Unity Pac and the North County Citizen Group, two political organizations in north St. Louis County that seek support from black voters, were competitive in the Aug. 5 primary election.

“We feel good about what we accomplished,” said Everett Ballard, cochairman of the citizen group. Elbert Walton, founder of Unity Pac, had similar comments about their result of his organization’s efforts.

Both groups made endorsements in Democratic primaries in five state representative districts and the 4th District of the St. Louis County Council. Three state representative candidates the citizen group backed won. They were State Rep. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors, in the 69th District, Sharon L. Pace in the 70th District and Bert Atkins in the 74th District.

Steve Webb, a candidate the Unity Pac supported, defeated State Rep. Tony George, D-Florissant. George, who had citizen group backing, was only one of four incumbents in the Post-Dispatch’s coverage area whom voters ousted on Aug. 5. In the 81st District, Unity Pac-backed Rochelle Walton Gray won the Democratic nomination to succeed her mother, State Rep. Juanita Head Walton, D-north St. Louis County, who could not run because of term limits.

Voters renominated County Councilman Mike O’Mara, D-Florissant, whom the citizen group backed, for a third term representing 4th District.

In the 71st state representative district, Don Calloway, a lawyer from Bel-Nor, who had neither group’s endorsement, ran well ahead of the candidates that the two groups endorsed. Calloway had the endorsement of State Rep. Esther Haywood, D-Bellerive, who could not run for re-election because of term limits.

Walton called Calloway an excellent campaigner. Ballard was upset that Haywood did not support his group’s candidate.

The citizen group made many more endorsements than Unity Pac. In local races the citizen group supported candidates as far south as the 82nd and 83rd state representative districts, which cover parts of such municipalities as Clayton and Creve Coeur. The candidates it backed won nine contested local races, including those for Democratic committeeman and committeewoman, and lost four.

In similar circumstances, candidates Unity Pac supported won four races and lost 11.