POTENTIAL SUCCESSORS

St. Louis Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who ran against Slay in 2013 and was gearing up for another battle against him next year, said Slay’s announcement caught him off guard. But he said he is glad that Slay made his political intentions clear a year ahead of time.

Reed, a Democrat, made it clear that he will seek to be Slay’s successor.

“It’s going to take a major overhaul, fresh blood, to make much needed changes to make our city safer,” said Reed. He said the mayor’s office must lead the charge to reduce crime in a city that has a national reputation for its high murder rate.

Gregory F.X. Daly, the city’s Democratic collector of revenue, also said he probably will join the race to replace Slay.

“I think I’m definitely going to look at the possibilities of the office and take the temperature and see how things are going to move forward,” Daly said Friday.

He predicted that with Slay’s announcement will come a long list of people considering a run.

“There are a number of people talking about it right now. I think it’s the nature of the political cycle that when there is an opening you are going to have individuals take a shot at it.”