The St. Louis Oracle
The mystery of Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman’s surprise mayoral candidacy still weighs on the minds of many political observers, including the St. Louis Oracle. In his latest blog post, the Oracle, a self-described political junkie for over 50 years, suspects another well-known politico may have an interest in torpedoing any viable challengers to Francis Slay: Mike McMillan.
Without offering much proof besides that Denise Coleman has 19th Ward roots, the Oracle theorizes:
If Maida Coleman’s challenge to Slay were successful, then she’d be the incumbent mayor in four years, and McMillan would not be in a position to challenge a fellow African American for the top job. (Yes, I know, Clarence Harmon successfully did just that to Freeman Bosley, Jr. in 1997, but Harmon won with white support, not black support.) Slay’s reelection is now also in McMillan’s self-interest.
Hmmmm… well, if we’re discussing third party self-interest, what about Aldermanic President Lewis Reed? He’s probably the man most likely to be the next mayor now — especially if Francis were to step down near the end of his third term, maybe to accept a judgeship or another attractive appointment. And there is a Reed-Coleman connection. She used to be attorney for the Board of Aldermen.
Or what if Francis does have plausible deniability even though his staff put Coleman #2 in the race. I mean, remember who we’re talking about here. Word has long been that his chief of staff and campaign manager Jeff Rainford was fired years ago as a journalist at KMOV after trying to entrap a priest with a male prostitute. Not the most honorable people in the world.
So the list of suspects grows longer and the days till Election Day grow shorter. And in the end, maybe Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman is just a political novice that thinks she’s the next Barack Obama. If so, God bless her heart. And may He bless some of our other leaders with the courage that naivity provides.
Read Oracle’s full post at: http://stloracle.blogspot.com/2009/01/is-mystery-coleman-filing-mac-attack.html
This post doesn’t even deserve a response or comment.
Posted by Jammer | 10. Jan, 2009, 5:33 PMI think it is plausible. Behind the Slay camp, Lewis Reed is probably the politician with the biggest vested interest in a 3rd Slay term.
But, what if it was not a politician who put DWWC in the race? Some developer or businessman perhaps? It does not necessarily need to be Slay, just someone with a vested interest in a 3rd Slay term.
Posted by Turd Ferguson | 10. Jan, 2009, 7:31 PMMike McMilan was boo’ed at the Martin Luther King program. I hope he has a backup plan for his next election.
He has disappointed so many in the black community with empty promises that significant numbers of supporters are now seeing the real deal. It was a waste of time to think he had the fortitude to do what mattered for the betterment of the city of St. Louis.
Go Maida!
Posted by Tank | 11. Jan, 2009, 5:14 PMI was at the MLK program at Harris Stowe. Slay had a small group of people quietly boo him at the program but had polite applause overall. Mike McMillan did not receive any boos at the program nor does he deserve any. He actually received one of the best responses of any of the speakers Saturday night after announcing a scholarship program of 25,000 for minority youth.
I don’t know what empty promises that Tank is referring to that he made but I never heard or read McMillan say that he was definitely running for Mayor. He was obviously considering it but decided not to because he must have thought that he couldn’t win. That was his choice whether you agree with him or not. If it was an easy thing to do, I am sure that more than Maida, Denise, Elston and Irene would have run. Mike is not the only black person interested in being Mayor and should not be held to the standard of being the only possible candidate to beat Slay. If it was that simple then some of the candidates who are running would have a campaign committee started with hundreds of thousands of dollars in it as we speak because people like to bet on winners.
What about all of the black elected officials who have endorsed Slay and did not have to? What do we do with them? People should be focused on them as opposed to singling out McMillan. I didn’t see his name on the list of people endorsing Slay’s actions.
Posted by Ron | 12. Jan, 2009, 1:01 AMTo Maida Coleman–
The mayor’s choices for school board had the money, too. However, they were outworked by those with a different vision. Try to tap into them. Granted the turnout was low, but it can be done.
Posted by butterfly | 12. Jan, 2009, 8:55 AMMcMillan, Reed, Rainford…they are all the same….if master Slay says jump, the yell…HOW HIGH!…this is sick…whoever put this Coleman lady in the race…should really think about all the issues in the city…crime, education, housing…jobs…shall I continue???
Posted by wondering | 13. Jan, 2009, 7:35 PMMcMillan and Reed are not part of Slay’s organization. Neither one of them has endorsed Slay and I am sure they will not. Slay just got Shrewsbury’s endorsement because he was quietly supporting him during his failed re-election. It is amazing how much misinformation gets put on these blogs every day.
Posted by Al | 14. Jan, 2009, 6:15 PMI just hope that all of the candidates have an expressed and laid out plan to better our city. Slay will no doubt have more money and be able to spend money to convey his message, but I will be making sure that I clearly know and understand each candidates platform. We can not be complacent with how our city is today. The city could be so much more.
Posted by Tinkerbell | 14. Jan, 2009, 6:29 PMDenise Coleman’s site is also going up @ http://denisewatsonwesleycoleman.com
Posted by gmanstl | 14. Jan, 2009, 11:03 PMSlay was not quietly supporting Shrewsbury. Slay was working against Shrewsbury and for Reed.
Posted by Jackson | 15. Jan, 2009, 11:43 AMJackson should provide some evidence of what Slay was doing for Reed because he didn’t endorse him, didn’t contribute to him and was quoted at several public events saying that he would loose. His father also supported Shrewsbury in the 23rd ward as did their organization.
Posted by Al | 15. Jan, 2009, 5:50 PM