Democracy for America (DFA) endorsed Wesley Bell for St. Louis County prosecutor in the August 7 Democratic primary, when Bell faces incumbent Bob McCulloch, who was first elected to the position in 1991.
The organization, which has 19,925 members in Missouri and more than one million members nationwide, is endorsing a slate of “Criminal Justice Reform Champions” nationwide as candidates for prosecutor, sheriff, and judge.
DFA Chair Jim Dean said the group supports Bell because of his advocacy of criminal justice reforms “such as ending cash bail for non-violent offenses, replacing jail time with treatment for those struggling with drug addiction, and requiring independent review of police misconduct.”
A spokesman for DFA said the group will be “looking to do grassroots small-dollar fundraising for Wesley, encouraging our local members to volunteer directly for his campaign, and are currently looking to providing other ways DFA members outside St. Louis County might be able to volunteer in support of his campaign.”
The race has garnered national attention because of McCulloch’s handling of the Darren Wilson grand jury and resulting unrest in Ferguson, as well as his longer track record as a prosecutor. The release announcing the endorsement described McCulloch as “notorious for his role in denying justice to Michael Brown and others killed by police in St. Louis County and aggressive prosecuting tactics.”
“The antiquated and ineffective arrest-and-incarcerate, win-at-any-costs methods of the current county prosecutor alienates the criminal justice system from the residents it serves and leaves them less safe,” Dean said.
Bell was elected to the Ferguson City Council after the Ferguson unrest. DFA notes that, as a Ferguson councilman, Bell worked with President Obama’s U.S. Department of Justice to implement its consent decree with Ferguson, which compelled “more thorough training for police, the use of body cameras, a pay raise for police, reforming use-of-force policy, and overhauling the municipal court system.”
The DFA release omits to mention Bell’s own work within the municipal court system. He was municipal judge in Velda City when ArchCity Defenders sued the small municipality over its cash bail system. “Keeping the poor in jail because they cannot make a monetary payment violates longstanding and fundamental principles of American law,” ArchCity argued about the court where Bell presided in Velda City.
