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Inspiring the black vote
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Can Mayor Mike Coleman move enough hearts and minds to get black voters to the polls?
By Lyndsey Teter
If Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman really wanted to pass his proposed income tax increase, perhaps he should have put it on the ballot last November.
Analysts have determined that, although the city as a whole is divided almost equally between black and white, Columbus’s African American community is polling strongly in favor of the Issue 1 on the Aug. 4 ballot.
But getting those supporters to the polls is another matter. It doesn’t matter whether they’re white, black or plaid, voter turnout for a special election typically is very poor.
Faced with more than a $100 million deficit for the 2010 budget, Coleman is resting all his hope on one summer day of voting.
The proposed tax increase is the first of its kind in 30 years, and will cost the average Columbus wage-earner $200 more a year if passed.
With times as tough as they are and proposed cuts as deep as they are (the city has estimated it could lose as many as 600 uniformed police and firefighters if the issue fails) you’d think the issue would draw a much bigger crowd. But the stark reality is that the outcome ultimately will be determined by about 70,000 voters. The Franklin County Board of Elections is busy preparing for an underwhelming 10 percent turnout Aug. 4, compared to 67 percent of the county’s eligible voters who pulled the lever during the presidential race November.
With success or failure resting in the hands of so few, obviously every vote counts. Although Republican polling numbers have Issue 1 failing 60-40, internal polling leaked this week on the city’s side has tax proponents edging the opposition by a razor-thin margin.
Making all the difference in the world, however, could be the black vote. Information confirmed by sources close to the campaign show African Americans are polling strongly in favor of the tax increase—but is the city doing enough to capture those votes?
Black leaders in the community—and some working within the campaign, for that matter—are not surprised by the strong support blacks are showing for the tax proposal.
“We have a black mayor pushing for this,” said Jeff Winbush, freelance writer and blogger, as well as a member of the Columbus Association of Black Journalists.
And Coleman is a mayor that the black community still trusts, Winbush says.
“People look to things like the reopening of Lincoln Theater, and that’s an overture to redevelopment in one of the city’s most depressed areas,” he said.
The mayor’s work on the Near East side is complemented by programs that the income tax proposal’s opponents have decried as wasteful spending during the campaign, such as the city’s Home Again program, which demolishes or remodels abandoned homes, as well as the mayor’s Neighborhood Pride program, where city crews work with families to clean, fix up and beautify neighborhoods—although both programs have suffered as a result of budget cuts.
“I think black folks have a tendency to be supportive of governments that they like,” said Sam Gresham of Common Cause Ohio, and former head of the Columbus Urban League.
“It’s an interesting thing, and most people don’t think about this, but the best of times that African American voters have enjoyed have generally been primarily provided by government.”
Whether its civil rights, desegregation or affirmative action, “these altruisms have not been provided by the private sector,” Gresham said.
“These things have come from government.”
Local government is looked upon as well to provide for the welfare of its community. The city’s tax increase could provide stability to the police and fire divisions, both of which have been threatened by unprecedented cuts if the issue fails.
“The issue has been framed as an alternative to safety services being lost, and nobody needs police protection as much as black people, who are being preyed on by other African American criminals,” Winbush said.
“All it takes is some nut who has killed and dismembered his girlfriend, and these are the stories you hear in barber shops and in churches. Pretty soon everyone knows someone who has been a victim of crime.”
Whether proposed police cuts are real or not, the mayor “has done a good job pushing the urgency of now,” Winbush said.
And whenever there’s a highly contested issue within the city—“especially one in which the white vote is divided,” as may be the case with the income tax proposal, the African American community plays a strategic role, Gresham said.
“But only if they are in unison.”
It remains to be seen, however, if the black community stands together on this issue.
There’s a huge difference between the perception of Coleman among the city’s middle-class black voters and lower-class black voters, said Julius Jefferson, a community organizer and vice chairman of the Weinland Park Civic Association.
Jefferson chuckled when asked if Coleman’s work as mayor will inspire the black community to get out the vote.
“Coleman is not connected at all to the black community,” Jefferson said.
Longstanding bitterness exists over the time and money the mayor has poured into Downtown, at the expense, some say, of the surrounding neighborhoods.
Although admittedly a little farther from home, other politicos have made that connection with Weinland Park.
Almost a year ago, during the presidential race, campaign organizers for Barack Obama provided door-to-door face time in his neighborhood in a way that most of its residents had never seen before, Jefferson said.
