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| Photo: Courtesy of AP |
With the shocking announcement that Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley will not run for reelection this year, the political scene in Chicago erupted into chaos after being dominated by the Daley machine since 1989. A man of nearly unlimited power in Chicago, Daley has not had a serious opponent in years. With this changing of the guards, the 'Daley' routine has ended and Chicago is wide open for a new power to lay siege to it. Soon after his announcement, a field of eighteen candidates flooded the election office with their forms and signatures in order to be on the ballot come election day. Some have already fallen to the way side like former Illinois Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) and US Representative Danny Davis, but the race is far from over. Chicago earned its nick name as the Windy City, not because of the Winds that blow across Lake Michigan, but because in Chicago politics, nothing is ever as it seems.
The Battlefield
In what is shaping up to be a bitter race, the Chicago Mayoral Election of 2011 has a field of wide ranging politicians and activists all fighting for Chicago's top job. Below is a breakdown of the top five candidates still left in the race.
Arguably the most widely known candidate in the race, Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), the former Chief of Staff to President Obama, has continuously led the pack in all pre-election polling. Rahm served in the Clinton Administration as a senior adviser to Bill Clinton and later held a United States Rep. seat in Illinois from 2003 until his resignation in 2009. Rahm Emanuel is a known liberal on social issues, with a 100% Pro-Choice voting record in the House and a strong supporter of gun control. In fact, the NRA has given him an 'F' rating. He also initially voiced support of former President Bush's position on Iraq and is also an advocate of a compulsory national service program for Americans ages eighteen to twenty five. Emanuel is strong advocate for health care reform and has been known to turn on members of his own party who do not closely enough toe the party line on the issue. In a recent Teamsters Union poll, Rahm Emanuel leads the field with 42%, while his nearest competitor sits at 26%.
Former US Senator Carol Moseley Braun represents what might be the biggest chance for deny Rahm Emanuel the Mayor's office, for which he is already measuring the drapes. Braun was the first and only elected African American female Senator and championed pro-choice issues and gun control laws. She is a staunch opponent of the death penalty and also voted against the Defence of Marriage Act. Economically, however, she is much more conservative. She voted for NAFTA and the Freedom to Farm Act which simplified direct payments form the government for crops and also eliminated government price controls on milk. However Braun does not come to the race without her own scandal. After serving one term in the US Senate she lost reelection amidst controversy over nearly $250,000 in campaign donations. She also visited Nigeria while still a US Senator, a trip which she never submitted to the US government and which also defied US sanctions against the country. After losing reelection, Braun was confirmed as the US Ambassador to New Zealand from 1999-2000, and was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2004. In a recent Teamster's Union poll, Carol Moseley Braun garnered 26% of the vote compared to Emanuel's 42%.
Coming in a distant third is lawyer and former Daley Chief of Staff Gery Chico. In the same Teamster's poll, Chico received about 10%. As a lawyer of 25 years, Gery Chico has focused primarily on real estate, government regulation, and business counseling. He was also appointed President of the Board of Trustees of Chicago Schools by Mayor Daley, which he helped pull out of crisis. Before his appointment, US Secretary of Education William Bennett once called the Chicago School system "the worst in the country." While Chico was president, the Chicago Public Schools enjoyed six years of student performance increases, balanced budgets, labor peace, and undertook the rebuilding of Chicago school buildings. He was later appointed as the President of the Chicago Board of Commissioners and as Chairman of the Chicago Colleges Board of Trustees.
In fourth place and with 7% of the estimated vote, the current city Clerk of Chicago, Miguel del Valle has an uphill battle if he wants to stay competitive in the race. He was appointed by Mayor Daley as City Clerk as the elected City Clerk had to resign due to federal indictments. Under his leadership, the City Clerk's Office has attempted to increase accountability and accessibility to public records by web casting City Council meetings online. Also for the first time ever, City Council meetings can be watched on demand on the City Clerks website. He was also the first elected Hispanic State Senator in Illinois history, a seat he held from 1987-2006.
Last and least, in this case anyway, is William "Dock" Walls III who was an aide to Chicago's first African American Mayor and has since become the director of the Committee for a Better Chicago. He was not listed in the Teamster's poll results meaning he did not receive any votes.
(This was just a highlight of the top five front runners in Chicago's Mayoral Race, but the full field also includes: Tyrone Carter (Music Producer), Wilfredo De Jesus (Assemblies of God Congregation Leader), Howard Ray (Chicago Police Officer), and Fredrick K. White (Truck Driver.)
It's Windy Alright
Although it seems certain that Rahm Emanuel will indeed win the top job in Chicago, stranger things have happened. If more candidates continue to drop out, Carol Moseley Braun's chances may increase. Regardless, it seems very probable that the two will head into a runoff election because it seems unlikely that either candidate will capture 50% of the vote. But what is perhaps more important than that is the fact that a regime has fallen, one so powerful that it once destroyed an airport it didn't like, just because the Mayor demanded it. The people of Chicago have the power to actual elect a new leadership and it is very interesting to see who they might choose. It may also be interesting to see if this is but the beginning of a new regime, one perhaps more aggressive than the previous.
Later,
Cody
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