Slay draws Green Party challenger — another to come?
McCowan
The Rev. Elston McCowan, a labor organizer and Baptist minister, signaled today he intends to run as a Green Party candidate against St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.
McCowan, who will be at a vast financial disadvantage, is drawing optimism from two petition efforts. One — a push circulated by the city’s Green Party that led State Auditor Susan Montee to examine city finances — was successful. The other — the bid to recall incumbent Slay from office — fell short of the stated goal, but did earn some visibility.
“The 26,000 people who signed those petitions, and many others I’ve spoken to, are ready to end the ‘Slay-ride’ that has been racial division and further deterioration of the St. Louis Public Schools,” McCowan said in a release today.
But before McCowan counts on facing Slay in April’s general election, he could find himself with his own primary challenger. Word is that former alderman Irene Smith, who ran for mayor in 2005 as a Democrat, is mulling running again as a member of the Green Party.
That would set-up a rare Green Party primary in the March election.
Either way, McCowan plans on making an official announcement Thursday at City Hall, and will have his first fundraiser at the Legacy Bookstore on Delmar later that evening.
I find it funny that McCowan’s own union has already endorsed Mayor Slay.
I wonder whether one of the candidates - McCowan or Smith - is entering the Green Party contest at the behest of the Slay campaign, in a variation of the “stalking horse” strategy. In its purest form, a stalking horse candidate would enter the Democratic Primary to draw anti-Slay votes away from a more serious challenger (we’re still waiting for a “more serious challenger” to appear). In this variation, a contested Green Party primary draws votes (virtually all of them anti-Slay votes) away from the Democratic Primary, and therefore away from Slay’s primary intraparty challenger.
Nice theory, Oracle. But seriously, how many people are going to walk into a St. Louis voting booth and pull a Green primary ballot? I predict it will be very, very few.
If Dems are serious about running an actual Democrat in a primary against DINO (Dem in name only) Slay, they better get started soon!
Nick, the Green party got 21 % of the vote last time around, and Slay’s had a lot of problems since then.
word on the street is Slay has millions saved up for this campaign? How much money do you have Elston? What a joke…
Right Green,
And $100,000 of that is from Sinquefield. Like I said, everything about Slay gives the appearance of a Republican in sheep’s clothing.