This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 11, 2009 - About 25 people showed up for the second of four “meet and greet” sessions that independent St. Louis mayoral candidate Maida Coleman is sponsoring to get her message across to voters for the April 7 election, in her quest to defeat incumbent Mayor Francis Slay and two third-party candidates.
There were no major political leaders at event at the Columns Bar at the downtown Sheraton hotel, 400 South 14th Street.
But some of those in attendance, such as Samuel Gradford, 63, didn’t seem put off by the fact that the place wasn’t packed.
He seemed genuinely interested in finding out more about the agenda of Coleman whom he says he had met once. After they chatted, he said, “she seems like a conscientious and intelligent lady. I like what she’s saying about making the city a better place for everybody.”
Another person at the event, Jonathan Levine, 27, says he knows Coleman and wanted to attend to show his support for her candidacy.
Coleman says the number of people at this and last week’s event were about what she had expected, adding that last week’s session drew about 30 people. “This isn’t a fund raiser.
All I want to do is connect with people, especially new people, and talk about myself, the city. I feel real good about this, and the campaign is going well.”
Her next “meet and greet” session takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, at Mokabe’s, 3606 Arsenal Street.
