National

Few Candidates File for Ferguson Election Despite Protests

Published

11 years ago

January 21, 2015

In this Sept. 9, 2014 file photo, Marurice Brown raises his arms during a public comments portion of a meeting of the Ferguson City Council, back right, in Ferguson, Mo. Candidates for the first municipal election in Ferguson since a fatal police shooting brought the St. Louis suburb international notoriety face a filing deadline Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. Ferguson is nearly 70 percent black, all but one of its elected leaders is white. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

In this Sept. 9, 2014 file photo, Maurice Brown raises his arms during a public comments portion of a meeting of the Ferguson City Council, back right, in Ferguson, Mo. Candidates for the first municipal election in Ferguson since a fatal police shooting brought the St. Louis suburb international notoriety face a filing deadline Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015. Ferguson is nearly 70 percent black, all but one of its elected leaders is white. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Ferguson’s first municipal election since a fatal police shooting sparked months of protests and exposed the city’s deep racial divide drew relatively little interest from prospective candidates as Tuesday’s filing deadline passed.

Three of the St. Louis suburb’s six City Council seats are up for election on April 7 and none of the three incumbents decided to seek re-election. Three of the eight residents who did declare as candidates waited until hours before Tuesday’s late afternoon filing deadline.

Ferguson was roiled by sometimes violent protests after 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, was shot to death by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in August. A St. Louis County grand jury declined in November to indict Wilson, who left the force days later.

At the time of the shooting, just three of 53 police officers were black in a city with an African-American population of nearly 70 percent. All but one of the six council members are white, as is Mayor James Knowles, who resisted calls for his own resignation and said he plans to seek a third term as mayor in 2017.

“The council can still be responsive to the city without the customary ‘heads have to roll’ response,” Knowles said. “If that’s what the citizens of Ferguson demanded, there would be at least one person running under the banner of, ‘They all have to go.’ And that’s just not happened.”

Knowles said that two of three incumbents who are stepping down decided long before Brown’s death not to seek three more years in office, primarily due to work obligations.

Activists who initially sought to oust Ferguson elected leaders and Police Chief Tom Jackson, who also remains on the job, said many residents remain disillusioned with local politics. Others believe the most effective way to push for new laws and policy changes on issues such as police conduct and voting district boundaries is to agitate from outside rather than to negotiate from within, said protest leader Ashley Yates, co-founder of Millennial Activists United.

“It’s more about building power within our own community,” she said. “Ferguson really gave us an idea of what the City Council’s powers are — it’s not much. And there’s a realization that the system has failed black America at large. So why operate in a system that does not work?”

Like many small cities, Ferguson relies on a professional administrator, its city manager, for most day-to-day governing decisions. Elected officials typically focus on items such as spending priorities and budget approvals.

The new candidates include Wesley Bell, 40, a criminal justice instructor who previously lost a Democratic primary for St. Louis County Council.

Bell is the son of a police officer and serves as a municipal court judge in Velda City, part of a cluster of inner-ring communities in north St. Louis County that has faced criticism for heavily relying on revenue from municipal traffic courts to fund city government. His ward includes the Canfield Green apartment complex outside of which Brown was killed.

The candidates also include a familiar face: former Ferguson Mayor Brian Fletcher, who helped launch an “I Love Ferguson” campaign to bolster the city’s image.

The only seat to attract more than two candidates was in Ward 1, where Doyle McClellan, a network security administrator at an Illinois community college and two-year Ferguson resident, said he showed up at City Hall as soon as candidacy petitions could be filed in mid-December. He is one of four candidates in the ward.

McClellan, 46, said he was joined at the time by two other prospective candidates but had expected a bigger crowd, especially because would-be office seekers only need to collect signatures from 50 registered voters and pay a $10 filing fee, which is refunded to candidates who earn at least 5 percent of votes cast.

“I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a line of people,” said McClellan, who said he hopes to appeal to centrist voters turned off both by protesters looking to “retaliate” against the city and the “hard line, old-guard types who don’t take the protesters seriously at all.”

___

Follow Alan Scher Zagier on Twitter at http://twitter.com/azagier

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

5 days ago

January 2, 2026

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2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Assemblymember Lori Wilson — Advocate for Equity, the Environment, and More

Her rise has also included several historic firsts: she is the only Black woman ever appointed to lead the influential Assembly Transportation Committee, and the first freshman legislator elected Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. She has also been a vocal advocate for vulnerable communities, becoming the first California legislator to publicly discuss being the parent of a transgender child — an act of visibility that has helped advanced representation at a time when political tensions related to social issues and culture have intensified.

