Jamala Rogers
Some candidates are still flying high. Others are licking their wounds. It’s another election in Dred Scott City (St. Louis).
I’ve gotten an earful from different quarters regarding the outcome of the latest rounds. But I have to say, most of the wins and losses were predictable.
It seems to me more important than the who is the what.
Electoral politics is just one arena for maintaining and gaining power. It is not a popularity contest. It is not a fashion show. It is not about vendettas. It is not a space where people make careers. It is not a space where political families advance their own agendas. The African-American community must figure out what elections are and what they aren’t.
The savvy thing for us to do is to start with an agenda and some guiding principles, then look for the best candidate to carry out that agenda. That means electing a candidate with a track record on fighting for our issues and the ability to stay grounded even when s/he is in a cesspool. This is not an easy task, so we’re talking about someone with strong character and an even stronger commitment to serving the people.
The 4th Senatorial District was a critical race for black folks. It is a district that is over 60 percent African-American with historical roots dating back to the election of Theodore “T” McNeal. McNeal was the first African-American to be elected to the Missouri Senate. That’s why many progressive whites and blacks thought Jeff Smith should have stayed out of the race, particularly since he claims to be sensitive to the cause of black folks.
The 4th Senatorial District has close to 100,000 voters, yet five candidates couldn’t excite more than 20 percent of the voters to come out to the polls. Folks, it’s time for serious planning and consensus building.
Some people think you can’t tell people if and when they should run for office. In a democracy, people have a right to express themselves and to run for office. You have to show them by out-organizing them at the ballot box. Case in point is the school board races. Pontificatin’ may be fine for the pulpit, but it won’t win you races and it won’t put your agenda in action. Only consistently educating the constituency, tirelessly working together on issues and building relationships will get us there.
What do you do, you ask, about having to choose between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum? You start grooming candidates long before an election. They must be tested many times before they are bestowed with the responsibility of being an elected official. Elected officials can determine the quality of our life, whether we vote for them or not, so we may as well elect someone we know and trust. Once they’re in office, we must keep them accountable to the plan and to the people.
This primary is over, but our work isn’t. Most candidates will breeze on through the November election.
Maybe I spoke too fast.
Claire McCaskill has an uphill battle. The total number of Democratic votes cast for U.S. Senate in the state outnumbered Republican votes. But don’t let that fool you. Before these backward Dems see a woman get elected, they’ll turn Republican quicker than food spoiling during the St. Louis power outage.
