From: Elbert Walton Jr [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 5:40 AM To: Undisclosed-Recipient:; Subject: Article submitted to media ELBERT WALTON The most feared black politician in North County Mention the name, Elbert Walton, at a meeting of the predominantly white, North County Labor Council, and shivers will run through the crowd. Walton is the most feared black politician in St. Louis County . Walton, through his Unity PAC organization, has successfully elected over 38 candidates to public and party offices over twelve years since he entered electoral politics in St. Louis County in 1996. Moreover, in doing so, he has engineered the defeat of several white labor leaders, most notable of which is Dennis Murray, the President of the firefighters’ union. Walton’s wife, State Rep. Juanita Head Walton, defeated Murray in 2000, when they both competed for the democratic nomination for State Representative of the 69th district. The seat had been held by Murray ’s wife, Dana, who could not seek re-election to the office due to term limits. Murray was soundly trounced in the election with Juanita receiving over 50% of the vote in a field of four candidates. Furthermore, in 2005, Yolonda Fountain Henderson, the Vice-President of Unity PAC, defeated Murray in his bid to be re-elected to the Jennings City Council. Floyd Smith must have put out signs for them (teehee). In the recent democratic primary election held on August 5th, two labor backed candidates went down to defeat by Unity PAC backed candidates for State Representative. In the 81st district, Walton’s daughter, Rochelle Walton Gray, defeated, Don Krank, in her bid to replace her stepmother, Juanita, who is going out of office due to term limits. However, the most notable victory was posted by Unity PAC member, Steve Webb, who lodged the only victory over an incumbent state legislator in the state when he defeated State Rep. Tony George, in the 74th district, despite being outspent by George, 5 to 1. Walton got his start in politics while a law student at Washington University . “I was a black student activist in the 60’s,” said Walton, “and it was my experiences as a student activist that sparked my interest in politics. I determined that the only way to solve the problems facing the black community was to gain control over the political institutions and decision makers that affect black people’s lives.” “My belief is that a black elected or appointed official will pass legislation, execute power and judge issues more fairly to black people than will a white elected or appointed official, and thus, it is important that black persons be elected and appointed to public offices.” Right on. Walton stated that due to the “slave mentality” that pervades black people, off times when you elect or appoint a black person to office, nothing changes; for such black elected officials continue the policies of their white predecessors, failing to take affirmative action to employ black applicants and to award black businesses and professionals government contracts over which that black official has control. Amen. Walton stated that political success requires a protracted struggle for often gains are reversed by disloyalty or missteps by those who are elected to office with the organization’s help. He notes that several individuals elected to office with Unity’s help, turned on the organization on the day they were sworn into office. “You have to take your defeats at the polls as well as from disloyalty and continue to fight on, believing that time is on your side,” said Walton. Uncle Toms. Labor’s greatest concern has come from Walton and Unity PAC’s success in electing a majority of the members of the Board of Directors of the Northeast Ambulance and Fire Protection District and his effort to elect black majorities to those other fire districts in St. Louis County that have majority black populations. “The most racist institutions in the United States are fire departments,” said Walton. The position of firefighter is one of the most prized jobs among blue collar workers. The pay and benefits are excellent and with a work schedule that only requires one to report to work ten days out of the month, there is strong interest in employment as a firefighter. “White firefighters believe that firefighter jobs are the exclusive domain of white persons,” said Walton. Thus, despite having majority black populations, five of the six majority black fire districts in St. Louis County have no more than three black firefighters in their employ. “In those five districts, the three person boards of directors that manages the respective fire districts are majority white, if not all white,” noted Walton. On the other hand, the Northeast district has an all black board that took control of the district in April, 2007 under the leadership of Joe Washington, the President of the Board and Robert Edwards, its Secretary-Treasurer. At the time they took control, there was not a single black firefighter above the rank of private. There was only one female employee, and out of a work force of 33 employees, only five of them were black despite the fact that the fire districts population is 85% black. In the year and a half that Washington and Edwards have been in control of the board, they have increased the number of black employees to seventeen, have hired six females, including five black females, have promoted the only black fire chief employed in a fire district in St. Louis County, have promoted five black deputy fire chiefs, including the only black female deputy fire chief in the state of Missouri, and have employed black administrative support staff as well as let contracts to black professionals. The white firefighter’s union has been scared out of its wits by the affirmative action policies instituted by Edwards and Washington and as a result, Walton, Washington and Edwards find themselves under constant attack by their white detractors including the white daily, Post-Dispatch. Unity PAC also is the subject of a smear campaign by white labor leaders. Moreover, several black persons, including a few disloyal former Unity PAC members, have been recruited to join with white labor leaders to form the North County Citizens Council, to put some black faces on labor’s effort to stop Unity PAC’s electoral success. A review of campaign finance reports show that the Citizens’ Council gets all of its funding from labor, and particularly the firefighters’ unions, and further reveals that the candidates who were pitted against Unity PAC backed candidates received tens of thousands of dollars from the firefighter’s union and other labor organizations. “The labor unions pumped as much as $40,000 each into their campaigns for the state legislature and as much as $20,000 each into their quest to be elected to a non-paying position on the democratic central committee of St. Louis County ,” noted Walton. Despite expenditures in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, labor failed to defeat a single Unity PAC incumbent, lost the contest between the two for an open seat for the state legislature, and most of all, saw one of labor’s incumbent state legislators go down to defeat. Is there any wonder why Elbert Walton and Unity PAC are feared by the members of the North County Labor Council?
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:32:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015