Historical Fall 2006 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Well, another campaign is behind us but before we approach the November election, I would like to say a few things about racial targeting and campaigning.
We present a perfect neighborhood for such campaigning to occur.
Some blocks are majority white, others majority black but very few contain people of just one race.
In an effort to use their dollars wisely, campaigns do not send the same material to all the registered voters all the time. What happens is that there are at least two fairly distinct messages going out to the electorate and which message you get depends on which side of Des Peres you live.
I live just east of Des Peres in Washington Heights and have since moving to Skinker DeBaliviere in 1989.
I have very good friends in the 6100 blocks of the Rosedale section of our neighborhood.
This year I began to see which messages I was getting that my friends weren’t and vice versa. First off, I did not receive a piece of literature from either the Gambaro or Smith campaigns although Smith went door-to-door on my street once early on in the campaign.
My friends were inundated with Smith and Gambaro literature.
On the other hand, I received multiple pieces from the ElAmin and Boykins camps.
My friends had some from ElAmin.
I did get a pro Smith and a pro Gambaro phone call just before the election.
I received a phone message from former mayor Bosley supporting ElAmin.
My friends to the west did not get this call.
We all got an anti Smith phone call but I alone got a second one that mentioned Smith’s teaching and his basketball coaching but said “he isn’t part of our community” like ElAmin. One friend received a call from the same candidate that contained both anti-academic and sexual innuendos about Smith.
There is racial polarization here in St. Louis just as there is everywhere. But, targeted campaigning does not help to alleviate it. Wouldn’t it be nice if candidates could try to reach out to all of us. Neighbors here have a lot of the same interests.
We care about education, health care, crime.
It is true that white voters most often vote for white candidates while black voters vote for blacks but this is not a hard and fast rule.
The right circumstances and the right candidate lead to crossover voting on both sides.
My message is to candidates, their staff, and all the voters. Let’s not continue to accentuate the racial divide in a campaign but let’s send the same literature to everyone. And let’s stop the negativity and divisiveness in campaigns as well.
I fear this coming October and the ads for the senate race. Who will be morphed into whom?
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, Fall 2006.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2006_09.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
