Pardon us for being a little slow with this, we’re still getting caught up from a busy few days (more on that later), but last Thursday, the night Democrats all over the city gathered for the first round of selecting delegates to the national convention, there was a little bit of controversy in one northside ward.
At Yeatman-Liddell Elementary in the 21st Ward, caucus organizers Alderman Bennice Jones King, and her cousin, former state rep Amber Boykins, barred state rep candidate Chris Carter to entering the gymnasium where the caucus was being held.
Confused about why he wasn’t being allowed to watch the proceedings, Carter, who was accompanying a Democratic Party monitor, was told that since he was a candidate for office and not a resident of that ward, he couldn’t enter. To validate her point, Boykins later told the entire group of caucusers (see the video below), she called up Democratic Party Executive Director Ken Franklin to explain the situation. According to Boykins, Franklin agreed with her decision.
After the meeting, we ran into Carter, who’s running for the seat being vacated by term-limited State Rep. Connie Johnson (According to Carter, Johnson recently publicly endorsed his candidacy). Carter said there were no hard feelings and he looked forward to campaigning in the one precinct of the 21st Ward which his district runs through.
Carter’s opponent in the August 5th primary is 27th Ward Committeeman Curtis Royston.
Editor’s note: This reporter will soon be a candidate for Committeeman of the 21st Ward and was elected as a Democratic delegate at the meeting in question.
