Former Missouri State Rep. Esther Haywood held a fundraiser for Chris Koster’s gubernatorial campaign on August 17. Haywood, who is president of the St. Louis County NAACP, sent out a flier for the event that listed the suggested contributions for between $150 to $1,000.
Although the flier stated that it was paid for by Haywood, several people who are on the St. Louis County NAACP email list said they received it and they don’t know how Haywood would have gotten their information other than from the NAACP contact list.
Koster, the two-term attorney general, is a strong supporter of the National Rifle Association and said recently that he would have signed the bill removing training requirements for concealed carry of a firearm. Because of this stance, he’s received criticism from many African-American elected officials, including Kansas City Mayor Sly James.
Koster recently released a campaign video that touted his accolades as “suing Barack Obama’s EPA to keep federal regulators off our land.” The video shows him walking with a farmer who put his hand on Koster’s shoulder.
In 2015, Koster joined several Republicans in attacking the revised Waters of the United States Rule, also known as the Clean Water Rule. It was intended to clarify the bodies of water that can be regulated under Obama’s Clean Water Act. It grants protection to two million miles of streams and 20 million acres of wetlands that were previously not clearly protected under the Clean Water Act — streams and wetlands that supply nearly one-third of Americans with their drinking water.
While most environmental groups praised the action, Republicans claimed the government was overstepping its authority.
Candidates who bash Obama and support relaxed gun laws are not people who NAACP leaders typically support. It might be one thing if it seemed the Democratic candidate needed help from the African-American community to raise money. But he clearly does not. Eight days before the August 2 primary election, Koster had $10.9 million cash on hand, according to his campaign finance report. His Republican opponent Eric Greiner was nowhere near him with $628,000.
He hasn’t done a thing to show that he would even spare a glance in the black community’s direction. So why the support?
John Gaskin III, a voting member of the NAACP National Board of Directors (and Haywood’s grandson), said he was unable to talk with The St. Louis American before deadline because of a busy schedule. Haywood did not return The American’s call.
Cops for Koster
On August 16, Koster also announced his endorsement for governor by the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police. The Post-Dispatch headline said it all: “In latest nod to right, Koster touts police endorsement for governor.”
Tishaura not yet drafted
Draft Tishaura – the grass-roots effort to draft Tishaura O. Jones to run for St. Louis mayor – held a meetup and fundraiser on August 11 that netted $1,500 for a prospective campaign. Kara Clark, one of the organizers, said that about 65 or 70 people attended the event. The group raised $1,127 during the last campaign reporting period.
“I am tired of the status quo of candidates we tend to get,” Clark said. “I think she offers something different. She is more focused on the real issues of the city – education, unemployment and our racial problems, which have been heightened in the last couple of years. Only she understands the issues and knows what to do.”
Jones, who won her unopposed primary for state treasurer on August 2, attended the event and spoke briefly, without committing to run.
“I am still strongly considering it,” Jones told The American. “I was absolutely delighted by the support in that room – the diverse support. When I got there, it felt like a surprise birthday party – better than a surprise birthday party.”
No re-vote in Berkeley
City of Berkeley residents will not recast their votes for mayor, according to a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge’s order on August 10.
In the April 5 election, sitting Mayor Theodore Hoskins won by 13 votes – beating the next top contender Babatunde Deinbo 485 to 472 votes. Berkeley’s four polling sites were among 63 voting locations that experienced ballot shortages – which resulted in the suspension of Democratic Director of Elections Eric Fey for two weeks without pay.
Although the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners certified the election results on April 19, the commissioners came back and decided to recommend a new election in Berkeley at a meeting on May 10. They cited Berkeley’s “voting irregularities” as the reason.
On August 10, Judge Maura McShane denied the commissioners’ petition for a special election. In her judgment, she stated that “the evidence demonstrates that the irregularities were not sufficient to cast doubt on the outcome of the election.”
Out of all the areas that had ballot shortages, Berkeley was the only citywide race that the election commissioners chose to petition for a special election. The only other race the board filed a petition for was Sunset Hills’ Ward 1 race.
In the commissioners’ petition, they state that more than 50 voters were turned away at one of the four voting locations in Berkeley.
“While some of those voters did return and cast their ballot, many did not,” the petition stated.
Hoskins’ attorney Rufus Tate said that the voters left their contact information and were called back when the ballots were in. Every single person on the list cast a ballot, he said. The commissioners could not provide a witness who was not able to vote, he said.
“All they had was speculation,” Tate said.
For Hoskins, the process has been “tedious and nerve-wrecking,” he said. He was confused why the board certified the election and then turned around and filed the petition. He also didn’t understand why the commissioners singled out Berkeley. In some other county races where there were ballot shortages, the candidates won by as few as four votes.
“I really don’t know why they chose Berkeley,” he said. “Perhaps because of the embarrassment of the board of elections, they had to save face.”
De-escalation in Berkeley
Overall, Hoskins is glad he can move forward.
He said this week, the city “started turning dirt” on a new state-of-the-art police station for the city’s 35 police officers and 53 total department employees. About 75 percent of their police officers are African-American, Hoskins said.
He believes the relationship between the police and community is good, but they are “taking the necessary steps to make sure that the things that occurred in Ferguson don’t happen in Berkeley.”
All the officers are attending training this year on de-escalation, he said. Berkeley received national attention after 18-year-old Antonio Martin was shot and killed by a Berkeley officer in December 2014. Martin was armed, but the event sparked debate about the department’s need for body cameras. In 2015, the department did receive some body cameras for officers.
Through a St. Louis County grant, Berkeley just reopened a swimming pool that has been closed for a few years. They also recently implemented a housing stabilization initiative, where the city gave 75 residents $1,000 to repair the exterior their homes.
Balancing the city’s budget has been his proudest achievement in his tenure, he said. He did this by taking steps to secure the city’s $3 million bond and cutting back on spending.
“When I first came in, we were $1.7 million in the hole,” he said. “Now we are $3 million-plus to the good.”
