“I always believed people in power should be challenged,” former Fire Chief Sherman George told the American this week, reflecting on the mayoral campaign that ended Tuesday with the reelection of Mayor Francis G. Slay.
“That’s what I see everywhere else I go. I don’t know what happened in St. Louis. Thank God at least we had some women who challenged the mayor.”
Two African-American women with extensive political experience – Maida Coleman and Irene J. Smith – challenged Slay and lost in 2009.
In Tuesday’s general election, Slay (running as a Democrat) beat Coleman (who filed as an Independent) by almost exactly 10,000 votes, 22,912 votes (60.7 percent) to 12,957 (34.3 percent).
Adding the votes cast for the Green Party and Libertarian candidates, the total anti-Slay vote was nearly 40 percent.
Though not one single black alderman endorsed Coleman and Slay was the official Democratic candidate, only one ward led by a black alderman – the highly diverse 6th Ward – was won by Slay, with only 55 percent of the vote.
North St. Louis resoundingly rejected Slay, despite his active support from many black aldermen, including Jeffrey Boyd, Freeman Bosley Sr., Frank Williamson, Greg Carter and April Ford Griffin.
Coleman won (by descending voter margins) the following North City Wards: 1, 21, 4, 27, 2, 18, 26, 3, 22, 5 and 19 – reflecting a growing divide between the political commitments of the aldermen and the wishes expressed at the polls by their constituents.
Campaign finances also tell a story.
According to his campaign filing eight days before the election, Slay had raised more than $3 million and spent a whopping $2.6 million on his reelection effort. Receipts and expenditures in the last eight days will drive those astronomical figures even higher.
In her eight-day filing, Coleman had raised a little more than $37,000 and spent a little more than $23,000.
Irene J. Smith lost the March 3 Democratic primary to Slay by a similar margin, 19,359 votes (61.56 percent) to 10,039 (31.9 percent), working with a similarly monstrous disadvantage in campaign finances.
Voter turnout for both elections was low – 17 percent for Tuesday’s general election and 14.5 percent for the primary.
“Slay raises $3 million, and all he can get is 20,000 votes?” Smith said.
Alderman Terry Kennedy thought voter turnout would have been higher had more voices in the campaign been covered by the mainstream media.
“People are energized by issues that affect them, and the mayor’s campaign didn’t address them,” Kennedy said.
“The other side raised the issues, but they didn’t have the dollars to get their voices heard.”
“If the community doesn’t vote, they get what they deserve,” George said.
“We’ve got to get the St. Louis community to understand the absolute importance of local elections,” Smith said
Low support
Both Coleman and Smith were dismayed by the lack of support their campaigns received from African-American elected officials.
Coleman’s filing as an Independent against an incumbent Democrat (Slay) made it more difficult for elected Democrats to support her. State Rep. Jeannette Mott-Oxford was the only Democrat elected official to endorse her publicly. Coleman said the local teachers’ union and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists provided the most tactical and organizational support.
Smith ran as a Democrat in the primary, and even she received virtually no support from other black politicians. Terry Kennedy and Quincy Troupe were the only aldermen who endorsed her. Jessie Todd, Mattie Moore and Nora Neal were the only committeepeople who supported her.
“Individuals with no involvement in politics were the most helpful to me,” Smith said.
Many elected officials told the American privately that they considered Slay’s reelection an inevitability and didn’t see the wisdom in opposing him and setting themselves up for political payback.
“If politicians all think, ‘He will win,’ then he will win,” George said.
Coleman received the active support of George and a group of courageous, outspoken clergy, including Bishop Alphonso Scott, who leads the 3,000-members strong congregation at Lively Stone.
“I’m not afraid of any repercussion,” Scott said of openly supporting Slay’s opponent.
“I’m just a person interested in bettering the city. I don’t know what kind of repercussions they could give me. I wasn’t afraid to endorse Maida.”
What’s next?
Coleman said she had decided to put four months of her life on hold when she filed and now “will take a little time off to breathe and think about what’s next.”
A lifelong Democrat, Coleman harshly criticized the party in the early days of her campaign, but sounded confident that she had not burned any bridges.
“I’m going to be fine,” she said.
Smith said she wants to revive the International Urban Institute, which she co-founded, as a vehicle “to educate our community.” She also wants to take the research she amassed during her campaign and “put together an agenda our elected officials ought to address.”
She said activists from her campaign had encouraged her to run for president of the Board of Aldermen, but she is not interested. She said she is interested in influencing Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, whom she supported, to do more for the community.
“Lewis Reed ran for office talking about a citywide legislative agenda – I am yet to see that,” Smith said.
License Collector Mike McMillan received extensive coverage during this campaign for not running, which he said he had considered doing before polling data discouraged him.
Last week, just days before the election, McMillan sponsored a public event for the manufacturing industry and announced there will be a series of such events, which suggests an attempt to establish a more positive public profile.
McMillan did not endorse Slay, Coleman or Smith in the election. Neither did Reed or Comptroller Darlene Green, who ran unopposed and became the first four-term comptroller in St. Louis history.
“We need a leader to step up now and demonstrate leadership and courage,” George said.
“We can’t wait three or four years. It has to happen now. Truth must speak to power.”
