Mayoral election in Montgomery, AL

[The Arizonan]

www.vox.com/identities/2019/10/9/20906450/steven-reed-montgomery-alabama-mayoral-election-history

Montgomery, AL, the original capital of the Confederacy and an important city in the civil rights movement has just elected its first black mayor.

I wanted to post the New York Times article, but there's a freaking paywall involved.

[Del Tachi]

Hmmmm....which major Black majority/plurality, Southern cities haven't elected Black mayors yet?

[The Arizonan]

Hmmmm....which major Black majority/plurality, Southern cities haven't elected Black mayors yet?

I can't think of any cities that fit that description. There are large cities in the South that have never elected a black mayor such as Forth Worth, El Paso, Nashville, Louisville, Tampa, Charleston, and Miami.

[Del Tachi]

This is an interesting topic.  Here's the list of large American cities with significant Black populations (pop. >100k and >40% Black) and when/if they elected their first Black mayor:

1.  Detroit (82.7%) - Coleman Young  (elected 1973)
2.  Jackson (79.4%) - Harvey Johnson, Jr. (elected 1997)
3.  Miami Gardens (76.3%) - Shirley Gibson (elected 2003)
4.  Birmingham (73.4%) - Richard Arrington, Jr. (elected 1979)
5.  Baltimore (65.1%) - Clarence Burns (assumed office 1987), Kurt Schmoke (elected 1987)
6.  Memphis (64.1%) - Willie Herenton (elected 1991)
7.  New Orleans (61.2%) - Ernest Morial (elected 1977)
8.  Flint (59.5%) - Floyd J. McCree (appointed in 1966), James A. Sharp, Jr. (elected 1983)
9.  Montgomery (57.4%) - Steven Reed (elected 2019)
10.  Savannah (56.7%) - Floyd Adams, Jr. (elected 1995)
11.  Augusta (54.7%) - Ed McInytre (elected 1981), Willie Mays (assumed office 2005, city-county), Hardie Davis (elected 2015, city-county)
12.  Shreveport (54.7%) - Cedric B. Glover (elected 2006)
13.  Atlanta (54.0%) - Maynard Jackson (elected 1973)
14.  Cleveland (53.3%) - Carl Stokes (elected 1967)
15.  Newark (52.4%) - Kenneth Allen Gibson (elected 1970)
16.  Washington, D.C. (50.7%) - Walter Washington (as mayor-commissioner in 1967, as home-rule mayor in 1974)
17.  Richmond (50.6%) - Henry Leander Marsh (appointed 1977), Douglas Wilder (elected 2005)
18.  Mobile (50.6%) - Sam Jones (elected 2005)
19.  St. Louis (49.2%) - Freeman Bosley, Jr. (elected 1993)
20.  Beaumont (47.3%) - None
21.  Columbus, GA (45.5%) - None
22.  Cincinnati (45.0) - Dwight Tillery (appointed 1991), Mark Mallory (elected 2005)
23.  Inglewood (43.9%) - Edward Vincent (elected 1983)
24.  Philadelphia (43.4%) - Wilson Goode (elected 1984)
25.  Norfolk (43.1%) - Kenneth Alexander (elected 2016)
26.  Dayton (42.9%) - James H. McGhee (elected 1970)
27.  Little Rock (42.3%) - Charles E. Bussey, Jr. (appointed 1981), Frank Scott, Jr. (elected 2018)
28.  Columbia, SC (42.2%) - Stephen K. Benjamin (elected 2010)
29.  Fayetteville, NC (41.9%) - Marshall Pitts, Jr. (elected 2001)
30.  Rochester (41.7%) - William A. Johnson, Jr. (elected 1993)
31.  Durham (41.0%) - Chester Jenkins (elected 1989)
32.  Newport News (40.7%) - Jessie M. Rattley (elected 1986)
33.  Greensboro (40.6%) - Yvonne Johnson (elected 2007)
34.  Milwaukee (40.0%) - Marvin Pratt (acting mayor in 2004), none elected

So with the addition of Montgomery, the only remaining large cities with significant Black populations to have never had Black mayors are Beaumont, TX and Columbus, GA.  Milwaukee has never elected a Black mayor, although one briefly served in an interim capacity in 2004.  Ohio really seems to stand out as a pioneering front on this list - Cleveland and Dayton elected Black mayors before 1970.
   
Taking a slighly different angle and looking at cities with the largest Black populations in nominal terms:  New York (2,088k), Chicago (913k), Philadelphia (687k), Houston (594k), Detroit (535k), Memphis (414k), Baltimore (403k), Los Angeles (402k), Washington (314k), Dallas (308k); we see that they all have elected Black mayors.

[The Arizonan]

The next mayor of Milwaukee could be the first elected black mayor of the city. Lena Taylor is running.

On another note, if you were to list the major cities in the United States that have never had a black mayor on a piece of paper, you'd probably run out of room quickly.

[The Arizonan]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

[Badger]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

[The Arizonan]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

[I’m not Stu]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

Right. In California, there’s Whittier, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, and Huntington Beach; which all have a much larger population than Helena, Montana. Anaheim recently elected its first Asian mayor.

[The Arizonan]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

Right. In California, there’s Whittier, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, and Huntington Beach; which all have a much larger population than Helena, Montana. Anaheim recently elected its first Asian mayor.

