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Three seats are up for election on the six-member City
Council in Ferguson, where two-thirds of the residents are
African-American and the municipal leadership has been long
dominated by whites. None of the incumbents are running.
Community activists say a lack of adequate representation for
African-Americans in Ferguson has contributed to a range of
problems that were exposed when a white police officer killed an
unarmed black teenager in August.
Activists hope new City Council membership will change that, and
African-American representation is guaranteed to double to two
after Tuesday's election and could increase to three seats. A
history of low voter turnout has some worried.
"This is a step we need to get the city headed in the right
direction," said Patricia Bynes, a Democratic committeewoman for
Ferguson Township who has been running a voter education
program. "But we are dealing with a community that doesn't
regularly vote."
Voter turnout in Ferguson for local elections historically runs
from 10 percent to 40 percent, according to St. Louis County
records, though voter registration was up about 4.6 percent in
the past nine months to more than 12,000 voters.
The election follows a U.S. Justice Department investigation
that found broad racial bias in Ferguson's police force and
municipal court system. Ferguson's city manager, police chief
and municipal judge resigned in March after the Justice
Department released a scathing report describing the findings.
Ferguson was hit by months of protests including some violence
and looting after white officer Darren Wilson fatally shot
Michael Brown, 18, in a confrontation on Aug. 9. Protests surged
in November after a grand jury decided Wilson should not be
charged.
Ferguson, which has about 21,000 residents, has had only two
black council members in its history, including Councilman
Dwayne James, who is not up for re-election. Eight candidates
including four African-Americans are vying for the three seats.
Two African-American candidates are running in the ward where
Brown lived. Four candidates, two black and two white, are
seeking a second seat. The third seat is being contested by two
white candidates.
(Reporting by Carey Gillam in Kansas City, Missouri; Additional
reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Eric Beech)
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