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.
In this EXCLUSIVE VIDEO, St. Louis attorney Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman takes the oath attesting that no one put her in the race for mayor and that she is indeed a legitimate candidate. Continue Reading
Following the sudden resignation of Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman as attorney and clerk for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, in a closed session this morning, the board quickly hired a member of the Aldermanic President to fill the position.
According to documents obtained by PubDef through a “Sunshine Law” request, Dave Sweeney, looks to be getting a $22,000 pay raise — from $73,545.94 per year to Coleman’s salary of $96,014.10 annually. That is, unless the Board voted to change the salary, which we have not heard yet.
Here’s Coleman’s resignation letter, dated January 11, and also obtained via a “Sunshine” request. In it, she writes that her resignation would be effective February 10.
Coleman was the first African-American to hold that position. She was the compromise candidate and was voted on unanimously after the Board was bitterly divided, mostly along racial lines, between two other candidates, Hope Whitehead, the former head of the state Liquor Control Division, who was black, and Annette Kolis Mandel, a former mayor of Creve Coeur, who was white and an employee of Richard Callow’s Public Eye PR firm.
“The Board has hired a new attorney,” Alderman Steve Conway told reporters in the hall outside the Board of Aldermen chamber. “Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman.”
Coleman is the first African American ever to hold the important attorney/clerk position. Her selection, which occurred in a closed session this morning, comes as a compromise after the board was divided among two other candidates, Hope Whitehead, the former head of the state Liquor Control Division, and Annette Kolis Mandel, a former mayor of Creve Coeur.
According to Lawyers.com, Coleman, 61, was born in Chicago and graduated from DePaul University in 1976. She received her law degree from St. Louis University in 1984.
Coleman has experience in the following areas of law: Public Finance; Administrative Law; Health Care; International Law; Criminal Law; Probate; Personal Injury; and General Practice.
Her previous experience includes: Law Clerk, 22nd Judicial Circuit, 1988. Member, Board of Directors, Harry S. Truman Restorative Center, 1989-1995. Member: Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 1989-1998; American Bar Association, 1989-1997; Illinois Bar Association, 1989-1997; National Association of Bond Lawyers, 1989-1995; Junior League of St. Louis, 1989-1995; Mentor, Homeless Mothers and work for St. Louis Public Schools.
