William E. Mason
Mayor of East Saint Louis
In office
1975–1979
Preceded byJames E. Williams
Succeeded byCarl E. Officer
Personal details
Born1933 or 1934 (age 89–90)[1]
EducationPhD Saint Louis University[2]

William E. Mason is an American politician who was elected as the second African-American mayor of East Saint Louis, Illinois, then the largest city in St. Clair County, Illinois.

Mason served as superintendent of the East Saint Louis school district.[3][4] On April 1, 1975,[5] Mason defeated the incumbent mayor of East Saint Louis, James E. Williams, one of the few African-American mayors in the country.[3] Mason won by a margin of 6,457 votes to 5,600 in an election marked by low voter turnout.[2] The election was marred by allegations of election fraud and ballot-stuffing.[4] Mason assumed control with more power than previous mayors due to a change to the aldermanic form of government replacing the previous five-member commission model.[2]

Mason's term marked a return to patronage politics with only one of eighteen council members belonging to the prior mayor's independent status with the other seventeen all part of the Democratic political machine.[4] His term began contentiously with Mason dismissing 20 supporters of former Mayor Williams.[4] When a block of alderman passed a resolution seeking to strip him of appointive powers, he subsequently vetoed the resolution.[4] During his term, Mason was successful in soliciting $54 million in federal funds and reducing crime by 21%[4] but was unable to improve on the 30% unemployment rate and halt the declining population.[6] He also left the city in a deep fiscal hole with $20 million in debt, a $1 million fiscal deficit, $3 million in past due loans, and $5 million in unpaid bills.[4] In 1979, he was defeated by a 3 to 1 margin in the Democratic primary by Carl E. Officer.[6][7] In 1983, he unsuccessfully ran again for mayor in the Democratic primary against Officer.[4]

References

  1. ↑ May, Lee (September 15, 1986). "All-but-Dead City : E. St. Louis: Hope Amid Hopelessness". The Los Angeles Times. That's what William Mason, 52, loves to hear. Mayor from 1975 to 1979...
  2. 1 2 3 Franklin, Donald E. (April 2, 1975). "Mason Defeats Williams for E. St. Louis Mayor". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  3. 1 2 "Williams Ousted as Mayor. Mason Wins in East Saint Louis". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. April 2, 1975.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Theising, Andrew J. (August 1, 2013). Made in USA: East St. Louis, the Rise and Fall of an Industrial River Town. Virginia Publishing. pp. 25–28. ISBN 978-1891442216.
  5. ↑ Delaney, Paul (April 23, 1975). "East St. Louis, Decayed and Desperate, Still Has Hope". The New York Times.
  6. 1 2 Sheppard Jr., Nathaniel (March 26, 1979). "Voters in East St. Louis Hope to Oust Graft". The New York Times.
  7. ↑ Dobbin, Ben (December 1981). "East St. Louis: Down but not out". Northern Illinois University Libraries Illinois Periodicals Online.
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