Chicago - Mayoral Race - Rahm Emanuel Wins

[Chase Unperson]

Well if the democrats want to win hopefully they won't run a black candidate like Jesse Jackson as even the head of the cook county democratic party will vote for a republican over voting for an African American as was proven when Harold ran for mayor.

[Steely Dan]

^ Uhhhhhh...... dude...... first, chicago mayoral elections are nonpartisan. second, J.J. jr. hasn't been a candidate for months now. and third, the chairman of the cook county democratic party is joe berrios, a latino, and the cook county board president is toni preckwinkle, an African American woman.

do try and keep up if you wish your comments to have any relevance.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Chase Unperson

Well if the democrats want to win hopefully they won't run a black candidate like Jesse Jackson as even the head of the cook county democratic party will vote for a republican over voting for an African American as was proven when Harold ran for mayor.

A lot has changed in 30 years, dude. Davis' ill-advised rhetoric notwithstanding, I think race relations in Chicago's political establishment are to the point where the race of candidates is at most a minor issue.

At worst, I think we've moved from a point where many people would only vote for a white man even if the only white candidate isn't qualified, to a point where some percentage of people would only vote for a qualified black man and if none existed would vote for a qualified candidate in any party. That's still a subtle form of racism, but since it at least puts the primary emphasis back on qualfiications instead of race I think it's a huge improvement.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ Agreed, I think Barack Obama's election, while clearly not signaling the end of racism or even race politics on a national level, was sorta the nail in the coffin of race politics in Chicago. Barack Obama is so revered in Chicago after his unifying campaigns for senate and president that he has made a lot of people rethink drawing racial lines in the sand in politics.

I also think that attacking Rahm (a good friend, advisory, and ally to the sacred Obama) and Bill Clinton (a national icon for his efforts to reach out to the underserved, inner city, black constituency during his presidency) on racial grounds is political suicide and will only help to finish off the "us vs them" mentality in Chicago politics.

Both Clinton and Emmanuel are respected for their parts in campaigns to bring about racial unity and move the concerns of neglected populations to the forefront. After all, that was the bread and butter issue of Harold Washington's mayoral run: move the concerns of the underserved minority to the forefront. Campaigning on that doesn't work so well when you are going against people who have a formidable track record of doing just that.

[johnnygosox]

Unfortunately racism does still exist in our society but it permeates all groups. I thought what James Meeks said about minority set asides was wrong and this movement by him to get all but one black candidate to drop out was also most inappropriate.
I myself do not like ANY of the candidates. Braun has had her share of arrogant misuses of power, Davis has been a lackluster congressman for decades, Emanuel just scares the bejesus out of me and being a conservative in Chicago the field is not conducive to my way of thinking. All in all, I will probably cast my vote for Gery Chico. He seems to be the sharpest, most informed, most involved with CHICAGO and.... lesser of the evils. Not a great bunch to be choosing from....feels like the last presidential election.

[Steely Dan]

* moderator edit *

i edited some posts because this thread is about chicago's mayoral election, NOT about the degree to which president obama is or isn't revered in chicago.

[Steely Dan]

HOLY SHIT! now Braun is playing the race card too! WTF is going on with this political suicide? idiots.


can anyone say "a two horse race"? emanuel vs. chico, with del valle as the dark horse.



Carol Moseley Braun also warns Bill Clinton to stay out of Chicago mayoral race
By Lynn Sweet on December 29, 2010 9:54 AM

Chicago Mayoral hopeful former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) added her voice to a warning issued by mayoral rival Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.): Don't come to Chicago to campaign for Rahm Emanuel or risk his relationship with African Americans.

..............

Here's what is new: Though Clinton appointed Braun as ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa after she lost her Senate re-election bid, a statement from her campaign issued Wednesday morning was strongly worded:

Said Braun,"Bill Clinton is an outsider parachuting in to support another outsider. Rahm's residency status continues to be challenged in court. It's not yet clear that he will be on the ballot. At the same time former president Clinton risks his legacy and the great respect that he has enjoyed among African Americans by coming to Chicago to endorse Rahm Emanuel who is running for mayor against two black candidates."


full article: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010...lso_warns.html

[Nowhereman1280]

PS why would Clinton give a shit if African Americans support him anymore? He is no longer a politician so its not as if it matters whether any particular group supports him at this point in his career. He's a former US president and therefore gets to do whatever the hell he wants with the rest of his life...

