Mayoral incumbent lost due to split in black vote

BY DUSTIN BLOCK, Journal Times, 2/28/03

Friday, February 28, 2003 11:00 AM CST

RACINE -- Black voters proved decisive in this month's primary election for mayor, likely knocking incumbent Jim Smith from the contest, an analysis of election results shows.

Voters in Racine's central city, which has the highest concentration of black residents in the city, split their support between Smith and challenger Ken Lumpkin. Smith, who was seeking his third term in office, carried the heart of the city in the Feb. 11 primary, but Lumpkin's grassroots campaign in predominantly black neighborhoods appeared to siphon support away from the mayor.

The result was an upset loss for Smith to challengers Gary Becker and Ron Thomas. While Becker, who finished first in the primary, was considered a favorite to move through the primary, Thomas himself said he was "mildly stunned" by his second-place finish.

Election results show Lumpkin's campaign eroded some of Smith's support in some minority neighborhoods and hurt the mayor's bid for a third term in office.

Lumpkin, who is editor of the Insider News, a newspaper targeted to Racine's black community, used his primary campaign to focus attention on central-city issues such as abandoned houses and crime. Spending about $4,000 before the primary, he received 7 percent of the overall vote. But many of Lumpkin's 601 total votes appeared to come at the expense of Smith, who lost to Thomas in the primary by 96 votes.

Lumpkin said Wednesday that his campaign "fractionalized" the city's black community. While ministers supported Smith, a grassroots movement responded to his calls for improved public transportation and additional access for minorities to local government, he said.

"I brought up issues no one else was talking about," Lumpkin said. "It was obvious there was a need for change ... we definitely changed the campaign to include central-city issues."

He added that Smith's mistake in the election was that he failed to mobilize black voters, and instead relied on endorsements and an election day "get out the vote" drive.

"He didn't go door-to-door," Lumpkin said. "That was a reflection on him losing. He didn't actually go to the voters."

Smith led all candidates in the central city, composed of neighborhoods surrounding Racine's Downtown, followed in many wards by Lumpkin in second place. If Lumpkin had not run, it's likely many of the central-city voters would have swung in favor of the mayor.

Lumpkin said he didn't intend to be a spoiler in the election, but knew his focus on minority issues would make it difficult to win citywide support.

"I lean toward bringing minority issues to the forefront, and that's a turnoff for some voters, who probably saw me as a black candidate," Lumpkin said.

A number of factors likely contributed to the outcome. Turnout for the primary was low -- about 16 percent of registered voters cast ballots -- and many people cited a "time for change" as a factor in Smith's defeat.

Meanwhile, Becker ran an aggressive campaign throughout the city, and dominated the city's north side. Thomas ran a low-profile campaign that benefited from his years of work among labor and social services circles. His strength came from West Racine, though, like Becker, he showed even support throughout the city.

Both Becker and Thomas said the central city would be important to their campaigns.

"It's clear, from my perspective, I have to convince a lot of the mayor's supporters to vote," Thomas said. "We have to have a level playing field out there ... we are as strong as our most vulnerable populations, and those tend to be in our central city."

Becker said he was confident the issues of his campaign -- crime, housing and jobs -- matched the concerns of central-city residents. He added that his campaign has contacted black leaders to discuss the campaign, and he intends to walk throughout the city to spread his message.

"We're going to talk to everybody," Becker said. "We feel confident they'll support our method."

Though out of the race, Lumpkin may still play a critical role in the election of the next mayor. While Smith has said he will not endorse either candidate, Lumpkin said he intends to meet with both Becker and Thomas before announcing support for either campaign. Both candidates agreed that Lumpkin's endorsement would be a boost to their campaigns.

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