William E. Mason (East St. Louis mayor) facts for kids

William E. Mason was an American politician. He became the second African-American mayor of East Saint Louis, Illinois. At that time, East Saint Louis was the biggest city in St. Clair County, Illinois.

Becoming Mayor of East Saint Louis

Before becoming mayor, William E. Mason was the leader of the East Saint Louis school district. In 1975, he ran for mayor against the person who was already in office, James E. Williams. James E. Williams was one of the few African-American mayors in the United States at that time.

Mason won the election with 6,457 votes, while Williams received 5,600 votes. Not many people voted in this election. When Mason became mayor, he had more power than mayors before him. This was because the city's government changed to an aldermanic system. This new system replaced the older five-member commission government.

Leading the City

When Mayor Mason started his term, there were some disagreements. He let go of 20 people who had supported the previous mayor. A group of city council members tried to pass a rule to take away his power to appoint people to jobs. However, Mayor Mason stopped this rule from happening.

During his time as mayor, Mason was able to get $54 million in money from the federal government. He also helped reduce crime in the city by 21%. However, he faced big challenges. The unemployment rate stayed high at 30%, and the number of people living in the city continued to go down.

Mason also left the city with a lot of financial problems. The city had $20 million in debt and a $1 million budget shortage. There were also $3 million in unpaid loans and $5 million in unpaid bills.

Later Political Life

In 1979, William E. Mason ran for mayor again but lost by a large margin to Carl E. Officer. He tried to become mayor one more time in 1983, running against Officer in the Democratic primary election, but he was not successful.