For the first time since Michael Brown Jr. was killed by a Ferguson police officer on August 9, Ferguson citizens are heading to the polls to change their city government. On April 7 Ferguson voters will elect three new members on the City Council.
While nearly 70 percent of Ferguson residents are black, five of the six members of the City Council, as well as the mayor, are white. But three of those white council members decided not to run for re-election.
Eight candidates, four of whom are black, are now competing for the three open seats – in a town that has elected only two black council members ever. And since both candidates for one open seat are black, and Council Dwayne James (who is black) is not on the ballot, the City Council is set to at least double its African-American representation.
The Ferguson City Council consists of six members chosen in nonpartisan elections. Their terms are overlapping and run for three years. The pay is low, and most members maintain a career outside of their council duties. Even the mayor, a council member at large who presides over council meetings, makes only about $350 a month.
The three council members who decided not to seek re-election are Kim Tihen of Ward 1, Tim Larson of Ward 2 and David Conway of Ward 3.
Larson declined to discuss why he’s not running, while Tihen did not respond to an interview request. Tihen, a former Ferguson police officer, was one of the officers sued over the alleged beating of a local construction worker, a black man who was then charged with destruction of property for bleeding on officers’ uniforms.
Conway, whose ward includes the street where Brown was shot, said he had decided before August 9 that he would not run again because it was too much of a time commitment. The father of six said it was difficult to balance his legislative work with his children’s extracurricular activities. He called his time on the council “very eye-opening” and warned that new council members would be entering an environment with “a lot of tension.”
“They’re walking into a really tough spot. It’s going to be hard to gain the trust back with the people,” Conway said. He recommended that the new members “engage in the community as much as you possibly can.”
While City Council meetings regularly drew protestors and large crowds last fall, the meeting on January 27 was attended by only a few dozen people. Bob Hudgins, who was active in protests at the Ferguson Police Department, is one of two candidates running to represent Ward 2. He said he was “very concerned” by both the lower turnout at the meeting and the makeup of the audience, which skewed older.
“If you go by tonight, I would lose,” Hudgins said. “None of my people, the people that used to show up here, who are younger, are here.”
He suggested that many in the crowd were supporters of his opponent, Brian Fletcher, the former mayor who started an “I Love Ferguson” campaign after all the negative stories about the town.
Both Ward 2 candidates are white, and they are running to represent a ward that covers much of the more affluent side of town, including the police and fire department headquarters.
But Hudgins has cast his lot with those demanding change, while Fletcher is seen as the establishment candidate.
“I know some people are burned out,” Hudgins said. “People have their regular schedules, and the economy isn’t great around here. I get it. But I’m making an extra effort. I didn’t want to be a politician. I never had aspirations to be one, but now that’s what I’ll have to do. So I’m here.”
In Ward 3, one of the two black candidates is facing opposition from a local politician who was active in Ferguson protests. Wesley Bell is a local lawyer who previously lost a bid for St. Louis County Council and teaches criminal justice at St. Louis Community College. But it’s his role as municipal judge in Velda City that has earned him the opposition of Patricia Bynes, the Democratic committeewoman from Ferguson Township.
Municipal courts came under scrutiny owing to the Ferguson protests, as many county municipalities rely heavily on revenue from court fines and fees, in effect imposed by law enforcement. Velda City, which covers just 0.16 of a square mile and has less than 1,500 residents, receives over 20 percent of its general revenue from court fees and fines, according to Better Together St. Louis.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster recently added Velda City to a lawsuit against multiple St. Louis County municipalities under a state law that caps what percentage of revenue a municipality can collect from its courts.
“We need black judges and we need black attorneys, but we have to be sensitive to the issues at hand and what the people want,” Bynes said.
She is backing Bell’s opponent, a retired black Ferguson resident named Lee Smith. “We need blacks and people of color in office, but with this buffet of controversy over judges and municipal courts, it’s not the right time for him,” Bynes said of Bell.
Bell said his role as municipal judge is just part-time, since Velda City holds court only three times a month. He said he was pushing reform efforts even before Brown’s death drew national attention to the county’s municipal courts.
“A lot of the court reform that people are asking for, I’m proud to say, I’ve already been implementing those from the bench,” Bell said. For instance, he said he allows people to make payment arrangements if they can’t afford the fine upfront.
“I stand by my record, and that’s why I can walk in my city,” Bell said. “A lot of judges don’t walk in their city, because some of them haven’t been fair.”
In Ward 1, four candidates are running for the open seat – two black, two white. One of the black candidates, Adrienne Hawkins, blames the low turnout at the January 27 City Council meeting on a loss of hope.
“I don’t believe that the community is giving up. I believe they are possibly losing hope that change is coming,” she said. “That’s why I chose to run for city council.”
Hawkins took a long pause, getting teary-eyed.
“I don’t ever want any of our young people to lose hope,” she said. “We can’t give up, even though we all are a little worn, but never tired. We have to keep fighting for change.”
This story was published as part of a partnership between The St. Louis American and The Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com.