The Orange County cities definitely have a white, Republican feel to them for some reason, despite the diversity there.

As for Anaheim’s mayor, East Indians are only Asian on a technicality. When I think of Asians, I think of the Far East nationalities.

[I’m not Stu]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

Right. In California, there’s Whittier, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, and Huntington Beach; which all have a much larger population than Helena, Montana. Anaheim recently elected its first Asian mayor.

The Orange County cities definitely have a white, Republican feel to them for some reason, despite the diversity there.

As for Anaheim’s mayor, East Indians are only Asian on a technicality. When I think of Asians, I think of the Far East nationalities.

My hometown never elected a black mayor. Most people I know are from cities that never elected a black mayor.Whittier and Diamond Bar are in Los Angeles County. Debbie Cook, former mayor of Huntington Beach, is a Democrat. Costa Mesa mayor Katrina Foley is a Democrat. Not all OC mayors are even Republicans. Interestingly, it was the whiter neighborhoods in Anaheim that got Harry Sidhu elected. The less white neighborhoods voted for a white candidate.
Harry Sidhu (R), Ashleigh Aitken (D)

[The Arizonan]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

Right. In California, there’s Whittier, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, and Huntington Beach; which all have a much larger population than Helena, Montana. Anaheim recently elected its first Asian mayor.

The Orange County cities definitely have a white, Republican feel to them for some reason, despite the diversity there.

As for Anaheim’s mayor, East Indians are only Asian on a technicality. When I think of Asians, I think of the Far East nationalities.

My hometown never elected a black mayor. Most people I know are from cities that never elected a black mayor.Whittier and Diamond Bar are in Los Angeles County. Debbie Cook, former mayor of Huntington Beach, is a Democrat. Costa Mesa mayor Katrina Foley is a Democrat. Not all OC mayors are even Republicans. Interestingly, it was the whiter neighborhoods in Anaheim that got Harry Sidhu elected. The less white neighborhoods voted for a white candidate.
Harry Sidhu (R), Ashleigh Aitken (D)

Which city is your hometown? Anaheim?

It is interesting that Harry Sidhu won a good portion of the white vote, but it might have to do with him having an "R" next to his name. Minorities tend to vote for Democratic candidates.

My hometown, Phoenix, is the largest city in the United States that has never had a black mayor.

[I’m not Stu]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

Right. In California, there’s Whittier, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, and Huntington Beach; which all have a much larger population than Helena, Montana. Anaheim recently elected its first Asian mayor.

The Orange County cities definitely have a white, Republican feel to them for some reason, despite the diversity there.

As for Anaheim’s mayor, East Indians are only Asian on a technicality. When I think of Asians, I think of the Far East nationalities.

My hometown never elected a black mayor. Most people I know are from cities that never elected a black mayor.Whittier and Diamond Bar are in Los Angeles County. Debbie Cook, former mayor of Huntington Beach, is a Democrat. Costa Mesa mayor Katrina Foley is a Democrat. Not all OC mayors are even Republicans. Interestingly, it was the whiter neighborhoods in Anaheim that got Harry Sidhu elected. The less white neighborhoods voted for a white candidate.
Harry Sidhu (R), Ashleigh Aitken (D)

Which city is your hometown? Anaheim?

It is interesting that Harry Sidhu won a good portion of the white vote, but it might have to do with him having an "R" next to his name. Minorities tend to vote for Democratic candidates.

My hometown, Phoenix, is the largest city in the United States that has never had a black mayor.

All municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan. Sidhu couldn’t run with a party label on the ballot.

[The Arizonan]

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/tempe/corey-woods-elected-new-mayor-of-tempe

Tempe, AZ, which is in the Phoenix area, just elected its first black mayor. It's amazing that it beat out cities like Boston, South Bend, and Miami.

But didn't beat Helena, Montana.

Heh. In any case, there are a multitude of cities that have never elected a black mayor such as Indianapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Miami, Tampa, and Forth Worth. The list goes on forever.

Right. In California, there’s Whittier, Diamond Bar, Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Irvine, and Huntington Beach; which all have a much larger population than Helena, Montana. Anaheim recently elected its first Asian mayor.

The Orange County cities definitely have a white, Republican feel to them for some reason, despite the diversity there.

As for Anaheim’s mayor, East Indians are only Asian on a technicality. When I think of Asians, I think of the Far East nationalities.

My hometown never elected a black mayor. Most people I know are from cities that never elected a black mayor.Whittier and Diamond Bar are in Los Angeles County. Debbie Cook, former mayor of Huntington Beach, is a Democrat. Costa Mesa mayor Katrina Foley is a Democrat. Not all OC mayors are even Republicans. Interestingly, it was the whiter neighborhoods in Anaheim that got Harry Sidhu elected. The less white neighborhoods voted for a white candidate.
Harry Sidhu (R), Ashleigh Aitken (D)

Which city is your hometown? Anaheim?

It is interesting that Harry Sidhu won a good portion of the white vote, but it might have to do with him having an "R" next to his name. Minorities tend to vote for Democratic candidates.

My hometown, Phoenix, is the largest city in the United States that has never had a black mayor.

All municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan. Sidhu couldn’t run with a party label on the ballot.

It is interesting to note that if Ashleigh Aitken had won, she would've been the city's first female mayor.