I used to respect Braun, but not anymore.

[Steely Dan]

we're finally starting to see candidates take stances on policy issues instead of the vague blanket platitudes about "job creation, fighting crime, and getting city finances under control".

and i personally think that going backwards in time to an elected school board is a bad idea. i'm glad to see that my two front-runner candidates right now, chico and emanuel, both agree with me.




Mayoral candidates split on elected Chicago school board idea
Posted by John Chase and Jeff Coen at 4:20 p.m.

The major candidates in the Chicago mayor's race are split on today's proposal that the city’s school board be elected instead of appointed by the mayor, though none of them embraced the plan wholeheartedly.

Three candidates --- former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, ex-U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and Gery Chico, who once served as Chicago Board of Education president --- each said they are opposed to the idea and argued it could further politicize public education in Chicago.

U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis said he supports the concept of an elected school board, although he didn’t necessarily back the proposal presented today by a group led by the Chicago Teachers Union.

City Clerk Miguel del Valle said he supports the “eventual transition” to an elected school board, but said in order for it to be effective, the city needs to implement public financing of political campaigns. He also said there should be provisions in the law to guarantee the mayor has some accountability for the condition of the schools.


full article: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/...oard-idea.html

[Chase Unperson]

[QUOTE=Steely Dan;5107682]^ Uhhhhhh...... dude...... first, chicago mayoral elections are nonpartisan. second, J.J. jr. hasn't been a candidate for months now. and third, the chairman of the cook county democratic party is joe berrios, a latino, and the cook county board president is toni preckwinkle, an African American woman.

do try and keep up if you wish your comments to have any relevance.[/Q

Yeah but isn't it amazing that when Harold Washington ran that whites who had voted for democrats for every election voted for bernie? And even the heyad of the democratic party of Chicago voted republican simply out of racial hatred/ We think that such racism is ancient history but this is just 20 years ago in one of our elite cities. Goes to show you how powerful race is. The majority of deomcoratic whites chose race of party.

[Chase Unperson]

Originally Posted by emathias

A lot has changed in 30 years, dude. Davis' ill-advised rhetoric notwithstanding, I think race relations in Chicago's political establishment are to the point where the race of candidates is at most a minor issue.

At worst, I think we've moved from a point where many people would only vote for a white man even if the only white candidate isn't qualified, to a point where some percentage of people would only vote for a qualified black man and if none existed would vote for a qualified candidate in any party. That's still a subtle form of racism, but since it at least puts the primary emphasis back on qualfiications instead of race I think it's a huge improvement.

I don't know. But isn't it amazing that as recently as circa 1990, the head of the Chicago democratic party would vote republican simply out or hatred of african americans?

[Nowhereman1280]

Who was republican?

[Steely Dan]

the tribune is reporting that John Hu has been removed from the ballot by the board of elections.

Also Wednesday, the number of mayoral candidates dwindled to 13 as the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners officially knocked real estate broker John Hu off the Feb. 22 ballot.

source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,4448270.story



so here' the official candidate list, as it now stands:

1. Danny K. Davis - candidate campaign website
2. Rahm Emanuel - candidate campaign website
3. Miguel Del Valle - candidate campaign website
4. Carol Moseley Braun - challenged campaign website
5. Wilfredo De Jesus - challenged campaign website
6. Gery J. Chico - candidate campaign website
7. Tyrone Carter - challenged
8. Patricia Van Pelt Watkins - candidate campaign website
9. Fenton C. Patterson - challenged
10. Fredrick K. White - challenged campaign website
11. William Walls, III - candidate campaign website
12. Howard Ray - challenged

John Hu - removed
James T. Meeks - withdrawn
Roland W. Burris - withdrawn

[Nowhereman1280]

By the time we get a final ballot it looks like we will have one candidate representing each major minority group (all groups are minorities here!) in the city...

A token candidate for all!

