# Will there be a shake-up in Ferguson, MO's next city elections? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 13, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937 "2015-03-13T22:20:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/1 "2015-03-13T22:20:20Z")
In Ferguson, the elections are [in April in odd-numbered years (which probably depresses voter turnout and needs to be changed).](http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/08/18/3472278/this-is-the-most-important-reform-ferguson-can-enact-to-prevent-another-standoff/)[See also.](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/18/1322606/-Ferguson-s-election-turnout-is-terrible-by-design-Here-s-how-to-fix-it#) I’m not clear if that means one is coming next month. But, if so, perhaps we can expect higher voter turnout than Ferguson’s usually abysmal turnout? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/2 "2015-03-14T02:53:50Z")
As a resident of St. Louis County I can shed a little light on the subject. There are a lot of places around here that have municipal elections in off years, and always have. (The city of St. Louis held its municipal primary last week, and will elect municipal officials next month, same as Ferguson.) The _idea_ is that the voters will pay more attention to local offices when not in competition with elections for the big offices. Ferguson will be just one muncipality among many in St. Louis County with an election on that day. That said, it’s acknowledged that voter turnout is usually terrible in these elections. In the just-completed primary in St. Louis, there were maybe 15,000 votes cast in a city of 300,000.) The 11.7% turnout figure the author cited for Ferguson sounds about right. In fact, if you think that’s a poor turnout, wait until we have one of our August primary elections when someone slips a school bond issue into it. It’s my understanding that Ferguson will have one or two city council races where all the candidates are African-American, so there will be more diversity among the elected officials. There have been plenty of voter registration efforts in Ferguson since Michael Brown was killed. Whether that does anything to buck the general off-year voting trend (the people who turn out are generally older, more affluent, long-time homeowners, and most importantly, **opposed** to something on the ballot) remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/3 "2015-03-18T03:37:31Z")
The City of Ferguson cannot change the date of the municipal election like ThinkProgress suggests. The date is established by state law, specifically RSMO 115.121.3. (I’m having trouble providing a link on my iPad, so google the statute number.) The council members and the mayor serve three year terms, so the “odd-numbered years” statement is also false. This is section 3.2.3 of the Ferguson city charter, also availble by an easy google search. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/4 "2015-03-18T04:09:38Z")
> [@Julius\_Henry](#): > > The City of Ferguson cannot change the date of the municipal election like ThinkProgress suggests. The date is established by state law, specifically RSMO 115.121.3. (I’m having trouble providing a link on my iPad, so google the statute number.) > > The council members and the mayor serve three year terms, so the “odd-numbered years” statement is also false. This is section 3.2.3 of the Ferguson city charter, also availble by an easy google search. So, when is the next city election? Google wouldn’t tell me that, the fickle tease. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/5 "2015-03-18T12:03:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So, when is the next city election? Google wouldn’t tell me that, the fickle tease. April 7, 2015. The next will be in April of 2016, then April of 2017. Each year, 2 of the 6 council seats are up for election, though it appears this year that 3 seats are up. I can’t find an explanation for that. None of the incumbents are seeking another term. The mayor was elected last year. There have been some highly publicized voter registration drives in the area recently. We’ll find out in a couple weeks if that does any good. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/6 "2015-03-18T16:48:48Z")
Fear not- in less than a decade, all the white residents will have fled Ferguson. The town will be overwhelmingly black, and its city government will be nearly all black. When that happens, Eric Holder can pat himself on the back for a job well done. True, there won’t be any shops left for honest black residents to buy things at (or for the next Michael Brown to steal from), but the government will be all black. And isn’t that what counts? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/7 "2015-03-18T16:59:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Fear not- in less than a decade, all the white residents will have fled Ferguson. The town will be overwhelmingly black, and its city government will be nearly all black. > > When that happens, Eric Holder can pat himself on the back for a job well done. True, there won’t be any shops left for honest black residents to buy things at (or for the next Michael Brown to steal from), but the government will be all black. > > And isn’t that what counts? Why would this result in no shops? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/8 "2015-03-18T17:17:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Why would this result in no shops? Seconded. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/9 "2015-03-22T12:54:58Z")
