Connie Johnson, who is still debating whether to throw her hat in the Fifth Senatorial ring, has been trying, literally since the day after the 2006 election, to get herself, Robin Wright Jones, and Rodney Hubbard together to discuss how they could agree on one of them to run.  (If you need the background on why that would be necessary, see my last posting.)  The three of them met for breakfast the day after the election to discuss that question.  Obviously, they did not resolve it.

What she wants is some way for all of them to come out a winner, and what she means by that is that they would agree on which one of them would run, but they would also agree on something those who dropped out could expect.  Johnson cited the example last year of Barbara Fraser and Jake Zimmerman, who both wanted to run for a seat on the County Council.  Fraser was term limited out of the House, so someone talked Zimmerman into running for her House seat instead.  He’s now a rep and she’s a Council member. That’s what Johnson means by everyone being a winner.

That particular solution wouldn’t work in the Fifth District, but if the person chosen to run were to win the race, he or she could use the appointive powers of the office to put the other two on whatever commission or board interested them.

But there was a glitch: All three of them were more interested in appointing the other two than in staying out of the race.

What they needed was a political intervention, and at one time or another each of them has tried to get that process jump started.  So far they’ve had no success.  Johnson said that she had hoped Representative Clay would step forward, but he didn’t, and eventually he endorsed Hubbard.  The outgoing senator, Maida Coleman, could have taken the reins, but she didn’t, and eventually she endorsed Wright Jones.

That leaves John Temporiti, the state Democratic party chairman–who, as a matter of fact has been doing exactly that kind of duty in a number of other races.  He’s had some success, but it can be a thorny role to play.  So far, for example, all three Attorney General candidates stand firm about their qualifications, chances of success, and intention to run.  Temporiti has not announced that he plans to mediate in the fifth senatorial race, but he would be the logical one to do it.

Meanwhile, Johnson and Villa are waiting about making a decision.  Johnson points out that if there’s no intervention, she might as well join the race.  There probably aren’t enough African-American voters in the primary to support two black candidates without handing the race to a white candidate, so she figures she wouldn’t be making the situation any worse.

The dilemma candidates face in this district is a direct result of term limits.  It used to be that a person in the legislature moved on when there was an opening elsewhere or when he was ready to leave politics.  Now, four representatives in one senatorial district will have to leave in the same year.  If they love politics and want to stay in that arena, their options are severely limited.

And there’s one more kink created by this crowded primary.  If Tom Villa joins the race and wins, that would be likely to affect the African-American turnout in the general election.  Many will figure, he’s not our man, and he’s probably going to beat any Republican opponent anyway.  That attitude is all well and good except that statewide, our party is going to need every Dem it can muster in order to squeak by in the gubernatorial race.  

The good news about the fifth senatorial district in the city of St. Louis is that it will almost surely go to a Democrat.  But an awful lot of people are fretting about how to keep that seat in African-American hands.

And in case you wonder why that matters, let me say that in one sense, it doesn’t.  All four of the district’s representatives–Rodney Hubbard, Robin Wright Jones, Connie Johnson and Tom Villa–are term limited out next year.  Two have announced they’re running.  Two more are considering it, and one of those last two is white.  But all of them would do a good job of representing constituents in that district.

Say what you want about Rodney Hubbard taking money from Rex Sinquefield and pushing school vouchers, wag your head in disappointment that Tom Villa opposes abortion and stem cell research.  The bottom line is that all four of them want to do good for their people.

So what’s the big deal about having two black candidates–or maybe three if Connie Johnson jumps in–and one white man?  The two–or three–African-Americans would divide the vote; and if Villa gets in, he’d almost surely take the seat.  It wouldn’t be a tragedy, but consider the history of the city.  Racial tensions loom large, in the past and at present.  Villa, or any other white candidate, would make three white senators out of three in a black majority city.  Not the best scenario for soothing those tensions.

I talked to Connie Johnson last week about her possible plans.  As we mulled over the situation, she pointed out what great respect she has for Villa.  He’s in his third political incarnation now.  He was first elected to the House in 1974, and in those days before term limits, stayed long enough to become the Majority Leader from 1980 to 1984.  After that, he went into city politics, became president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, and  eventually made an unsuccessful run for mayor.  After that, he dropped out of politics for five years; then came the third incarnation:  in 2000, he was elected again to the House.  Johnson points out that he knows more about the rules of the House than any other member–and has as much right to run for senator as anybody.

As for Johnson herself, she says that nobody should rule her out of the running and points with some pique at people who’ve told her that since she has a good job as a lawyer at Armstrong Teasdale, she should leave the field to Hubbard or Wright Jones, who don’t have fallback employment.  As far as she’s concerned:  “When did the state capitol become an employment agency?”  She loves politics, loves working for the people in her district, and feels she has a right to run.  After all, she says, considering all the glitches the legislature had last year from poorly written bills, they need more attorneys.  And currently, the legislature is almost at an all time low.  “On ten percent of the bills we pass, the next year they come back and we do cleanup.”

Johnson also points out that she has gotten six bills passed in her seven years in Jeff City, even though she’s in the minority party.  And they haven’t been bills dedicating a library to so-and-so either.  They’ve had substance.  She got a bill passed to assist rape victims.  Previously, the victims had to pay for their own rape kits, which cost $1200.  Now the state pays.  And rape victims are no longer required to take a lie detector test before they can testify.  After all, victims of other crimes don’t have to take lie detector tests.

She also got a bill passed to aid DNA exonorees.  Previously, such people were given a bus ticket and told they could apply to the courts for damages–but doing that of course would take time determination, and knowledge of how to go about it. Now, they receive $50 for each day they were incarcerated and social services to help them readjust to society.

So, in light of her qualifications and her desire to help people, she’s considering joining the race.  Is she just adding one more good choice to the pot?  Or muddying the waters?  More on that question tomorrow.

Photos above are–top right:  Connie Johnson; top left:  Tom Villa; bottom right:  Robin Wright Jones; bottom left:  Rodney Hubbard