North City alderman sues opponent; alleges challenger lied under oath & falsified address

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A St. Louis City alderman is suing her opponent in the race for Ward 11.

“It is not fair to me. It’s not fair to the people of this city that someone should be able to run in a race who is not qualified,” says Ward 11 Alderwoman, Laura Keys.

According to Keys’ lawsuit, challenger, Carla “Coffee” Wright, falsified documents and lied about her address under oath. On page 3, it says the home on Holly Avenue “has not had water service since April 23, 2007.”

Court documents say Wright’s voter information traced her to another residence on North Newstead in November 2022.

“It’s unacceptable,” says Keys. “We signed declarations. We signed oaths that the information that we are providing at that moment is true and that has not happened.”

News 4 obtained Carla Wright’s, declaration for candidacy, where Wright handwrote the Holly Avenue address in question and signed off on it under oath.

Despite attempts to locate Wright at the residence and via phone, News 4 has not heard back.

“They swear essentially that they meet the qualifications that are set up in the city. It’s an oath and it’s a very serious thing,” says Board of Elections Commissioner, Ben Borgmeyer.

The board of elections is also named in the lawsuit but according to Borgmeyer, verifying where candidates live is not the office’s responsibility.

“At this point it would take a court order for us to do something off the ballot,” he says. “It’s like checking boxes. Do you have your tax clearance forms? Check. Do you have your signature petition? Check. Are you swearing the oath that you qualify? Check. So that’s essentially what we do.”

The race for Ward 11 will be determined in the general election set for April 4.

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