The situation developing in the campaign to replace the term-limited state Sen. Maida Coleman in the Missouri Senate should be troubling for everyone in the black community – and, indeed, for anyone who seeks fair and equal representation in the city of St. Louis and in the Missouri Democratic Party.
Coleman is one of only three African Americans among our 34 state senators, and she is the only black representing a senatorial district that includes part of the city of St. Louis. In a state that is nearly 12 percent African-American and more than 50 percent black, her 5th Senatorial District seat must be claimed by an African-American candidate to maintain any semblance of proportional representation and power-sharing in state government. This fact is widely understood by Democrats in St. Louis.
State Rep. Rodney Hubbard, a black man with a voting record closer to House Republicans than to Democrats, announced his candidacy early and let it be known he would not stand down. His considerable charisma and proven record as a hard worker with a dedicated street team enabled him to gain many early endorsements from African-American elected officials. In our view, these officials did nothing to hold Hubbard accountable for his poor voting record and did nothing to leverage him to improve his voting record to earn their endorsement. They simply endorsed him – too early, with too little consultation and scrutiny, for reasons best known to them.
Significantly later, state Rep. Robin Wright Jones entered the race. She comes with a much better voting record as a Democrat – her record on core issues of concern is exemplary. Yet she is at a different point in her life than Hubbard and has not earned a reputation equal to his regarding the ability to grind out votes on the street. She claims that her progressive voting record and her gender (in a state where women hold considerable political power, from U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill on down) will be enough to overcome Hubbard’s black endorsements and his street operation.
However, most observers instantly saw a split black vote – and expected a white candidate, most likely state Rep. Tom Villa, to step in and win. Villa has changed his campaign committee to reflect state senatorial ambitions. He and his wife have loaned his campaign a considerable sum of money. By all appearances, Villa is in, and if so, he should be considered a serious threat to win the seat. This would leave Missouri with only two African-American state senators, neither of those in the city of St. Louis. This should be considered unacceptable to anyone with a knowledge of this state’s history and a taste for justice.
In the assumption that Villa is acting in his own self-interests, however, who can blame him? Has either black candidate shown a greater concern for the community in their approach to the campaign? Is anyone here thinking of anyone other than themselves and their own, personal political futures?
When black politicians act merely out of self-interest, the black community loses, every time. We are a statistical minority in the state and a voting minority in the city. Without strategic, collective action and the cultivation of critical alliances, we can expect nothing better than continued disenfranchisement. Indeed, we deserve no better.
It may or may not be too late to fix the mess we have created for ourselves in the 5th Senatorial District. But this is not the only difficult campaign we face, if we are determined to demand better leadership for our community than Mayor Francis G. Slay has shown he is capable of providing. We had better start thinking collectively and strategically now – or we can continue to blame others for a mess we have done more than our share to create.