The “Black Community for Kander” campaign was launched in support of Jason Kander’s candidacy for U.S. Senate the morning of Monday, April 18 in a press conference held at Exodus Art Gallery, 5075 Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis.
St. Louis License Collector Mavis Thompson, state Rep. Karla May and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones, all Democrats from St. Louis, expressed their support for Kander, who hopes to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Roy Blunt.
Thompson credited Kander for his work as Missouri secretary of state, his current elected position, where he has opposed “unnecessarily restrictive voter photo ID laws,” which have a disparate impact on low-income, elderly and African-American voters.
She also praised him for his presence “on the ground in Ferguson” – Kander later said he has visited Ferguson more than any other community in the state since the police killing of Michael Brown Jr. – and his support for increasing the minimum wage in Missouri.
May, who served with Kander in the Missouri House of Representatives, spoke of his character as a U.S. Army veteran (he served in Afghanistan) and a public servant. “He will help usher in a new generation of leadership,” May say. “He has stood with us countless times.”
Jones, who also served with Kander in the Missouri House, said he is an action agent. “A lot of people run for office to be somebody,” Jones said. “Few run to do something. Jason ran to do something.”
She echoed the sentiment that Kander is a white Democrat whom black Democrats have been able to reply upon for solidarity. “We all know Jason,” Jones said, “and his commitment to our community.”
Jones made the most personal remarks, discussing Kander’s commitment to his son True and his willingness to sit through a lengthy worship service with her at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church. “This was a Jewish guy at a Baptist church,” Jones said. “He enjoyed it.”
In Kander’s own brief remarks, he emphasized his commitment to finding solutions to the many problems brought to light by the Ferguson unrest, saying the magic words, “Black lives matter.”
“There needs to be action on the local, state and federal levels,” Kander said. “We have the opportunity to unify and solve these problems.”
He touched lightly on policy points, saying he supports body-worn cameras for police officers – to protect both the community and the cops, he said – the correction of “biases in the criminal justice system,” and the provision of opportunities for ex-offenders. He praised Gov. Jay Nixon for ordering the removal of the criminal-records check box from applications for employment in the state’s executive branch and said he also had “banned the box” in applications to work for the secretary of state.
He also restated his “vocal” opposition to the voter photo ID laws being promoted by Republicans in Missouri and nationwide. “I don’t understand why people want to go backwards on voting rights,” Kander said. “I will defend accessibility to the polls for all eligible Americans.”
He also invited the public to look at the record of Senator Blunt, whose voting record received an “F” from the NAACP on its most recent legislative report card. “Senator Blunt has an abysmal record,” Kander said. “He has been in Congress for 20 years, and when has he shown leadership on any of these issues?”
The NAACP found that Blunt cast only one vote on 26 bills of interest that was consistent with its civil rights mission, giving him a score of 4 percent, the lowest for Missouri’s congressional delegation in the 113th Congress (2013-14).
Kander then took a few questions from the small group gathered at the gallery.
Asked about the split between blacks and organized labor, two key Democratic constituencies, he dodged the question and instead spoke in general terms about advocating for “all working Missourians.”
Asked about policy for the public release of police body camera footage, he deferred the question, saying that local leadership needs “to work through these issues” considering privacy rights versus the public’s right to know. Kander cited his own father’s experience as a police officer reporting to domestic disturbances to suggest that some police camera evidence should not be public documents.
He also was asked about Missouri’s failure to elect an African American to statewide office in its history, and asked particularly about the candidacy of two black people currently running for statewide office – Tommie Pierson for lieutenant governor and Robin Smith for secretary of state, Kander’s own current office.
Kander said they are both friends and supporters but declined to endorse because “voters should have their say in a Democratic primary.”
Pierson’s most formidable primary opponent is Russ Carnahan, the former congressman. Smith faces Bill Clinton Young and MD Rabbi Alam, both from Kansas City, in her primary.
However, Kander was not asked about another African American currently running for statewide office: Cori Bush, one of Kander’s three opponents in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator.
Missouri’s primary election is August 2 and the general election is November 8.
