Posted on 06/20/2002 8:47:00 AM PDT by mhking
[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 6/20/02 ]
Name recognition, getting black vote big challenges
for Majette in her bit to unseat McKinney
By BILL TORPY and JIM GALLOWAY
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writers
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 Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) starts her re-election bid with a fund-raising advantage over challenger Denise Majette:
MCKINNEY
MAJETTE
Source: Federal Election Commission
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Majette, a former DeKalb County State Court judge, is casting the race as a choice between an inclusive moderate and a polarizing maverick. She touts her service on the bench as instant credibility and hopes to cobble together a coalition of white Democratic liberals, Republican crossovers from north DeKalb and black voters from south DeKalb dissatisfied with McKinney.
Observers say the growing black middle class of south DeKalb -- an area that has given McKinney strong support in the past -- is the key to victory in the Aug. 20 primary, which is attracting notice because of McKinney's outspokenness.
"Recently, with [her comments about] 9/11 and Cynthia McKinney's track record, there's some question in some people's minds," said Sterling Robinson, an engineer from Lithonia who has supported McKinney in the past. "I think the community is divided [on] if she can perform her duties."
Robinson is exactly the type of voter the experts say Majette needs to win. But there's a problem.
"I don't know too much about her," said Robinson, repeating a statement made by nearly all of a score of African-American voters interviewed over the past few days.
The 4th District race has a national profile after McKinney's controversial comments about Sept. 11. McKinney was sharply criticized after suggesting that President Bush withheld information about the attacks to enrich friends with interests in the defense industry. She also apologized to a Saudi prince after his $10 million donation for Sept. 11 victims was refused when he suggested the U.S. pro-Israel policy contributed to the attacks.
Majette spokeswoman Elizabeth Wilson acknowledged that the challenger needs substantial support from DeKalb's majority-black constituency to win. In April, DeKalb had 194,000 registered black voters and 168,000 white voters.
"We are making inroads" in south DeKalb, Wilson said. "The support is coming from a lot of different communities."
Wilson said a poll released last month has given the campaign momentum. The poll of "likely Democratic primary voters," conducted in May by Majette's campaign, showed her leading McKinney 41 percent to 37 percent, with 22 percent undecided.
McKinney, who did not return calls seeking comment for this article, has called those poll results "wishful thinking" on Majette's part. The survey was conducted by Alan Secrest, who has polled for Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga). Miller, who has criticized McKinney, contributed $1,000 to Majette's campaign.
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Miller's backing gave Majette a publicity boost last week, but her campaign tiptoed around his support, saying it "is very special. But so is everyone else's."
Majette may have good reason to be careful about Miller's backing. To make a go of the race, she must appear independent to black voters, said Bob Holmes, director of the Southern Center for Studies in Public Policy at Clark Atlanta University.
"In fact, it may have a boomerang effect," said Holmes, who served in the state House with McKinney and supports her. "Cynthia McKinney has always run, strangely enough, as an underdog. It's the good ol' boy network, once again, coming at her."
Stan Smith, a engineering designer from south DeKalb who likes McKinney's outspokenness, agrees with Holmes.
"I think [Miller's support] will work in McKinney's favor; it'll be a rallying point for her voters," said Smith. "I like a representative more in tune with the community. Zell Miller doesn't seem like he's in tune."
But other south DeKalb voters, like Sabrina Snyder, a network engineer, think it's McKinney who is not in tune.
"She seems to be an embarrassment to our district rather than representing us or improving the district," said Snyder. "She's primarily put back in office for lack of competition in the primary."
Snyder, who said she planned to vote against McKinney, said most black voters are still reluctant to vote Republican, making the primary the true battleground for the congressional seat, which includes most of DeKalb. The Washington Post noted this month that Majette was drawing financial support from Jewish voters because of McKinney's sympathy for the Palestinian cause. On the other side, McKinney's contributor rolls are swollen with Arabic names from across the country donating tens of thousands of dollars.
Ironically, many of Majette's Jewish backers will not be able to vote for her because several precincts north of Emory University and near the Congregation Beth Jacob synagogue were allocated to Rep. John Lewis' Atlanta district last year.
"I'd gotten a lot of calls from people who wanted out," said state Rep. Doug Teper (D-Atlanta), who represents that area and who shepherded almost 10,000 registered voters from McKinney's district.
In the 2000 presidential race, Democrat Al Gore drew 63 percent of the vote in those precincts while McKinney drew only 48 percent.
Former DeKalb CEO Manuel Maloof said the race may get tight and that the loss of those precincts, where he lives, hurts Majette. But black, not white, voters are the key, he said -- particularly low-income voters, who have traditionally supported McKinney.
"You'd have to see if there's any movement from the lower-income black community towards Majette; then she can win," he said.
A stroll through the low-income Allen Wilson Terrace Apartments, across the street from DeKalb's Manuel Maloof Center, found solid support for McKinney and shrugs when Majette's name was mentioned.
"I like Cynthia McKinney; I like the fact that she's outspoken," said LaShun Morris, walking near her apartment Friday afternoon. "That's what we need."
What about Denise Majette?
"I never heard of her," Morris said.
Majette has two months to change that.
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Generally speaking, I would like more reasonable Democrats to be elected. If Zell runs again, I will probably cross over to vote for him.
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