congressman Todd Akin's recent gaffs (financial and otherwise). We also chat about some curious developments with a ballot initiative that would give the governor more power over judicial appointees. And then we finish it all off with a discussion about Mayor Slay's new challenger.

Follow Chris McDaniel on Twitter: @csmcdaniel

Missouri congressman Todd Akin has amended a decade's worth of federal financial reports to add nearly $130,000 in state pension income that he received over that time.

Akin's office provided The Associated Press with a copy of the updated personal financial disclosure reports Thursday after being asked why he had not listed his retirement benefits. Akin's office released a letter dated Tuesday to the House Ethics Committee in which the Republican congressman described the lack of information about his pension payments as an "unintentional oversight."