Millstadt’s new mayor also works for Laborers Local 459

Millstadt — Mike Todd, a longtime union member and organizer, has added the title of mayor of Millstadt to his growing list of accomplishments.

Todd, 34, was elected in the April municipal elections after serving on the village board. He defeated another veteran board member, Linda Lehr.

In an interview with the Labor-Tribune, Todd said he wasn’t sure he would win the election since both candidates are well known in the village. The vote was 754-551 after the canvass.

“I thought it would be a little closer, but it turned out to be a pretty substantial victory,” he said.

On the board, he has been chairman of committees handling streets, sidewalks, public buildings and maintenance, and he plans to continue that emphasis on infrastructure improvements in his work as mayor. “We’re a very old city,” he noted.

The mayor’s job, officially known as village president, is part-time. Todd’s main job is as a marketing representative, organizer and political worker for Laborers  Local 459, based in Belleville.

He joined the Laborers 16 years ago when he was 18 and has been working for the local the past six years. “My commitment to the union is still 100 percent,” he noted. “There is room for both of them.”

Todd’s brother Mark, a union meat cutter, was elected to the village board in the same election.

Mike Todd said he is optimistic about the future of Millstadt, which is located in a setting convenient to both St. Louis and Belleville and has three newer subdivisions in addition to its older sections. He grew up in Millstadt, where he and his wife Christine are raising two young sons, Brady and Austin.