"Be careful what you wish for" would be good advice for Francis Slay, the mayor of St Louis. His re-election later this year is all but certain-but so are the problems he faces in running his city for four more turbulent years. No Republicans have bothered to file for the race, so Mr Slay will face only token competition from the Green Party. This week he easily beat his two opponents in the Democratic primary. One of these was Irene Smith, a black alderwoman whose long career in public service was replaced in voters' minds by an unfortunate scene during a filibuster in 2001 when she urinated into a waste bucket on the floor of the chamber where the Board of Aldermen was meeting.
展开▼
