Congressional Black Caucus Presses Clinton
Thursday, June 24,1993 - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Page3A
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON - Upset by
his decision to drop his chief
civil rights nominee and
other concessions to conser
vatives, the Congressional
Black Caucus (CBC) began a
pressure campaign against
President Clinton recently.
The effort to force the presi
dent to stick to more liberal
policies began when the CBC
rejected a Clinton request
for the group to meet with
him. CBC head Rep. Kwelsi
Mfume of Maryland said of
Clinton's recent political
maneuvering, "We are con
cerned and to some extent
disillusioned." What has
black lawmakers and other
liberal Congress members
angry has been several con
cessions to conservative
lawmakers. The caucus and
most civil right groups were
particularly outraged at the
decision to drop the nomina
tion of Lanl Gutnler
to the chief rights
post In the Justice
Department after
conservatives
mounted a campaign
against ' the black
nominee. The caucus
also wants Clinton
to hold fast to prom
ises to invest In the
Inner-cltles and
create jobs for the
poor.
AROUND THE
'WORLD
Black Positioned To
Become Next Pope
VATICAN CITY - A West Af
rican cardinal was placed In
a post earlier this month
which makes him "first
among equals" to become the
next Pope of the Roman
Catholic Church. Pope John
Paul II approved the nomi
nation of Cardinal Bemar-
dlne Gantln to head the Col
lege of Cardinals.
That Is the body
which will elect the
next Pope. Gantln is
from Benin. But
Gantln objects to
speculation about
him becoming Pope.
Instead, he praises
Pope John Paul II,
saying, "I hope he
adds many more
years to his pontifi
cate." John Paul has been
Pope for 15 years. The nomi
nation of Gantln also re
flects the growing Influence
of Africa and Latin America
In the Catholic Church.
Mandela To Begin
18-Day U.S. Tour
JOHANNESBURG, S. Africa
- Nelson Mandela, the leader
of the African National Con
gress and the likely first
black president of South Af
rica, begem an 18-day tour of
the United States Wednes
day. His travel plans are still
being Initialized, but It Is ex
pected that he will visit At
lanta, Washington. D.C., New
York and Philadelphia. In
Philadelphia, he and the cur
rent white president of South
Africa, F.W. de Klerk, will be
See MANDELA On Page 4A
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Scarborough Takes A Chance
There Are Hazards
In Running In At-
Large Council Race
Continued From Page LA
In the mirror. We need to have people to get out there and take
some risks."
keeper and other political analysts said there are some
unique factors which may work in Scarborough’s favor, giv
ing her the edge to win.
keeper noted the 1992 election of Democrats Bill Clinton to
the presidency and Jim Hunt as N.C.'s governor Indicates a
shut In the electorate.
"It seems at least that the tide is turning par-
[ tlsan-wlse...from very conservative the last
10 or so years. It now seems to be shifting,
I with advent of Jim Hunt and President Clln-
1 ton, on the state and national levels, and the
election of a Democrat as chairman of (Meck
lenburg ) County Commissioners. That is an
encouraging sign.
"(But) that does not always hold true for Af
rican-Americans," keeper added. "If voters
swing from Republican to Democrat, they are
not always willing to vote for an African-
American."
Harvey Gantt said Charlotte's voting history Is a clear indi
cator of the challenge Scarborough faces.
"Very few of them are a shoo-in in a town like Charlotte,
where people aren't accustomed to voting for black citizens,"
he said. "Black candidates have to work that much harder. It's
going to take a tremendous effort. She understands she has
her work cut out for her."
Mecklenburg Elections Supervisor BlU Culp,
who keeps a finger on the city’s electoral sta
tistics, acknowledged the difficulty African-
Americans have had getting elected at-large,
• but said the women’s vote could be the key
factor In the upcoming race.
He noted that Cyndee Patterson and Ann
Hammond, two white females, are not run
ning again. 'That increases (Scarborough’s)
chances," Culp said. "She could be the only
woman running at-large. That may be
enough for her to win."
"On balance she has been a very effective
council member," Culp said of Scarborough. "It Is very Inter
esting, the growing success female politicians are having."
But Culp added some discouraging factors. He suggested
Scarborough wUl actually have a more difficult race than
keeper, simply because the Democrats will probably field Its
weakest ticket tn some time.
Culp noted ‘that no strong Democratic mayoral candidate
has emerged, while Mayor Richard Vlnroot wlU head the Re
publican slate.
'Without a strong mayoral candidate, the Democrats are go
ing to have a hard time running at-large," he said. 'The Repub
licans are going to have the strongest slate they have had In a
long time. The Democrats have the weakest tn a long time."
So far, Culp said, the Democratic at-large ticket will proba
bly include. In addition to Scarborough, LecU Henderson, who
lost a bid In 1991, former mayoral candidate Craig Madans,
and possibly Sydnor Thompson, a former chairman of the lo
cal Democratic Party.
The Republican candidates expected to be In the at-large
race are Incumbents Pat McCrory and Don Reid, and Joe MlU-
er and Charles Baker, Culp said.
The Charlotte electorate includes 59,983 African Americans
and 182,703 whites, meaning African Americans are just 24
percent of the total. Voter turnout Is always considerable less
than the total, particularly In off-year elections.
keeper said he and Gantt figured they needed between 36-37
percent of the white vote and 95 percent of the African-
American vote to win their cltywlde bids, keeper got just 8,104
votes tn the 1987 Democratic primary, according to the Elec
tions Board.
"EUa Is going to have to get 95 percent of the black vote and 36
percent of the white vote. That's an Interesting question to ask
in 1993. 'Whether a black person can get 36 percent of the
white vote," keeper said.
keeper noted that Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board
members George Battle and Arthur Grtlfln have managed to
get elected In countywide elections, but the school board race
was not divided by districts. A district system Is being consid
ered now.
Before districts were set up tn the city elections, blacks man
aged to get elected at-large, keeper said, including Gantt's first
election to the council.
"If there was a good time to run, this Is a good time to at least
try," keeper said. "This will either reinforce the fact that it Is
extremely difficult for African Americans to win an at-large
seat, or It will be a good time for an African American to learn
he or she can be elected at-laige."
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