Run Barbara, Run

Noted feminist, teacher, activist and author Barbara Smith may be adding another entry to her long list of professional accomplishments, City Councilmember. Smith has announced her intention to run for a seat on the Common Council from the Fourth Ward in Albany, New York, where she has lived since 1987.

A long-time leader and commentator on national cultural and political issues involving race, class, sexuality and gender, she was editor of three major collections about Black women Conditions: Five, The Black Women’s Issue; All the Women are White, All the Blacks are Men, But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women’s Studies; and Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. Until 1995, she was co-founder and publisher of the first U.S. publisher for women of color, Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. She is currently an instructor in African-American literature at the College of Saint Rose.

Smith has been equally involved on the local level, serving on numerous committees and boards to address public accountability, youth services and quality of life issues. A registered Democrat, she is making her first run for public office and will campaign on improving public safety and business development in the ward, which is home to some of the poorest sections in New York State’s Capital city of 95, 658.

In Albany–a place I called home for 11 years–there are Democrats, and then there are Democrats. The city has one of the oldest and most firmly entrenched Democratic Machines in United States history. From the 1940’s to the 1980’s, Albany was run by Mayor Erastus Corning II the hand-picked candidate of the Machine, who served longer than any other elected official in the country. But in recent years the Machine has shown signs of rust. A dissatisfied, more progressive wing of the party has begun to flex its muscles, demanding a seat at the table and changes in the way business is done.

Last November, a coalition of progressives made up of the Working Families Party and Citizen Action, and comprised of people of color, women, the lesbian and gay community, working class and labor, beat the Machine candidate for Albany County District Attorney, electing a Black man, David Soares to the position. Smith was an active member of Soares campaign and may be the first of many candidates to come out of this camp.

All 16 council seats, as well as the mayor’s, comptroller’s and treasurer’s posts are up for election this year.

Albany is also where the nation’s first Black, openly gay elected official took office. Keith St. John served on the Common Council in the early-to-mid 1990’s from the Second Ward. If elected, Smith would be the second openly gay, Black politician to serve.

In making her announcement to seek office, Smith talked about how Albany needs to rethink its priorities, such as whether development plans will be about “business or improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods.” She promises to talk with residents in the ward before crafting a specific platform.

As for her campaign finances, she said, “It’ll be grassroots, much like everything I’ve ever done.”

To contribute to her campaign, send a check along with your full contact information to:

Friends of Barbara Smith
P.O. Box 804
Albany, NY 12201