Mayor Francis Slay and (Challenger) Minority Leader Maida Coleman Talk To The Vital VOICE: Introduction
BY: COLIN MURPHY - SENIOR WRITER
On April 7, St. Louis’ Municipal General Election will be held to decide whether to return two-term-incumbent Mayor Francis G. Slay to City Hall for a third term or choose one of his three opponents to take over the reigns of city government.
Challenging the Democratic incumbent on the ballot are Independent candidate, Maida Coleman; Green Party candidate, Elston K. McCowan and Libertarian candidate, Robb E. Cunningham.
Historically, the winner of the heavily Democratic St. Louis Municipal Primary (held last month) coasts to victory in the general election facing only token opposition. But this year the race has been shaken up a bit.
Coleman, a former Missouri State Representative, State Senator and Minority Leader has filed as an Independent. She made the decision after a woman with the same last name unexpectedly filed to run for mayor in the Democratic primary.
As a result, the Gateway City is witnessing a real battle pitting the well financed incumbent against an equally experienced, insurgent candidate with statewide name recognition.
The Vital VOICE recently sat down for one-on-one interviews with both Mayor Slay and Minority Leader Coleman to discuss the race and issues ranging from the economy and crime to GLBT rights. Full transcripts of the two interviews are below.
Minority Leader Coleman Interview
You can email Colin Murphy at colin_murphy@sbcglobal.net
