We have entered the stretch run of a historically important political season. On November 8, Missouri voters will elect a president, a governor and a senator who could determine control of the U.S. Senate (among other offices), and next March St. Louis city voters will elect a new mayor after 16 years of Francis G. Slay.
The outcome of these races will help determine public policy for at least the next four years, and could have unforeseen effects far into the future. (Think President George W. Bush invading Iraq.) If you are black, however, other, lower-level elections may have a larger immediate impact on your life.
What could be more important than the presidential election? I would suggest two races: the Democratic nomination for St. Louis circuit attorney and the Democratic nomination for the 4th District seat on the St. Louis County Council.
Given the black community’s relationship with the criminal justice system and general breakdown of public safety in too many black city neighborhoods, no one can overstate the importance of the circuit attorney’s race. This is, after all, the city’s elected prosecutor who decides which cases to take to trial and what sentences to seek.
But I want to focus on the Democratic primary for St. Louis County’s 4th District council seat, which represents the county’s farthest northern reaches, including most of Florissant and Bellefontaine Neighbors and all of Black Jack and Spanish Lake.
A million people are residents of St. Louis County, and approximately 250,000 of them are African-American. There are seven council members representing about 143,000 people each. Along with the county executive, they decide what happens and what matters in St. Louis County. Of the eight people who decide most meaningful public policy for a county of a million people, 25 percent of whom are African-American, only one is black, 1st District Councilwoman Hazel Erby. African Americans hold only 14 percent of County Council seats, which means black political influence is, for all practical purposes, non-existent.
In the debate about MetroLink expansion, where is the voice representing the interests of African Americans in North County? Who, besides Erby, is advocating for North County for greater economic opportunity? The incumbent 4th District councilman’s most significant accomplishment is getting St. Louis County government to contribute $14 million to develop a soccer complex in Creve Coeur. As Northwest Plaza is getting repurposed, who is the advocate for redeveloping a vacant Jamestown Mall?
A second African American on the council would give the black community 28 percent of the council representation, a more equitable reflection of the African-American percentage of the county population. An African American representing the African-American majority of the 4th District would add strength and amplification to Erby’s voice on behalf of the entire black community.Â
However, they would need to be more than African-American elected officials; they would need to be black political leaders. They would need to work together to redefine the economic, political and policy relationship between the black community, St. Louis County and the St Louis region.
There is no question about the strategic importance of the president or the governor, but what happens to you and your community on a day-to-day, tactical level is a function of local government. And local government is a function of who you send – or don’t send – to represent you.
The overwhelming majority of African Americans live in two council districts, the 1st and the 4th. Both of these districts have African-American voting majorities. How could African Americans be so grossly underrepresented in county government? The simple answer is the apparent indifference of the black community in North County to its own political well-being.
In the black church, an effective sermon includes the rhythmic call and response between the preacher and the congregation. When it’s working, there’s a harmony, which is a reflection of the organic relationship between the minister and the congregation. Now, that doesn’t just happen. Some Sundays, the preacher has to move the congregation. Other Sundays, the congregation has to inspire the preacher. What matters, though, is that they get there.
There was a time in our not-too-distant past when that same symbiotic relationship existed between the black community and black political leadership, but those days are gone. So, which comes first – effective and intelligent black political leadership or an informed and politically engaged black community? What we do know is that both conditions are a prerequisite for black progress.
On August 2, incumbent 4th District Councilman Mike O’Mara faces Rochelle Walton Gray in the Democratic primary. Curtis Faulkner (Republican) and Jeff Coleman (Libertarian) are unopposed in the primary. July 6 is the deadline to register to vote on August 2. Eligible voters may register to vote at the their local election authority or any public library, Department of Revenue office or Social Services agency office.
Mike Jones, who has held senior policy positions in St. Louis and St. Louis County government, is a member of the St. Louis American editorial board, as well as the Missouri State Board of Education.
