6th Ward Alderman Lewis Reed’s decision to run for president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen has sparked what is shaping up to be a lively three-way contest to replace him. The three candidates that have currently filed are Kacie Starr Triplett, Patrick Cachionne, (who is 6th Ward Democratic committeeman) and Christian Saller.
The 6th Ward is one of the most diverse wards in the city. As a result of redistricting it also is the most balkanized ward. Its boundaries snake from the Gate district, Compton Hill, Lafayette Square on the near South Side to the Washington Avenue loft district. Even though the ward has for years had a population that was more that 60 percent African-American, up until the last 8 years it has been represented by white alderpersons. (One exception was a period in the late 1950’s when Archie Blaine served in the 6th.) The ward did, however, have African-American representation on the Democratic Central Committee – up until the 1990 redistricting, when Beverly Buchheit, the current Democratic committeewoman, was moved through boundary changes from the 8th Ward to the 6th Ward. Buchheit, who had been the committeewoman of the 8th Ward for more than a decade, decided to run for committeewoman in the 6th Ward in 1992 and has been there ever since.
On of the more interesting aspects of politics in the 6th Ward is that the endorsement process is “open.” This “open” endorsement process allows registered voters who are dues-paying members of the ward organization for two months prior to the endorsement vote to actually vote on the Democratic candidates running for office. When Reed was elected in 1997, he was able to upset the wishes of the outgoing alderman and the established political leadership in the 6th Ward by recruiting new members to join the ward organization who were loyal to him.
Triplett may be young, but she has been paying attention for a relatively long time. She is trying to use the same strategy Reed used to pull an upset over Cachionne, whom Buchheit is purportedly favoring. According to Triplett, on November 16 she turned in 137 names and membership dues of residents of the 6th Ward who had signed up to become members of the 6th Ward Organization. This past Monday a meeting was called by Buccheit to discuss some alleged discrepancies in the membership list that Triplett turned in. According to Triplett, she was not notified of the meeting and in fact believes that Buccheit deliberately sent notice of the meeting to an email address that Buccheit knows was inactive, because it is her email address in the office of Russ Carnahan, where Buccheit and Triplett previously worked together. Triplett suspected a back-door strategy to remove the names of her supporters and thus stymie her nomination. (Of course, Buchheit has another version of the story.)
The EYE needs to remind everyone that dirty tricks are a staple of ward politics. In all aspects, Triplett’s candidacy represents an invitation to change the guard in the 6th Ward. She is young, smart and African-American in a ward that is currently represented by an African American and in the EYE’s opinion should continue to be represented by an African American. In a city with a population that is more than 50 percent black, the political representation on the Board of Aldermen should be reflective of the population it serves. Given her long tenure, Buccheit should have used an abundance of due diligence to make sure that Triplett and all other interested parties were notified of a meeting called to discuss removing names from the membership list. In a ward that is more that 60 percent black and a city that has a two-party system composed of white Democrats and black Democrats, race does matter and Triplett’s concern that something sinister was going afoot is not unwarranted. It is also ridiculous that she was berated by several people on the scene for “race-baiting” them.
It is not clear how this attempt to vet the list of new members that Triplett turned in will turn out, but it should be clear to the political leadership of the 6th Ward that a new day has arrived.
This blow-up has created a potentially problematic side issue for Reed’s campaign. Reed has taken a politically safe neutral position in the 6th Ward aldermanic election and is trying to find a way to stay out of this fight. His effort to maintain this neutrality is going to be tested by the allies of his opponent, incumbent Jim Shrewsbury, who will do whatever he can to paint Reed as a pawn of Mayor Slay. According to reliable sources, Shrewsbury’s effort to embarrass Reed is being aided by Darryll Piggee, a former employee of Shrewsbury’s who attended the meeting on Monday as an advisor to Triplett. Piggee has not been shy about his support for Shrewsbury, which leads the EYE to question where his current boss 1st District Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay will drop his chips in this contest.