August 05, 2010 03:05 AM UTC

Symbolism and the Black/White Vote

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• by: BlueSkies

A  primary battle has broken out in northeast Denver over whether the “symbolism” of race should matter to voters choosing a state representative to replace term-limited house speaker Terrance Carroll in District 7.

In an op-ed flyer distributed late last month, Jon Goldin-Dubois was supported by a number of African-Americans who claim that, especially in a post-Obama US, voters should choose the candidate with the best ideas and experience regardless of race.  Goldin-Dubois is white while his opponent, Angela Williams, is African-American and the only black candidate running for the state legislature this year.

Sunday morning, churchgoers in northeast Denver found their cars flyered with a Williams piece letting Goldin-Dubois have it, saying his supporters “…accused Black leaders of telling Black voters how to vote based on skin color and described Angela as an un-qualified candidate…”  The Williams piece is signed by a diverse roster and invites readers to visit Goldin-Dubois’ site to read more.

Actually, though, the Goldin-Dubois site/letter doesn’t quite say those things and the op-ed flyer is signed by Goldin-Dubois supporters including, among others, members of Denver’s African-American Groff political family.  While they acknowledge the importance of diversity, they also suggest color-blindness is welcome when choosing political leadership.  It’s an interesting read.  Williams hasn’t posted her supporters’ flyer on her site as of Wednesday.

Admittedly, I didn’t see the Goldin-Dubois piece (clearly I don’t make it to church every week) except for what is on his campaign’s website.  The tone of his supporters seems fairly reasoned and non-confrontational.  The Williams piece, is, not surprisingly, defensive.  And, maybe necessarily, it aggressively targets African-American voters and mentions the common roads blacks have traveled – roads and travails that Goldin-Dubois, they suggest, is seemingly unable to sympathize with.

The Williams supporters then call out the African-Americans who supported Goldin-Dubois with:  “To any African-Americans who may have participated in the preparation of the Goldin-Dubois flyer, if the symbolism and reality around the racial composition of state legislatures doesn’t mean much to you, trust us, it will mean something for your children and grandchildren.”

Goldin-Dubois and Williams are running to replace African-American house speaker Terrance Carroll in a district that represents a big chunk of Mayfair, Park Hill, Stapleton, Montbello and Green Valley Ranch.  They split the convention vote 50-50 with a coin toss giving top ballot position to Williams.  

Williams is touting her volunteer experience, success as a small businesswoman, and life experience as a single mom.  Goldin-Dubois is pushing a resume that includes leadership roles in Common Cause, CoPIRG and environmental groups, and he’s the only candidate accepting voter-approved campaign spending limits.  Mark Mehringer petitioned his way onto the ballot, promising not to accept PAC money.

Their qualifications vary – but should race matter anymore?  Everyone has a life experience of some kind, and at what point could/should/would voters choose a candidate based on ideas and ideals rather than the “symbolism” of race (the Williams campaign’s word) or, for that matter, sexual orientation, gender or any of a number of other qualifiers?