Wesley Bell is a prosecutor who understands the importance of environmental justice and finding bold solutions to climate change.
Born and raised in St. Louis County, Bell is the son of a police officer and county civil servant. Bell holds a bachelor’s degree from Lindenwood University and later earned a J.D. from the University of Missouri. After law school, he became a public defender and later worked as a criminology professor at Florissant Valley Community College. He then served as municipal court judge in Velda City and municipal prosecutor in Riverview. In 2015, following the protests after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by the police, Bell was elected to the Ferguson City Council. In 2018, he defeated the incumbent prosecutor to become the first Black person to be elected prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County.
As a representative, Bell will work to fight the climate crisis and ensure all communities have access to clean air and water.
Bell joins the U.S. House after defeating Republican candidate Andrew Jones Jr. in the general election. He fills the seat held by former Representative Cori Bush, who Bell defeated in the Democratic primary and who earned a 100% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard.
“Climate change is a crisis, and we need to be doing more to address it. Everyone should live in a clean and healthy environment regardless of their race, income, or ZIP code.” – Wesley Bell for Congress