**astorian** , ever going to follow up on this? What did you mean? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/10 "2015-03-25T00:30:53Z")
I can’t speak for **astorian** , but white flight can have pretty devastating economic consequences for those left behind. Here’s an article about [a town that has suffered greatly](http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/01/how-white-flight-ruined-the-mississippi-delta/384227/) in the aftermath. The general pattern is that as the (relatively) wealthy residents move away, they close their businesses. The tax base falls, which leads to poor services. The closure of businesses leads to high unemployment. Both of those tend to lead to increased crime, drug use, and other societal ills that tend to go hand-in-hand with poverty. The residents who remain often don’t have the capital to start businesses that create jobs, and there’s not much draw for outside businesses for obvious reasons. > [@The article](#): > > The town of about 2,000 residents is governed entirely by black elected officials, and every house has running water. No one in Tchula gets fired from their jobs or is denied credit for upsetting the status quo, as happened frequently during the civil-rights era. The problem is, few people have jobs. Where local workers once harvested cotton or drove tractors on white-owned plantations, or toiled in the local sawmill or coat factory, there is today no visible means of economic support. Dwindling government grants and long commutes to jobs elsewhere are all that’s left. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/11 "2015-03-25T22:54:21Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Fear not- in less than a decade, all the white residents will have fled Ferguson. The town will be overwhelmingly black, and its city government will be nearly all black. > > When that happens, Eric Holder can pat himself on the back for a job well done. True, there won’t be any shops left for honest black residents to buy things at (or for the next Michael Brown to steal from), but the government will be all black. > > And isn’t that what counts? You know, when and where America had segregation, blacks were never allowed to govern or police themselves on any scale. I read in James Loewen’s [_Sundown Towns_](http://sundown.afro.illinois.edu/sundowntowns.php) how in the latter 19th Century one AA community – in Kansas or Oklahoma, I think – tried to form their own town, since they obviously weren’t welcome among the whites, and the local white towns put that down hard and deliberately, by isolating the prototown economically. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/12 "2015-04-07T12:23:43Z")
I heard on the radio this morning that three of six Ferguson City Council seats are up for election today. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/13 "2015-04-07T18:02:43Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Fear not- in less than a decade, all the white residents will have fled Ferguson. The town will be overwhelmingly black, and its city government will be nearly all black. > > When that happens, Eric Holder can pat himself on the back for a job well done. True, there won’t be any shops left for honest black residents to buy things at (or for the next Michael Brown to steal from), but the government will be all black. > > And isn’t that what counts? So you’re fine with racism as long as the money’s still there? Rich white people get to decide what to do with poor blacks? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/14 "2015-04-07T18:05:58Z")
[Four of the eight candidates are black; no incumbents are running.](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/07/us-usa-election-ferguson-idUSKBN0MY0XO20150407) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/15 "2015-04-07T18:28:10Z")
Here’s the thing though- if the majority of the people of Ferguson really cared, they’d make sure and vote, regardless of how or when. I’m getting more than a little tired of hearing about how various trivial obstacles are such monumental threats to democracy, when I’ve gone to a nearby city to vote because I hadn’t re-registered yet, and have done absentee ballots for a city 200 miles away because I hadn’t re-registered yet. Claiming that the elections are in “the wrong years” seems like a pretty pathetic attempt to rationalize the behavior of an apathetic and unmotivated electorate. If this stuff was really important, they could drag their asses to the polling places, vote absentee, etc… on off years. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/16 "2015-04-07T20:39:56Z")
You’re talking about people who can’t even pay their traffic tickets or renew their car insurance. It’s easier just to complain. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/17 "2015-04-07T21:13:00Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/18 "2015-04-07T23:05:33Z")
I don’t buy that most of the thousands in Ferguson just happen to be too lazy to vote. In this country, whenever turnout has been particularly low for a particular locality, especially for black people, the explanation for this low turnout has _not_ been laziness. I doubt it is in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/19 "2015-04-08T10:58:40Z")
[Here’s the story of the election.](http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/high-voter-turnout-in-ferguson-adds-two-black-council-members/article_422cb33f-c172-53de-a0c8-29386630ec72.html) It’s from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, no registration is required, but you may have to answer a single survey question to be able to read it. In a nutshell, three new council members were elected, two of whom are black. Voter turnout nearly doubled to about 30% of registered voters. No candidate was an incumbent. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937/20 "2015-04-08T13:44:50Z")
> [@Julius\_Henry](#): > > Voter turnout nearly doubled to about 30% of registered voters. That **is** impressive. In Los Angeles, turnout for municipal elections is only 12%. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-a-shake-up-in-ferguson-mos-next-city-elections/714937.md?page=2)