Although the Student Government elections have ended, the campaigning for political positions has not ended in the St. Louis area. March 6 is the date of the Democratic primary for St. Louis.
The candidates from the Democratic party include the former mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr., the current Mayor Clarence Harmon, Aldermanic President Francis Slay and Bill Haas. The two Republican candidates are Michael Chance and Francis Wildhaber.
In a poll conducted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV-TV, likely voters are ready for a new mayor. When the poll asked if the Democratic primary for mayor were held today, only 6.4 percent of the participants said they would choose the current Mayor Harmon even though their opinion of him was favorable.
Leading in the race was Slay with 45.9 percent of the people polled supporting him. Next highest was Bosley with 26.9 percent. Finally, Haas is hanging in the race with less than one percent support from the poll.
The poll had a margin of error of 4.1 percent.
However, 18.9 percent of the people polled were undecided. This is when race could play a large roll in the outcome of the election. There is strong African-American support indicated for Bosley, which could decimate Slay’s lead.
Of the Caucasians polled, 79 percent said they plan to vote for Slay, who is Caucasian.
Forty-nine percent of African-Americans polled said they supported Bosley, who is African-American. Only six percent of Caucasians and 6.5 percent of African-Americans that were polled backed Harmon, who is African-American.
Almost three-quarters African-Americans and only 10 percent Caucasians held the undecided vote.
A similar situation with the undecided vote showed up in media polls in 1993. In those instances, Aldermanic President Thomas A. Villa appeared to have a strong lead over Bosley, who ended up winning.
On Feb. 25, the Post-Dispatch endorsed Francis Slay for Mayor in the Democratic primary.
On his Web site, Slay stated, “I believe in the City of St. Louis and its people. I believe in its potential. I believe in its future.”
Harmon’s Web site reads that his plan is to “keep good things happening.” He shows a blueprint for “continued progress,” which included keeping St. Louis the economic center of the region, leading the drive for reform of our public schools and enhancing racial harmony and economic justice.
Bosley’s Web site said, “I will put St. Louis first with a 10-point plan for progress.” The plan includes strengthening our economy and creating new industrial growth, civic commitment to education and making St. Louis a world-class attraction.
