Comptroller Darlene Green has given a smart, detailed critique of the flaws in the current financing plan for a new stadium in St. Louis, but there is a more substantive reason for her to oppose this stadium plan.
In any transaction that requires the city to make a long-term financial commitment, the most important person in City Hall is the comptroller, not the mayor. The organizers of the stadium proposal never sought to engage and include the comptroller in putting their plan together, and without the active support of the comptroller there is no plan.
The major complaint of African-American aldermen seems to be the lack of creditable detail on the minority participation plan. However, they also have a much more substantive complaint: the lack of any input on the legislation they’re expected to pass prior to it being filed. This is an alien concept for me, because when I served on the Board of Alderman you couldn’t introduce legislation of this magnitude without black sponsors and would never finalize any legislation without their input.
Much black anger and frustration over major public decisions in St. Louis are based on the fact that white leadership never considers the priorities or prerogatives of the black community before they decide what’s best for St. Louis. They do this despite the fact that African Americans comprise over 30 percent of the combined St. Louis city and county population.
When I was a young alderman, there were senior black politicians who gave me the benefit of their experience. They told me if I was going to survive and have a chance at being successful, I would have to learn to tell people “no.” In fact, you have to learn to embrace the power of “no.” “Yes” may make you popular, but it’s “no” that makes you powerful. Always remember: politics is nothing but the art and science of acquiring and effectively using power.
The late state Senator J.B. “Jet” Banks had an iron rule about how he handled his business in Jefferson City. If you didn’t talk to him at the beginning of your effort, you had better not need him at the end. Banks was a political master who understood deals and projects come and go, but effective politicians never let anyone compromise their power or position. Black politicians ensure their seat at the table by guaranteeing they’ll be no table if it was designed without a place for them.
Deals that start wrong cannot be fixed at the end. Rather than engage in negotiations that legitimize the fact that dealmakers didn’t care what you thought in the first place, just say “no.” But say “no” for strategic, not tactical, reasons. Tactical reasons are things like a bad minority inclusion plan or overly risky financing arrangements.
Black leadership can continue to whine about the symptoms of this dysfunctional relationship between the black community and white power brokers, or they can take this stadium plan and change forever the paradigm of public decision-making in St. Louis. They do this by invoking the Senator Jet Banks Rule: If you didn’t talk to me when you were putting it together, you can’t talk to me when you’re trying to get it passed.
If you say “yes” after a few promises are made and some gifts are exchanged, you and the black community will continued to be ignored and overlooked as white power brokers continue to plan a St. Louis future that has little need or room for the black community. If you say “no,” you change the public policy culture and make history. You say that white commercial interests in St. Louis can no longer feed at the public trough without the prior consent of black political representatives.
Mike Jones, who has held senior positions in St. Louis city and county government, is a member of the St. Louis American editorial board and of the State Board of Education.
