Ferguson's black representation on city council triples after election

ferguson election 2
FERGUSON, Mo. — In the first city-wide election since unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot to death by white police officer Darren Wilson last year, voters in this St. Louis suburb elected two black candidates to the City Council on Tuesday evening.
The election immediately triples the number of black representation on the city council, from one to three. That number also represents half of the six-member city council in Ferguson, a town in St. Louis County where two-thirds of the 21,000 residents are black.
The lone black incumbent councilman was not up for re-election.
Voter turnout increased substantially from the previous election following a strong get-out-the-vote effort from labor unions and other national organizations, according to NPR. The town only 12.3 percent of registered voters last April had 29.4 percent turnout Tuesday, according to the St. Louis County Board of Elections. That was about double the overall turnout in St. Louis County, where Ferguson is located.
The 2-1/2 times increase at the polls is still a low turnout, but some point to the fact that some were not registered to vote or were ineligible to register, a quandary they hope will be rectified at the next election.
Unofficial results showed that Wesley Bell defeated another black candidate to win in the 3rd Ward. Ella Jones defeated another black candidate and two white candidates in the 1st Ward. Brian Fletcher, a former mayor who is white, won a 2nd Ward race against another white candidate.
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