Via the Associated Press:
Two black candidates were among three people elected to the Ferguson City Council Tuesday, tripling African-American representation in the St. Louis suburb where poor race relations have been a focal point since the August shooting death of an 18-year-old black by a white police officer.
The election means that half of the six-member city council in Ferguson, a town where two-thirds of the 21,000 residents are black, will now be African-American. The lone black incumbent councilman was not up for re-election. The mayor, who could break any tie votes, is white.
Voter turnout increased substantially from the previous election following a strong get-out-the-vote effort from labor unions and other national organizations.
After last year’s turmoil in Ferguson there was a lot of talk about more proportional representation for African-American residents in city government and the police force, which is certainly a more realistic and long-term solution than rioting. Neither can be coerced, however. The citizens have to be the catalysts for positive change (not the creeping influence of the federal government).
All too often, Americans don’t understand or use the power of the ballot box. Sadly, it almost always takes tragedy to remind us.
This story also illustrates that Big Labor still understands the power of the ballot box better than those to whom they might be politically opposed.
Hmmm…wonder who that might be?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member