Freshly-minted East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. was among those stumping this afternoon for State Rep. Rodney Hubbard, who is calling all cars for assistance in his bid for State Senate.

Though he comes from across the river, Parks appearance makes sense: Hubbard’s family has ties to east side politics, which include, I believe, former police chief Marion Hubbard and the Rev. Garfield Hubbard Sr., a pastor and civil rights leader who died in 2000.

Also on hand at the event, held at the Gateway Classic building, was former State Rep. Betty L. Thompson and her son, Tony Thompson.

The younger Thompson, head of Kwame Building Group, told the luncheon crowd that he has already committed to $5,000 to Hubbard’s Senate campaign.

That might be typical of Hubbard’s upcoming fundraising quarterly report, which is rumored to be in the six figures.

Other guests at the gathering included State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed; Tom Shepard, Lewis Reed’s campaign treasurer and now chief of staff; MoKan topper Eddie Hasan; and Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, former national head of the NAACP.

Among those who did not make it, judging by the table of name tags left untaken, was State Rep. Connie L. Johnson, who is considering getting into the Senate race herself.