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

By the time we get a final ballot it looks like we will have one candidate representing each major minority group (all groups are minorities here!) in the city...

i doubt that. there are still 4 main african american cadidates in the race alone (braun, davis, van pelt watkins, & walls) and then there are chicaco, del valle, and de jesus on the latino side. super-minor unknown players like tyrone carter, howard ray, or fenton c. patterson (these jokers don't even have websites!) may continue to be removed by the board of elections, but the idea that there are only gonna be 3 candidates on the final ballot, one from each major racial/ethnic group, is just silly.

things can always change, but after the major brain farts from davis and braun over the past two days, with both shamelessly playing the race card over the clinton issue, as of right now i believe this contest is headed to a chico/emanuel run-off in april.

[bnk]

Looks like the blacks will get their concensus candidate. To bad it is the brain dead CMB. god help Chicago if she wins in a run off. I hope the business community that backed Daley will do all of their best to make Rahm the next Daley.




http://www.suntimes.com/3105118-420/...e-support.html

Davis to drop out of mayor’s race, support Braun:

BY ABDON M. PALLASCH AND DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter Dec 31, 2010 07:20PM

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis formally ended his bid for mayor of Chicago Friday night, throwing his support behind former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun.

The two candidates had met repeatedly behind closed doors in recent days amid pressure to emerge with a single, consensus black candidate.

“In unity there is strength. In strength there is success,” Davis said at his downtown campaign office.

Davis’ departure clears the way for Braun to run as the only major African American candidate.

Braun had been pressing her fund-raising advantage with Davis, releasing a list of black business leaders who have pledged to support her Friday. Braun’s campaign was apparently able to persuade Davis that she would be better able to compete financially with Rahm Emanuel.

State Sen. James Meeks, who dropped out of the race last week, came back from an out-of-town trip Friday and met with Braun and Davis, sources said.

Other major contenders still in the race include former school board chief Gery Chico and City Clerk Miguel Del Valle.

[the urban politician]

^ So the question is, does this knock Chico out of the runoff? Sounds like it will be an Emanuel-Braun runoff. Even if a sizable chunk of Meeks' and Davis' fans don't vote for Braun (or lose enthusiasm and don't vote at all), she will gain at least enough from them to win a larger proportion of votes than Chico, I imagine.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i doubt that. there are still 4 main african american cadidates in the race alone (braun, davis, van pelt watkins, & walls) and then there are chicaco, del valle, and de jesus on the latino side. super-minor unknown players like tyrone carter, howard ray, or fenton c. patterson (these jokers don't even have websites!) may continue to be removed by the board of elections, but the idea that there are only gonna be 3 candidates on the final ballot, one from each major racial/ethnic group, is just silly.

The comment wasn't meant to be so serious. It was meant to be a "at the rate we are going ______ is going to happen". Anyhow, candidates like de jesus, watkins, and walls are hardly actually candidates. Most will probably be removed from the ballot anyhow.

[Chicago103]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ So the question is, does this knock Chico out of the runoff? Sounds like it will be an Emanuel-Braun runoff. Even if a sizable chunk of Meeks' and Davis' fans don't vote for Braun (or lose enthusiasm and don't vote at all), she will gain at least enough from them to win a larger proportion of votes than Chico, I imagine.

I wouldn't say anything for sure right now, I am very curious what a new poll will reveal with Davis out of the race. Prior to this I considered an Emmanuel-Chico runoff to be inevitable but now I think its just as likely to be Emmanuel-Braun. Braun has enough baggage that it might hurt her and someone like Watkins or Walls might pick up some black votes and be a spoiler. On the other hand Chico is still working the media hard and he seems to be appealing to a lot of people, unfortunately a number of people who like him and know about him are moderate to moderate conservative leaning people who live in the suburbs that listen to WLS talk radio and such. Its at that point I guilt trip them and say "dammit, this is why you should live in the city". You see Chico is saying things that appeal to moderate conservatives when talking about fiscal responsibility, budgets, education including school vouchers but at the same time he is liberal on social issues such as gay marriage that he appeals to liberals as well. I think there is a good chance that Chico could pick up a lot of votes in the more "conservative" parts of the city such as the southwest and northwest sides, perhaps chipping away at some of Emmanuel's potential voters.

[ardecila]

I think Latinos will be the deciding factor in the election. If even a small percentage of them can be swayed from Del Valle, it could tip the scales between Emanuel and Braun.

Can somebody explain to me the downside of Moseley-Braun? I know it's still early, but she's the only one with a definite platform plank of increasing transit ridership.