By Antonio D. French
Filed Wednesday, February 21, 2007 at 4:59 PM
Less than a month after pledging to keep race out of the campaign for Aldermanic President, it appears that incumbent Jim Shrewsbury is once again using a push poll to "inform" voters about the race of his opponent and his wife.
Pub Def has received several calls from elected officials and voters around the city identifying a poll being conducted in which the callers asked if the voter was aware that Lewis Reed is black and that his wife is white.
A similar poll was conducted months ago by the Shrewsbury campaign that also pointed out Reed's race.
Last month, at a meeting of the 24th Ward Democrats, Reed directly requested Shrewsbury to stop using race as an issue in the campaign. He also asked him to end the whisper campaign regarding his marriage being conducted in several wards.
"Cheap shot!," shouted 24th Ward Alderman Bill Waterhouse, a Shrewsbury supporter, at the all-white meeting of southside Democrats.
Shrewsbury denied conducting the first push poll, saying "I have not done that, I've never done it, and I never will do it."
Well, someone is.
*Reed is a client of A D French & Associates
Pub Def has received several calls from elected officials and voters around the city identifying a poll being conducted in which the callers asked if the voter was aware that Lewis Reed is black and that his wife is white.
A similar poll was conducted months ago by the Shrewsbury campaign that also pointed out Reed's race.
Last month, at a meeting of the 24th Ward Democrats, Reed directly requested Shrewsbury to stop using race as an issue in the campaign. He also asked him to end the whisper campaign regarding his marriage being conducted in several wards.
"Cheap shot!," shouted 24th Ward Alderman Bill Waterhouse, a Shrewsbury supporter, at the all-white meeting of southside Democrats.
Shrewsbury denied conducting the first push poll, saying "I have not done that, I've never done it, and I never will do it."
Well, someone is.
*Reed is a client of A D French & Associates
Labels: BOA_President_Race
29 Comments:
If Jim didn't do this it will back fire on him. St. Louis needs new blood.
2/21/2007 5:52 PM
Hmmmm, if this trashes Shrewsbury so much, don't you think both he--and his opponent--would have known that before doing it? Then who has the incentive to do it? Just a thought.....
2/21/2007 6:38 PM
Oooh, I got one of these last night, absolutely hilarious
2/21/2007 7:54 PM
If race isn't to be discussed in this race, when everything about St. Louis comes down to race, why isn't it a concern that the St. Louis American has openly advocated supporting Reed soley because he is Black? The St. Louis American has said his election would ensure a Black majority on the Board of E & A?
The same people reporting this polling being done can be planting this info to get a rise out of people. There is no need for Shrewsbury to conduct this poll now. But there is every reason for Reed to allege that he has conducted such a poll.
2/21/2007 8:05 PM
"There is no need for Shrewsbury to conduct this poll . . ."
The worry that a majority of the City's aldermen have endorsed his opponent might have caught Shrewsbury's attention.
2/21/2007 9:37 PM
Yet, Lewis Reed has sent ads to south city trying to fool white people into voting against Shrewsbury (i.e. in effect helping Reed), fomenting them against Shrewsbury on the crime issue. The ad doesn't show Reed's face, and you would need a magnifier and a colored flashlight to see who paid for the ad.
Anyone who expresses consternation over Shrewsbury "push polling" on Reed's race needs to oppose Reed's deceitful campaign cards.
2/21/2007 9:48 PM
Desperate final act of a losing campaign folks.
Reed will say anything and allege anything to get his name in the papers.
The Titanic had a brigher future than Lewis Reed's campaign!!!
2/21/2007 9:59 PM
I take Jim Shrewbury at his word that he didnt and wouldnt do such poll. Dont know who did, we might be able to tell from campaign finance reports? I like them both, and dont judge either about this, but those criticizing Jim must be Reed supporters. Being a supporter is one thing, rushing to judgment without proof of an honorable and decent man is something else.
2/21/2007 10:09 PM
Both have used race to their advantage and to their opponents disadvantage.
This is what happens in St. Louis and in tightly contested races. Plain and simple. Does it have to be this way? No. But for now it is, and we all need to get over it and not act suprised or shocked when both candidates bring up the issue.
2/21/2007 10:21 PM
Jim admitted to the political eye in the St. Louis American that he did the first poll. I am trying to find a link but am a little computer iliterate. Maybe Antonio can help me. It was middle of December I think.
