Inauguration means no MLK Day repeat for Slay
Mayor Slay mingles at a Capitol Hill reception Sunday
WASHINGTON — Francis Slay endured one of his toughest moments as mayor exactly a year ago, when his speech at the 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony was drowned out by a chorus of boos.
Slay was heckled by protesters irked by his administration’s decision to demote former St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George, the first African-American to ever lead the department.
Twelve months later, Slay is miles away — both politically and geographically.
Slay arrived here last week for the annual winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he chairs the committee on Jobs, Education and the Workforce.
He decided to stay in D.C. for the inauguration and related events, including a Capitol Hill reception Sunday thrown by U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan and a private shindig hosted by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
That he misses this year’s MLK Day celebration in St. Louis saves him from having to do the political calculus of whether he should go again and risk getting booed, or stay away and risk looking sheepish. (Not that there is any whiff the D.C. trip was arranged for that reason, only that, by coincidence, it works out that way.)
Either way, he’ll return to St. Louis on Wednesday with a new president and a mayor’s race that — with nobody coming close to matching his money or endorsements — seems a lot easier now than it did a year ago.
When is the Post Disgrace going to just man up and donate money to Slays re-election campaign? A year ago Slay had no clearly defined opponent. Now he does, in both the primary and general elections. And I don’t think he can afford to just write off Irene Smith. She’s going all out this time from the looks of it, looking a lot more attractive to voters.
The only endorsement that counts is the one that comes from the people on March 3. Money doesn’t buy you loyality. Many people are making endorsements but in the privacy of the voting booth, they will give it to Slay just like he’s ben giving it to St. Louis - right in the back.
You can’t trust these St. Louis bought politicians.
http://www.irenejsmith.com
Mayor Slay is a class act. I will vote for him again. He has been willing to make tough and fair decisions when he had to. I am happy he is respresenting our City at such a historic event.
Is Maida in D.C.? Tell her not to meet the Mayor at any hotel lobby or else she will be resigning from the race like Mike McMillan did.
Stay as far away from Slay as possible, Maida!
I did see PD give Darlene Green good publicity and covering her while she attends the inauguration. Does this mean she is going to be the golden girl for 2013? The PD should take a closer look at Lewis Reed. He will be the one to keep an eye on as he positions himself for the position every day.
Is the woman in the picture Mrs. Francis Slay? If so, that is a rare sighting of her.
Kinda like McMillan’s other half, Tresoir. Jus sayin.
The woman is not Mrs. Slay, and if you are inferring that McMillan’s absence of a partner in public is a deterrent for him, I have to disagree. It has not yet deterred him from being elected as the Alderman or License Collector. If some skeletons were to come out while running against Slay, Slay would have to guard his own skeletons.
I just thought that Mike McMillan was spineless and let another man back him down when he already committed to several people that he was going to run. Took donations and confirmed with donors that the money was going to be used for that purpose.
The man’s sexual preference is his own to bear and shall not be judged by mere mortals such as you and me.
I think that it would be helpful for the people of the City of St. Louis if Tresoir would list the people that McMillan told that he was definitely running for Mayor and all of the people that donated to him and were promised that he was running for Mayor. If he is accepting donations under false pretenses then he needs to give the money back and if he told people that he was definitely running for Mayor then he needs to explain to them in person or by a trusted source why he decided not to do so. I think that it is unfair to hold him accountable for rumors and to call him spineless when you see many black elected officials supporting Slay when they don’t have to do so. I have not seen McMillan, Reed or Darlene Green support Slay. They deserve some credit for that. The City deserves a response Tresoir. Please give us one or stop making baseless accusations.