“If you want a campaign to work, you’ve got to make people feel like they’re a part of the process—that’s what works.”
For his part, Coleman’s time in the neighborhood is limited to brief visits with lots of flashing bulbs in tow, Jefferson said.
While Weinland Park was constantly abuzz in November over the prospect of electing the nation’s first black president—a mural painted on a carryout near 11th Avenue and Fourth Street commemorates the excitement of the day—the city’s first black mayor hasn’t generated enough buzz to trump the day-to-day struggles.
“No one knows about this vote coming up in August,” said Jefferson, who will vote to support the issue despite his complaints with Coleman.
Although the Aug. 4 vote will directly affect his neighbors’ paychecks and, possibly, their safety, “You don’t hear it discussed. People are more worried about feeding kids and paying rent.”
Privately, some within the campaign regret not piggybacking the Obamamania by putting the tax increase on the November, 2008, ballot. In fact, some go so far as to credit the African-American community with the Columbus school’s successful bond and levy campaign in 2008 that cost the average homeowner an extra $275 per year.
The black vote was crucial, but the successful effort was spread over all of the city’s demographics, said Gene Pierce, a consultant with the 2008 school tax effort, which passed by a 60-40 margin.
“We had a very strong spokesperson in Superintendent Gene Harris, who communicated very effectively that our schools were making a comeback,” Pierce said.
Also instrumental in the campaign was Coleman, Pierce said, who was another great spokesman for the issue.
“I’d say he was an integral part in its passing,” Pierce said.
But has that spirit of inspiration faded?
Some close to the city’s tax campaign have admitted that they’ve all but given up on more impoverished portions of the community.
“In the poorer communities, there just aren’t enough people getting out to the polls, so there has been focus on other voters,” said one source close to the campaign.
Official voices from the campaign itself insist the African-American community is high on the list of priorities.
“If we galvanize a couple different communities where we have strong support, we have a very, very good shot of winning this,” said Lee Roberts, a spokesman for the Issue 1 campaign.
Roberts said, despite Jefferson’s contention about Weinland Park, about 100 volunteers are out canvassing the neighborhoods every weekend.
“We’ve had people at the Hilltop Bean Dinner, and at events like Juneteenth. We’re trying to get the mayor out everywhere he can be,” he said.
Firefighters and police officers—many of whom have their jobs on the line—have mounted their own efforts.
“They’ve knocked on about 20,000 doors so far,” Roberts said.
The consensus among black leaders in the community seems to be, however, that despite his hits and misses, the mayor has enough sway to get the job done.
“I think he’s a strong enough leader,” said Debera Diggs, a longtime Southside community activist.
The mayor has his fans and his detractors within the community, but there may be someone more important in the equation, Diggs said.
“Sure, we love our mayor, but we love ourselves more,” she said.
When residents hear about potential cuts, not only to police and fire, but to vital health services like prenatal care and health clinics, and to the city’s recreation centers, they’ll be motivated to vote in favor of the tax increase, Diggs said.
“Whether you’re a fan or not, these things are too important to lose.”
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of theotherpaper.com.
Jomo Basoga wrote on Jul 14, 2009 11:16 AM:
Throughout this article Lyndsey Teter attributes quotes to some of the more recognizable and prominent black spokespersons throughout the city on which way we may or may not vote on the August 4th levy.
But missing in this story is the voice of the everyday Black business owner, grassroots activist and talk show host such as Mustafaa Shabazz, owner of Ujamaa Bookstore, Barry Edney, activist and owner of the Grassroots Business Center, Charles Traylor, former host of "Front Street" and Judith Powell, organizer and activist.
Julius Jefferson was about the most credible source provided but still this article was littered with the voices of Sam Gresham and Jeff Winbush who painted blacks as nothing more than hapless victims whose very survivial depends on government policy.
What drives Black voters to the polls for the most part are these days--unfortunately, are these so-called black leaders urging us that it's our duty since our foreparents died to give us that right.
They do this all the while never explaining how we will ultimately benefit.
So this is not a letter urging support either for or against the levy but one informing you and your readership that the likes of Mike Coleman, Gresham, Winbush, Gene Harris or any other prominent black person here are not our leaders.
To put it blunt, they're simply black people with high-profile jobs and positions. Nothing more, nothing less.
Jomo Basoga,
Columbus "