St. Louis Councy Executive “Buzz” Westfall has died at the age of 59, just three weeks after checking into a hospital for severe back pain. Within hours of Westfall’s admission to the hospital on October 5th, doctors noticed a serious staph infection in his spine. The infection failed to respond to treatment and Westfall was placed on life support. Westfall was serving his fourth four-year term. The County Charter stipulates a successor must be chosen from Westfall’s party, meaning the successor will be a Democrat.