Published

1 week ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City). File photo.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) joined the California Legislature in 2022 after making history as Solano County’s first Black female mayor, bringing with her a track record of fiscal discipline, community investment, and inclusive leadership.

She represents the state’s 11th Assembly District, which spans Solano County and portions of Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties.

California Black Media spoke with Wilson about her successes and disappointments this year and her outlook for 2026.

What stands out as your most important achievement this year?

Getting SB 237 passed in the Assembly. I had the opportunity to co-lead a diverse workgroup of colleagues, spanning a wide range of ideological perspectives on environmental issues.

How did your leadership contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians this year?

The Black Caucus concentrated on the Road to Repair package and prioritized passing a crucial bill that remained incomplete during my time as chair, which establishes a process for identifying descendants of enslaved people for benefit eligibility.

What frustrated you the most this year?

The lack of progress made on getting Prop 4 funds allocated to socially disadvantaged farmers. This delay has real consequences. These farmers have been waiting for essential support that was promised. Watching the process stall, despite the clear need and clear intent of the voters, has been deeply frustrating and reinforces how much work remains to make our systems more responsive and equitable.

What inspired you the most this year?

The resilience of Californians persists despite the unprecedented attacks from the federal government. Watching people stay engaged, hopeful, and determined reminded me why this work matters and why we must continue to protect the rights of every community in our state.

What is one lesson you learned this year that will inform your decision-making next year?

As a legislator, I have the authority to demand answers to my questions — and accept nothing less. That clarity has strengthened my approach to oversight and accountability.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians are facing currently?

Affordability and access to quality educational opportunities.

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

Advance my legislative agenda despite a complex budget environment. The needs across our communities are real, and even in a tight fiscal year, I’m committed to moving forward policies that strengthen safety, expand opportunity, and improve quality of life for the people I represent.

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2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, Champion of Reparations, Housing and Workers’ Rights

In 2025, McKinnor pushed forward legislation on renters’ protections, re-entry programs, reparations legislation, and efforts to support Inglewood Unified School District. She spoke with California Black Media about the past year and her work. Here are her responses.

Published

1 week ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood). File photo.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) represents

California’s 61st Assembly District.

As a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC),

McKinnor was elected in 2022. She chairs the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation and leads the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee. McKinnor also served as a civic engagement director, managed political campaigns, and worked as chief of staff for former Assemblymembers Steven Bradford and Autumn Burke.

Looking back on 2025, what do you see as your biggest win?

Assembly Bill (AB) 628. If rent is $3,000, people should at least have a stove and a refrigerator. It’s ridiculous that people were renting without basic appliances.

I’m also proud that I was able to secure $8.4 million in the state budget for people coming home from incarceration. That includes the Homecoming Project, the menopause program for incarcerated women, and the Justice Leaders Program.

How did your leadership help make life better for Black Californians this year?

After the Eaton Fire, I pushed to get the same kind of support for affected areas that wealthier regions get after disasters.

I also did a lot of work building political power— establishing the Black Legacy PAC and California for All of Us PAC so we could support Black candidates and educate voters. We also called voters to make sure they understood Prop 50.

People need to understand this: there are only 12 Black legislators in the Capitol. Folks act like we can just walk in and pass reparations, but that’s not how it works.

What frustrated you most this year?

The governor did not have the political will to sign these bills: AB 57 and AB 62. They both passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly and the Senate. We did the work. The only person who didn’t have the political will to sign them was the governor.

The public needs to ask the governor why he didn’t sign the bills. We can’t keep letting people off the hook. He has to answer.

I also introduced AB 51 — the bill to eliminate interest payments on Inglewood Unified School District’s long-standing state loan — held in the Appropriations Committee. That was frustrating,

What inspired you most in 2025?

The civil rights trip to Alabama was life changing. We visited the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. We took members of the Black, Latino, Jewish, and API caucuses with us. It changed all of us.

People aren’t always against us — they just don’t know our history.

What’s one lesson from 2025 that will shape how you approach decisions next year?

The legislative trip to Norway taught me that collaboration matters. Government, labor, and industry sit down together there. They don’t make villains. Everybody doesn’t get everything they want, but they solve problems.

What’s the biggest challenge facing Black Californians in one word?

Inequity. It shows up in housing, wealth, stress – all these things.

What’s the number one goal you want to accomplish in 2026?

Bringing back AB 57 and AB 62, and securing money for the Inglewood Unified loan interest forgiveness.