Word: ward
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...their local Democratic Party Committees consider themselves the most powerful force in politics, and for good reason. Public works projects in St. Louis are marked with two signs. One tells drivers what is being built and the other announces that the project is brought to you by the local ward alderman. Construction workers, contractors and others who benefit from public works have no question who is responsible for their livelihood. On election day, a Democratic Party poll worker hands voters a sample ballot indicating who the ward Democratic machine has endorsed. For voters who are constantly being reminded that they...
More importantly, Jeff won the city of St. Louis without a single ward endorsement. In five wards, independent Democratic machines endorse candidates in opposition to the dominant ward organization. Jeff didn’t get any of those endorsements either. In a city where organized labor still retains much of the clout of its heyday, Jeff didn’t get a single union endorsement. The local paper, which has a monopoly on political coverage, endorsed another candidate. So did the African-American paper. Jeff had almost no support among the city’s powerful elected officials. For most...
...specific examples illustrate the general trend. The 23rd Ward is considered to have one of the most effective ward organizations in St. Louis. It is controlled by the mayor’s father, a man who is both respected and feared by most Democrats in his ward and deferentially known as Mayor Slay. Jeff, a student of St. Louis politics, recommended that we leave the 23rd Ward alone, but Alexander Lurie, the organizer in charge of the ward, developed great working relationships with a few Democrats from the area. At first, they were reluctant to be seen opposing the ward...
...Carnahan, who played to the middle, couldn’t win the liberals or the conservatives, but, by being everybody’s second choice, he was able to claim the overall victory. This explanation makes some sense, but on closer examination, it has some gaping holes. The 23rd Ward was nearly as conservative as Jefferson County, but Jeff trounced Carnahan 673 to 518. A socially conservative candidate dominated the 16th Ward, but the ward still preferred Jeff to Carnahan. In Jefferson County, conservative areas may have seen Carnahan as more acceptable than Jeff, but in the city, conservative wards...
Jeff’s success in St. Louis City can’t be explained by endorsements or ideology. What Jeff did was turn ordinary voters—the kind who don’t run ward committees or cut $2,000 checks—into activists. One example illustrates the model of organizing we used. A little over a week before election day, one of Jeff’s early supporters suggested that we make 10,000 copies of our campaign documentary. Jeff, a few staff and a handful of early supporters were eating pizza at a supporter?...