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 However, he has surprised some by maintaining a public silence for
two weeks as Ferguson was rocked by riots over the killing of a
black teenager by a white police officer.
"Our city charter provides that our mayor is the spokesperson for
the city," James told Reuters, in his first public statement since
Ferguson patrol cop Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown, who was
unarmed, six times on Aug. 9.
James' reticence contrasts with outside politicians and civil rights
leaders who elbowed toward TV cameras. Ferguson's black residents
complain that they do not have a voice in the town's power
structures, and that lack of representation has contributed to the
anger that has sparked rioting, they say.
"He should be out there at ground zero and making his voice much
louder," said Jamilah Nasheed, a Democratic black state senator from
St. Louis, who launched an online petition calling for the recusal
of the prosecutor investigating Brown's killing.
 Ann Brown, one of James' neighbors, defended the councilman. He has
been a visible and calming force, even visiting to check on her
during the demonstrations, said Brown, who is white.
James, who lives in a tidy brick house in a leafy, racially mixed
Ferguson neighborhood, said he consulted his pastor before deciding
to keep a low profile. Instead of speaking out, he has met with
neighbors and youth groups and debated with protesters, he said.
"Some people say they wish they saw me on TV and others say they’re
glad I’m doing just what I’m doing," James said on Thursday in a
telephone interview. "At the end of the day, I have to look in the
mirror and be OK with the person I see."
Residents acknowledge a root of the problem in Ferguson is a lack of
black participation in politics at every level - even at the voting
booth.
Blacks did vote during the 2012 election, when 76 percent of
registered voters turned out and 85 percent of Ferguson residents
supported Barack Obama for reelection. But in municipal elections
over the past two years, overall turnout was just 12 percent. It was
as low as 1.78 percent in one mostly black Ferguson township,
according to St. Louis County election records.
GETTING ON THE BALLOT
James struggles to explain the apathy. "We need to encourage more
volunteers at every level, from the neighborhood association to
elected office," he said.
Some in the community say blacks may be intimidated by perceptions
of a white power structure. The 56-person police force has only
three black members, and the fire department is nearly all white.
From the mayor down, there are no blacks leading the city or any
departments.
White candidates are seen by some residents as benefiting from the
organizing ability of institutions like the city's main Catholic
church, Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, viewed as an influential social
hub that identifies and supports local politicians. Its congregation
remains mostly white even as Ferguson's population of 21,000 people
has become roughly two-thirds African American.
Pearce Neikirk, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in 2011, said
little has been done to get blacks involved in politics. “I don’t
think the black community was ever encouraged to participate,” said
Neikirk, who is white.
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The barriers are hardly insurmountable, Neikirk noted. He needed
just 75 signatures to get on the mayoral ballot.
John Gaskin III, a St. Louis County board member of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the U.S.
civil rights group, urged Ferguson’s black community to get
involved.
"If you're not at the table, you're probably on the menu, Gaskin
said."
Councilman James said there are no formal or informal racial
barriers to politics. "If you want to run for elected office, you
just do it," he said.
A 42-year-old engineer and algebra teacher, James said he first got
involved after a neighbor invited him to a community meeting. He
soon started a community garden and then served on the city zoning
board. After Ferguson’s lone black city council member resigned in
2007 over health issues, another member nominated James.
Constituents in James’ racially mixed district seem satisfied - even
the man who contested his reelection last year. “He is a good
councilman. It was a very bad idea to run against him,” said Martin
Pion, 78, who is white.
Even so, there are questions facing James and other council members
about the police department. A civil lawsuit filed this week in U.S.
District Court accuses James and the rest of the council of lax
police oversight in the 2011 death of Jason Moore, who died after
officers used a stun gun on him.
James declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The Aug. 9 shooting death of Brown has made James more aware of the
need for greater diversity on the police force. James said he has
worked to get more interaction between high school students and
Ferguson’s police officers but has struggled to convince black youth
to consider police work.
He said talk about bringing blacks more deeply into Ferguson’s civic
life is welcome, if overdue.
"There’s always a silver lining if you just tilt your head,” he
said. “But I haven’t seen the silver lining yet. But I trust and
pray that it will happen. I have faith.”
(Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Additional reporting by Carey Gillam
and Nick Carey, editing by David Greising and Ross Colvin)
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