Billy Crow, who plans to run for a seat on the Jefferson County Council, said he got a taste of politics in April 2022, when he ran what most would consider an unsuccessful campaign for the Ward 2 seat on the Arnold City Council.
Crow, 37, said he was convinced by others to take a run at incumbent Brian McArthur, who was seeking a fifth straight two-year term.
While he fell short by 15 votes of unseating McArthur, Crow said the experience whetted his appetite to seek public office.
“I was told that no one could beat Brian McArthur, but I came really close,” Crow said. “I found out I really enjoyed going door to door, hearing people’s concerns and trying to figure out ways that you can address them.”
He said was approached again late in 2022 to try for the soon-to-be vacant District 2 seat on the Jefferson County Council.
District 2 includes parts of Arnold, Imperial and parts of the Jefferson County portion of Fenton.
“After (longtime Councilwoman) Renee Reuter was elected to the state House, people suggested that I should try to be appointed for that position. So I did,” he said.
Again, Crow came close, as he was the first of the seven applicants for the position to be nominated in February 2023, but the council deadlocked 3-3 and ultimately tabbed Gene Barbagallo to serve through the November 2024 election.
Crow announced last week that he will run for the Republican Party’s nomination for the District 2 seat in the August primary election.
“Even though it (the council appointment) didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, I was encouraged,” Crow said. “The way I figure it is that the County Council got its vote, but the people in District 2 didn’t necessarily get theirs. I’m running because I believe the people deserve to have their voices heard.”
Crow grew up in southern Jefferson County and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 2005. About 10 years ago, he and his wife, Lisa, moved into a house in Arnold that her grandfather built after World War II.
“It’s the last part of what had been a family farm,” Crow said. “The property has been in her family for years.”
After high school graduation, Crow attended Jefferson College for a year, then St. Louis Christian College – a Bible college in Florissant – for another 1 1/2 years. After that he trained to be a sheet metal worker, a field he’s been in for 16 years, and works for C&R Mechanical as a member of Sheet Metal Workers Union 36.
Crow was appointed to the Jefferson County Code Commission during 2023 and is vice president of the Jefferson County Republican Club.
He and Lisa have a daughter, Genevieve, 13.
If elected, Crow said, he said he would try to bring an alternative viewpoint to a council that he said has been “stagnant.”
“I want to be a part of this county and move it forward,” he said. “There are a lot of things I see that I don’t agree with. I talk to a lot of people, especially young people, who talk about moving out of our county because they don’t see any opportunities here. Some of the things the county is doing seems to be against growth and small businesses. I want to work to provide opportunities for people, where people want to stay here, work here and raise their families here.”
Crow said the three pillars of his campaign will be to promote “liberty, prosperity and security.”
“I want to make sure people are as free as possible, and that involves limiting government, keeping it out of lives as much as possible while creating the opportunity for growth and development, particularly for small businesses. As small businesses go, so does the county go. A rising tide, they say, lifts all boats. Finally, I would work to make sure our law enforcement and judges have the tools to keep us all safe.”
Crow said his announcement is not a reflection on Barbagallo’s term on the council.
“I do not see myself running against someone or something,” he said. “I see myself running for something. That thing is a bright future for our county,” he said.
Filing for the August 2024 primary election runs from Feb. 27 through March 26.