美国国家公共电台 NPR Ferguson, Mo., Residents Worry About Low Voter Turnout In Mayoral Election

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

People in Ferguson, Mo., will vote to choose a mayor tomorrow. It's the town's first mayoral election since 2014. And that was the year a white police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old black man, Michael Brown. Then there were the protests and the riots and big changes in Ferguson's city council. St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum went to Ferguson to see if voters were just as passionate 1 now.

JASON ROSENBAUM, BYLINE 2: In 2014, 37-year-old James Knowles was just re-elected mayor without opposition 3 when one of his city's white police officers shot and killed African-American Michael Brown. Knowles suddenly became the public face of a small town under intense scrutiny 4. Some questioned whether Knowles would remain in his post. He did, and he's now running for a third term.

JAMES KNOWLES: I don't believe that I should stay around forever. We do have term limits in our community. But I do believe that these next three years are critical. It's critical that we get ourselves back on the right path, that we stay on that path, and that we plot a future for the community that future generations can take up that mantle 5 and move forward.

ROSENBAUM: Things have changed in Ferguson since Brown's death. Its city government is more racially diverse, especially compared to 2014, when the city council and staff was largely white and the Justice Department accused it of targeting black motorists for tickets to raise revenue. But Ferguson still has significant challenges - declining tax revenue, understaffed city departments and having to follow a federal consent decree mandating 6 major changes in its police department.

ELLA JONES: How you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Good.

ROSENBAUM: Councilwoman Ella Jones is mingling 7 today with patrons at a local restaurant. She's seeking to become Ferguson's first black mayor and says she can provide the right type of leadership for the city.

JONES: Every time a flashpoint happens, we don't have to call the governor. We could go out and talk to the people. The people want to be heard. Right now the people are at a point that they don't trust the leadership.

ROSENBAUM: African-Americans make up the majority of the population here. But black voter turnout has traditionally been low, in part because of a transient population. Ferguson resident Mildred Clines worries that the African-American community is becoming exhausted 8 with the slow pace of change. And that could affect voter turnout in tomorrow's election.

MILDRED CLINES: And I try to convince them different. I'm trying to tell them that you have a voice. You can speak your voice. You can make a difference. But a lot of them feel like they haven't seen enough change to make a difference.

ROSENBAUM: Activists 9 hoped for vigorous civic 10 participation 11 after Brown's shooting death, but turnout dropped in 2016 when Heather Robinett was elected to the city council. Robinett says while lots of residents remain invested in Ferguson's success, the sense of perseverance 12 is coupled with fatigue 13.

HEATHER ROBINETT: We're either brave or crazy sometimes, you know? Like, what - that we continue to stick through it and work through this tricky 14 navigation. You know, like, what's the best way to move forward as a community as a whole? And when you're looking at various viewpoints, it's hard to converge 15 on what that looks like.

ROSENBAUM: Whoever is elected tomorrow will serve as mayor for three years. They'll have to cope both with Ferguson's controversial past and its continuing challenges. For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum in Ferguson.

(SOUNDBITE OF KRAAK AND SMAAK SONG, "HANDS OF TIME")