To almost no one’s surprise, the inevitable happened on Tuesday in the Democratic mayoral primary. Mayor Francis Slay won a lopsided 2 to 1 victory in a low Election Day turnout that stirred minimal public interest. Far outmatched in financial resources and announced political endorsements, 1st Ward Alderwoman Irene Smith managed less than 12,000 votes in a city which, as her backers love to remind everyone, is over 50 percent African-American.
Ald. Smith showed those who paid attention that she is personally smart, articulate and earnest. However, loudly declared claims about African-American entitlements were once again dashed by futile, ineffective politics. Some self-absorbed supporters of Ald. Smith, who failed to build any broad consensus in the African American community for her candidacy, are claiming a symbolic victory, despite her crushing defeat n which leads us to wonder about how surreal some people can get.
We don’t seek to make a case that those who are working to improve opportunities in the African-American community need to feel despair and total disappointment because the incumbent has won a second term virtually unchallenged. Mr. Slay will be the city’s mayor for the next four years, and his first term saw some undeniable, solid advances in several areas and not just downtown, but also in some of the neighborhoods.
Moreover, his willingness to challenge the complacency around governance, reform and lagging student achievement in the St. Louis Public Schools deserves praise. The road to needed school reform has been contentious and mistakes have been made, but to his credit the mayor, with little legal power over the schools, has been willing to expend political capital, get engaged and stay resolute.
Critics of purposeful reform of the school district and its stewardship should save some of their partisan venom and tone down some of their rhetoric in favor of more balanced, constructive discourse about addressing the daunting problems that face St. Louis Public Schools. Despite finger-pointing and recriminations from facile critics, the district’s problems were created over many years by poverty, urban flight and fiscal strain, and they will not yield to quick, easy solutions. Sustainable reform will need longterm commitment.
The mayor’s commanding victory does provide him a unique opportunity to consummate his mandate. He needs to continue to reach out to all of the varied constituencies of this increasingly diverse city if he wants to broaden and sustain the rebound that made some encouraging progress in many areas in his first term.
St. Louis can’t become a great city if large segments of the city are ignored and not included. There must be no tolerance for insulation of any part of the city if the city is to achieve its potential for growth and prosperity.