Minister Voted 1st Black Mayor of Kansas City

Voters here elected their first black mayor on Tuesday.

The Rev. Emanuel Cleaver, 46, defeated white businessman Bob Lewellen by 50,204 votes to 43,989.

“This is not a Cleaver victory, it’s a Kansas City victory,” the new mayor said in his victory speech. Cleaver, a Methodist minister, pledged to use his office to bring the city together through an “agenda of hope.”

Cleaver’s election was expected to improve this city’s long history of poor race relations. About one third of the city’s population of 420,000 is black.

Both mayoral candidates avoided emphasizing racial issues in the nonpartisan campaign. Instead, they focused on their different backgrounds and leadership styles. Lewellen, 53, emphasized his ties to the business community and pushed a strong economic development platform. On the stump, though, he was no match for Cleaver’s charisma and eloquence.

“I wish him well,” Lewellen said in his concession speech. “This is still my city. I intend to live here. I hope he does well.”

The new mayor replaces Richard L. Berkley, who is retiring after three terms. Berkley was elected in 1979 after beating the only previous strong black mayoral candidate, Bruce R. Watkins.

Last November, Kansas City voters passed a two-term, or eight-year, limit of service for City Council members, and Tuesday they elected eight first-timers to the 12-member body.

Both Cleaver and Lewellen were lame-duck veterans of the council.

Cleaver had done well in white precincts throughout the city in the Feb. 25 primary. He also picked up support from several influential business leaders after leading the eight-candidate primary with 37% of the vote--more than twice what Lewellen received.