Politics
Ferguson Voters Go to Polls to Elect 3 City Council Members

In this photo made in March 2015, Ferguson Ward 1 city council candidate Ella Jones poses for a portrait in Ferguson, Mo. The city is preparing for an election on Tuesday when three of six city council seats will be decided. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christian Gooden)
JIM SALTER, Associated Press
JIM SUHR, Associated Press
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The next Ferguson City Council will face the daunting task of remaking much of the beleaguered town’s leadership, a process that will begin soon after Tuesday’s municipal election.
Three of the six council seats are up for grabs in the St. Louis County town where 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black, was fatally shot by a white Ferguson police officer in August. Officer Darren Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing by a grand jury and the Justice Department, but a separate DOJ report blasted Ferguson for racial bias and profiling in the police department and a profit-driven municipal court system.
Fallout from that report led to the resignation of the city manager, police chief, municipal judge and two police officers. The municipal court clerk was fired for racist emails.
The new city council will be tasked with approving hiring of the replacements.
The scrutiny of Ferguson after the shooting found that the town of 21,000 residents has a mostly white police force and city leadership — the mayor and five of the six council members are white — even though blacks make up about two-thirds of residents.
After Tuesday, the council will add at least one, and maybe two black members.
The lone current black councilman, Dwayne James, is not up for re-election. The 3rd Ward race involves two black men, Lee Smith, 76, and Wesley Bell, 40, guaranteeing that an additional black resident will join the council. That ward includes the Canfield Green apartment complex where Brown was killed.
The 1st Ward features four candidates, two black and two white. The 2nd Ward race involves two white men.
Ferguson is not unique in drawing low turnout for municipal elections. Turnout last April was 12.3 percent, said Eric Fey, director of elections for St. Louis County.
A strong push was made after the shooting to register more black voters, but Fey said just 562 new voters were added to the rolls. In recent weeks, the focus has been on getting those who are registered to vote.
U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, a St. Louis Democrat, was among those going door-to-door over the weekend, encouraging people to vote.
The election is being watched by international media and is drawing get-out-the-vote volunteers involved with several national organizations, including labor unions, groups such as the Organization for Black Struggle, and Working Families Party, a leading voice of the left that helped elect New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio last year.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 26 – December 2, 2025
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 19 – 25, 2025
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 12 – 18, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 12 – 18, 2025
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
-
Activism3 weeks agoOakland Post: Week of November 12 – 18, 2025
-
Activism3 weeks agoIN MEMORIAM: William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94
-
Activism3 weeks agoHow Charles R. Drew University Navigated More Than $20 Million in Fed Cuts – Still Prioritizing Students and Community Health
-
Bay Area3 weeks agoNo Justice in the Justice System
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks agoThe Perfumed Hand of Hypocrisy: Trump Hosted Former Terror Suspect While America Condemns a Muslim Mayor
-
#NNPA BlackPress2 weeks agoTrump’s Death Threat Rhetoric Sends Nation into Crisis
-
#NNPA BlackPress4 weeks agoProtecting Pedophiles: The GOP’s Warped Crusade Against Its Own Lies
-
#NNPA BlackPress2 weeks agoLewis Hamilton set to start LAST in Saturday Night’s Las Vegas Grand Prix