2/21/2007 10:26 PM
Here's that link to the December 7 St. Louis American story in which Shrewsbury confirms that he has been polling on “some of these questions.”
2/21/2007 10:56 PM
Jim allegedly does "push polling". Lewis allegedly does "vote for me I'm Black polling."
2/21/2007 11:35 PM
Shrewsbury out!
2/21/2007 11:46 PM
Lewis Reed is black????? Holey Moley! I can't believe I didn't know that. But to be fair to myself, I've lived in the 6th ward for 3 years, and I've never seen him.
(I'm just a voter of course, not a developer.)
2/22/2007 12:32 AM
Push polling or no, doesn't Reed have better issues to push?
2/22/2007 9:36 AM
This poll could have been easily conducted by Reed in order to paint Jim as a racist south side bigot.
2/22/2007 9:57 AM
michael r allen is so right. Reed is far better on the issues than Shrewsbury. How can that angry little man not support providing funding for our city parks, student education and new health centers? How can he support building a facility in a city park to murder and incinerate thousands of dogs? How can he support buying lawn mowers for the city but at the same time not fund our city prosecutors?
Shrewsbury's priorities are all screwed up! The ONLY way he can HOPE to win is by scaring his little pocket of white, St. Louis Hills voters that live around his francis park that the black man will do bad things to them. This louse has got to go!
2/22/2007 10:05 AM
shrewsbury finally admitted to the first racist poll?!?!?!
why would anyone believe his lies about the second one after THAT!?!?!?
2/22/2007 10:25 AM
I bet Mr. Shrewsbury would never even think about putting a dog pound in his beloved Francis Park. Someone else's park, fine. His Francis Park, no way! Shrewsbury only cares about himself.
2/22/2007 10:51 AM
Folks a push poll is when false information is attached to a candidate.
Example:
Would you think less of Antonio French if you knew that he was the Father of Anna Nichole Smiths Child?
this is false
Reed knows the skin color of his wife.
Who cares?
2/22/2007 1:57 PM
"Would you think less of Antonio French if you knew that he was the Father of Anna Nichole Smiths Child?"
Whaaahooo for Antonio. Babydaddy gonna be rich.
Next days news...Mr. French's heart just stopped beating and no cause could be found. On a completely unrelated note; Anna Nicole Smith's ex-lawyer Mr Howard K Stern was in town to support the "Saint Louis Fair Elections" Gala
2/22/2007 2:10 PM
If the "elected officials and voters around the city" who received the offensive phone calls were easily identifiable as people who would be offended by such a call, it makes sense that the call was made by someone supporting Reed, not Shrewsbury. I think there's a good chance that neither candidate's campaign actually did it, but rather an anonymous supporter of one or the other.
Also, as one of the "little pocket of white, St. Louis Hills voters that live around his francis park," I resent the racist implication that our views and our votes don't count.
2/22/2007 2:52 PM
Oracle: exactly, this would be most damaging if Reed wanted to show Jim as a racist. Unless Jim is a complete idiot, he would want race to be out of the race.
2/22/2007 6:09 PM
Jim isn't an idiot, just desperate to win. Heck if you or I were about to lose a part time job paying $80,000, we might do some unethical things too. Well, ok, you and I might not, but Jim obviously would.
2/23/2007 10:15 AM
How would a push poll telling people that Reed's wife is white make Jim win? I don't get it.
2/23/2007 11:08 AM
looks to me like mr. shrewsbury is trying to scare a small group of people in his base of support to make it to the polls.
2/23/2007 11:29 AM
Looks like Lewis is the one trying to scare people to the polls by blaming Jim for the crime problem in the city when Lewis hasn't done anything to try and solve the problem. Whereas Jim has worked on the truancy bill and mandated gun locks on handguns. I got a piece of mail about him cracking down on the sale of meth materials as well.
So who is trying to scare who?
2/23/2007 12:02 PM
Former Mayor Clarence Harmon is an African American with a white wife. The white wife neither won his election in 1999 nor lost his re-election bid in 2003.
2/23/2007 7:52 PM
Harmon was considered the first (black) white mayor, just like Bill Clinton was considered the fist (white) black president.
No one is confusing Lewis Reed for a white man.
2/23/2007 8:04 PM
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