James Knowles III

James Knowles III
Mayor of the city of Ferguson, Missouri
Assumed office
April 2011

James Wallace Knowles III (born 1979) is an American politician. He was first elected Mayor of the city of Ferguson, Missouri, in April 2011. Knowles, who was 31 years old at the time of his election, became the youngest mayor in Ferguson's history, as well one of the youngest mayors in Saint Louis County and the state of Missouri at the time.[1][2]

Early life and education

Knowles received bachelor's degrees in political science and criminal justice from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri in 2002.[2] He graduated from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 2008 with a master's degree in public policy administration.[3][4]

Career

Knowles is a former chairman of the Missouri Young Republicans.[3] Knowles was a staff member for former Missouri state Senator and Democrat Ted House.[5] He is a former employee of the Ferguson Police Department, serving nearly four years in the department's communications division.[6]

Knowles served on the Ferguson city council prior to becoming mayor.[1] Knowles was elected Mayor in the nonpartisan election on April 5, 2011, winning 49% of the vote.[1] He defeated two challengers, Pearce Neikirk, a realtor, and former Ferguson mayor Steve Wegert.[1] Voter turnout for the April 2014 mayoral election was extremely low at just 12 percent.[1] Knowles publicly expressed disappointment with the low voter turnout at an April 2014 city council meeting.[7]

Tenure as mayor

Knowles became the youngest mayor in Ferguson's history when he took office at the age of 31.[2] He was also believed to be one of youngest mayors in Missouri at the time.[1] Knowles has defended the Ferguson Police Department in the aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown in August 2014. He denied that Ferguson had a history of racism in an interview with MSNBC in 2014.[8] An effort to recall Knowles was filed with the city on March 13, 2015.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Howard, Shannon (2014-04-06). "Election Day brings new leadership to NoCo". North St. Louis County Online. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  2. 1 2 3 "Department of Political Science, Summer 2011 newsletter" (PDF). Truman State University Department of Political Science. 2011. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  3. 1 2 Hurtt, Rob (2009-07-12). "Six degrees of 30 under 30". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  4. ↑ Natalie DiBlasio (August 19, 2014). "Who is Ferguson Mayor James Knowles?". USA Today. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  5. ↑ Jason Rosenbaum (September 16, 2014). "Ferguson Mayor Says He Overcame Obstacles To Become Mayor". St. Louis Public Radio. Retrieved November 25, 2014. Knowles – who worked as an aide to former Democratic state Sen. Ted House – said being in the state legislature is a “totally different ballgame from coming home every night and somebody calling you non-stop.”
  6. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20101225055530/http://www.fergusoncity.com/directory.aspx?eid=6
  7. ↑ Vega, Tanzina (2014-08-14). "Deep Tensions Rise to Surface After Ferguson Shooting". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  8. ↑ Clark, Elizabeth (2014-08-14). "Ferguson Mayor Defends Police Reaction to Michael Brown Protests". NBC News. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  9. ↑ Deere, Stephen (2015-03-17). "Ferguson Mayor James Knowles faces recall effort". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
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