Election Update: Zimmerman Wins St. Louis County Assessor Race

easily became St. Louis County's first elected assessor in 40 years, gaining 63.67 percent of the vote to 36.15 percent for . The vote total was 73,356 to 41,645 with 207 write-in votes.

Zimmerman said he thought the large margin of victory was due to people wanting accountability in the assessor’s office.

“The people of St. Louis County are looking for an accountable assessor who will treat people fairly whether their home is worth $50,000 or $500,000,” he said.

The first order of business is a top to bottom review of processes in the office,” Zimmerman said.

It’s too early to tell if that will solve problems, he said. Zimmerman said he is confident he will find “a lot of people in the assessor’s office that are committed to building a transparent and accountable assessor’s office.”

Zimmerman said he expects to start in the assessor office April 20, but first must wait for the election to be certified.

Wood called to concede the election at about 10:30 a.m., Zimmerman said.

“He was very nice. I admired his professionalism,” he said.

On Wednesday, Wood said he was overwhelmed with the support he received during his campaign.

“I’m humbled and pleased that 44,000 people touched my name on the touch screens and voted for me,” Wood said. “That’s a great feeling.”

 “Am I disappointed that more people didn’t vote for me? Sure. But today I’m back at the real estate office doing what I’ve loved to do for 37 years,” he said. “I’m getting pumped up about being in real estate again.”

Wood said he was proud that his campaign messages were positive and did not attack Zimmerman.

He did say that he believed Zimmerman’s campaign messages regarding the county suing him for nonpayment of taxes was over the line. Before the election, Wood showed a letter from the county’s Department of Revenue apologizing for the lawsuit, which was withdrawn. He did pay the taxes late, but they were paid before the suit was filed.

Wood said the payment was late because the tax bill was sent to an old address.

During his acceptance speech, Zimmerman said he would call upon Wood because the Republican had many good things to say during his campaign.

“Chip has a lot of ideas about making the appeals process more fair and more equitable,” Zimmerman said. “He and I had the same idea; we both wanted to make sure that the assessments reflect the actual value of the home.

“He has a lot of expertise in that area that we can draw on – as we will do with other stakeholders in that process,” he said.

Wood said he would sit down with Zimmerman to discuss assessment issues if he is asked.

“The truth of the matter is that I did this because I thought there was a problem, and I wanted to fix it,” he said. “I’m happy to serve, because it’s not about me. I told Jake, ‘If you want me, call me.’ It has nothing to do with any feelings about the campaign.”

St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley attended Zimmerman’s victory party.

“I think this is a great victory for St. Louis,” Dooley said. “I’m convinced he will do a marvelous job and will represent the citizens of St. Louis County well. He cares about the people of St. Louis County, and the people of St. Louis County recognized that tonight.”

Democrat Jake Zimmerman claimed victory in the St. Louis County assessor race at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Zimmerman had a commanding lead, 62.67 percent of the vote to Republican L.K. Wood's 37.16 percent, with 87 percent of the precincts reporting. The Olivette state representative had 58,544 votes to 34,715 for Wood.

In a speech, Zimmerman said, "I've been in enough parties like this on the losing side to know when it's impossible to come back."

Zimmerman thanked all his supporters for their work during the campaign. He also extended an olive branch to Wood.

"We have run a great campaign, but from here on out, it's not about politics," he said. "It's about treating people the same and getting it done right."

"He's committed, like every person in this room, to making the St. Louis County assessor's office the best it can be," Zimmerman said. "I look forward to sitting down with him and talking about his ideas, because he had some pretty good ones."

He began shaking hands and hugging people in the crowd as his supporters chanted, "Jake! Jake! Jake!"

Updated Wednesday with additional comments from Chip Wood.