By Bill Raack & Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A second candidate in the St. Louis School Board election next month has withdrawn from the race.
Dennis McLin-Shireff, a detective in the Pine Lawn police department, has ended his grassroots campaign.
Earlier, McFarlane Duncan dropped out of the race. But both men's names will still appear on the ballot. McLin-Shireff says his withdrawal is for the good of the kids; he hopes his supporters will pick one of the three candidates who are challenging the two board incumbents.
"By all means necessary we must do something to protect them and if that means being man enough to step out, it doesn't mean that I quit or gave up," McLin-Shireff said.
"But it means that I have a heart for my community, enough heart that I would relinquish that to wait for another time if that position becomes available for me."
Those still in the race for two board seats are incumbents Darnetta Clinkscale and Jim Buford and candidates Peter Downs, Donna Jones and Joe Clark. Downs and Jones are running together, as are Clinkscale and Buford