In her first campaign for public office, Nasheed pulled off a stunning win over former 20th Ward Alderwoman Sharon Tyus. Nasheed won the Democratic nomination for 60th District state representative with an impressive 43.9 percent (1,528 votes), compared to Tyus’ 37.8 percent (1,315 votes). Two other candidates, former 60th District state Rep. Bob Bartlett (200 votes) and Shaun A. Simms (436 votes) – whose claim to fame is his status as the husband to Boykins – should wonder why they even bothered.
In other races, incumbent Rodney Hubbard beat Bill Haas handily in the 58th District (what a surprise). In St. Louis County, all of the incumbent Democratic state representatives won, including John Bowman (70th District) and Esther Haywood (71st District). City and county elections were also predictable, with Charley Dooley, Mike McMillan and Greg F.X. Daly gliding to victory in their elections for county executive, license collector and collector of revenue, respectively.
Progressives did have two reasons to groan. Pat Allen got beat in the Bootheel, where Republicans in the 162nd District switched tickets to stymie a promising challenger. And in the 74th House District, newcomer Ingrid Owens finished third with 681 votes, with Tony George (996 votes) narrowly beating Steve Webb (925 votes), who is also black.
Owens generated a fair share of grassroots enthusiasm, but former state Rep. Elbert Walton dismissed her bid as a “black crab in a barrel” intervention that defeated a more promising African-American candidate, Webb, who was trying to beat the son of the term-limited Tom George. “Tragically, she split the black vote sufficiently to allow the white candidate to win,” argues Walton, who also offered the rumor that Owens was put in the race by Ted Hoskins, on behalf of his white friends in the North County labor unions, who contributed over $20,000 to his re-election fund in 2004.
Young (often white) progressives and the black community’s political interests have never been a perfectly harmonious union. But Democrats and the beleaguered black voter have to admit that whatever they have been doing in recent years, it has been failing dismally. Jeff Smith, Mike McMillan and Maria Chappelle-Nadal suggest that folks are getting ready to try something new. Bring it on.