Bill Clay: A Political Voice at the Grass Roots (Volume 1)

Clay, William

ISBN 10: 1883982529 / ISBN 13: 9781883982522

Published by Missouri Historical Society Pres, 2004

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Bill Clay: A Political Voice at the Grass Roots (Volume 1)
• Publisher: Missouri Historical Society Pres
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1883982529
• ISBN 13: 9781883982522
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

 As Democratic ward committeeman for more than twenty years (a position that controlled many patronage jobs), Bill Clay, Sr., was forced to endorse candidates in primary elections, even in the most contentious and divisive contests. This committee post was concurrent with his congressional responsibilities, putting the committeeman-congressman at the epicenter of most local political storms.

Clay recounts his forty-one-year odyssey through a career filled with controversy, conflict, and confrontation. He challenged both the established rule of the white St. Louis power structure and the black “don’t rock the boat” political and civil rights advocates. In the process, he changed the face of a racially discriminatory economic, political, and social system.

 

Clay’s struggle to gain power and to keep it was not confined to fights with other politicians and business executives, however. It also involved an ongoing fight for his political survival with the media. One daily newspaper waged a publicly declared campaign to ensure his loss in every election. Without compromising his principles or softening his attacks on racists and racism, Clay battled back. He won reelection fifteen consecutive times, and the newspaper eventually folded. In the end, Clay, using his tremendous vote-getting apparatus, became one of Missouri’s most powerful political voices in controlling election-year issues and determining the success of candidates’ campaigns in both citywide and statewide elections.

About the Author

Bill Clay was in elective office for forty-one years, representing St. Louis City and parts of its surrounding suburbs. He was first elected in 1959 to the St. Louis Board of Alderman and then in 1964 was elected as Democratic ward committeeman. In 1968, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and was subsequently reelected to serve the next fifteen terms, for a total of thirty-two years. He retired in 2000 as the third most senior member of the House.