(Updated 5:50 p.m. Wed., Oct. 15)
The region’s most prominent African-American official -- U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay – has announced that he's no longer on the political fence, and now is endorsing fellow Democrat Steve Stenger for St. Louis County executive.
Clay said on KMOX radio Wednesday morning that fellow African-Americans backing Republican Rick Stream were ignoring their best interests.
“It’s time for us to bring the temperature down and allow for us to make a rational decision,” Clay said.
“Talk is cheap, but actions are real,’’ Clay told host Charlie Brennan. “Rick Stream has consistently voted against the vital interests of African Americans, women and working people.”
Clay's announcement was somewhat unexpected, coming just weeks after his campaign had indicated that he would stay out of the county executive race. On Wednesday, his campaign and Stenger's issued news releases simultaneously after the congressman's radio appearance. In a brief statement, Stenger said that he was "thrilled'' to have Clay's support.
Stenger has been under fire from some African-American officials because he has stood by County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch, who is overseeing the grand-jury investigation into the Ferguson police shooting of teenager Michael Brown. Some black officials want a special prosecutor instead, citing the fact that McCulloch’s father was a policeman killed by a black suspect in the 1960s.
State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, is appearing in an ad for Stream.
Clay, who said he still wanted a special prosecutor, emphasized that he had been the first to ask for a separate Justice Department probe. But the congressman then added that black voters need to realize that McCulloch isn’t running for county executive. In fact, McCulloch – also a Democrat – is running for re-election but has no Republican opposition.
Clay acknowledged that it was not "a Kumbaya moment'' among Democrats, and added that he agreed with Berkeley Mayor Ted Hoskins, who is backing Stream, that sometimes "the Democratic Party has neglected their most loyal base, African-American voters."
But Clay added that electing Stream wasn't the right alternative. Among other things, Clay singled out Stream’s support for requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls, which the congressman said disproportionately affects “African Americans, the disabled and the rural poor.”
Clay said he was opposed to “allowing the largest county in our state to be led by a Republican tea-party extremist. And this is who Rick Stream is, and no thinking Democrat should vote for him.”
As for Chappelle-Nadal, Clay added, "If she wants to stand with a candidate who supports the worst, most extreme elements of the Republican Party, then that’s up to her."
Chappelle-Nadal said in an interview that she stands by her belief that "A vote for Steve Stenger is a vote for Bob McCulloch.'' She noted that the county executive has control over the prosecutor's budget, and said that Stream has assured her and others that he will give a closer look to McCulloch's budget.
She said that Clay can endorse who he wishes. But Chappelle-Nadal then added, "Stenger needs a black face'' for his campaign, and that Clay provides it.
The African-American group backing Stream, called the Fanny Lou Hamer Democratic Coalition, responded to Clay's announcement by launching a video on Youtube that disparages Stenger.
Stream's campaign issued a statement late Wednesday declaring, "It is most telling it has taken 71 days after winning the Democrat primary for Steve Stenger to land his first major Democrat African-American endorsement. Rick Stream has received endorsements from numerous African-Americans and liberal Democrats who have nothing to gain - but are publicly endorsing and working for Stream including a lot of people who have worked for years with Stenger..."
