NBC Chicago: Winners & Losers of 2011

Amongst local figures at our NBC affiliate's Ward Room blog. This isn't something I could disagree with:

Carol Moseley Braun: Named the black community’s “consensus” candidate after Rep. Danny Davis and state Sen. James Meeks realized they couldn’t beat Rahm Emanuel. Completed her political decline by accusing Patricia Watkins of being “strung out on crack” and repeatedly yelling “tampon” at Emanuel during a Tribune editorial board meeting. After winning one precinct and getting only 9 percent of the vote, the “recovering politician” has finally recovered.

She was a long way from being a recovering politician when she remained in the 2011 mayoral race. She wanted to try one more time and failed.

I would rather believe her loss would more likely have tempered this idea locally of a "consensus Black candidate". The idea behind it was sound don't divide the Black vote have one credible candidate run and then expect Black voters at least to fall behind that candidate. It didn't happen.

By all accounts they flocked not to our former US Senator - the first Black woman elected to that august body - but they instead flocked to our current Mayor Rahm Emanuel. There was a consensus Black candidate and he wasn't Black. WOW!

And then no one seems to ask, by who's consensus? Even those posting makes it a decision of the Black community, but I think it was more Black power brokers who decided that there had to be a consensus candidate. They failed to choose a winner!

The next time anyone seeks to point out a consensus candidate, choose a winner. Don't just choose someone because of their gender, sexual preference, ethnicity or religion. Choose someone who can successfully wage a political campaign. And don't let the last one standing who can't do that when everyone else drops because they know they can't win be the consensus choice by fault.

Among Blacks, Mayoral Election Forces a Push for New Ideas and Leaders

The overanalysis of Carol Moseley Braun's overwhelming but not unexpected defeat continues. By proxy that also means another view of the old guard of Black Chicago politics and whether it's time for them to step aside for a younger generation to take the stage. Of course that doesn't necessarily the old guard has to retire and let the younger generation take it, but the younger generation may have to be prepared to make their mark and soon.

Nostalgia does not bother Maze Jackson. Like most people he knows, he cherishes the memory of Mayor Harold Washington.

But what does upset the 40-year-old political consultant and makes him fear for the future of black politics in Chicago is what he witnessed during the mayoral campaign: black leaders “stuck in the past.”

“I call them the ‘remember-when crew.’ ” Mr. Jackson said. “Remember when Harold said this? Remember when Harold did that? We need to honor and respect the accomplishments of our elders. But it’s time for them to step back and allow us to serve.”

Mr. Jackson, and his group, the Next Generation Leadership Council, are among many in the black community who are seeking new ways to find and train the political candidates, pollsters and campaign mangers of tomorrow.

The search for new blood and fresh ideas only became more intense after a contentious coalition of black elected officials, business leaders and ministers repeatedly evoked Mr. Washington’s name as they struggled to find a consensus black candidate for the Feb. 22 mayoral election. And the stark disappointment of Carol Moseley Braun, who failed to win more than 9 percent of the citywide vote, accentuated the need for new thinking.

“There’s been a lot of soul-searching going on since the election,” said Cathy Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

The search for new talent is not confined to blacks. Miguel del Valle, the city clerk, who came in third in the mayoral election, is also trying to recruit and train the next generation of political leaders. He hopes to create a citywide, multiracial coalition to improve life in the neighborhoods beyond the gentrified areas of downtown and the North Side.

“Everybody is talking about this,” Mr. del Valle said. “But if we don’t do it right, we’ll end up with more of the same. It really has to be done at a community level. It’s not retired politicians who are going to make this happen.”

I was at Morehouse when on the first of two occasions I attended events attended by one Kasim Reed who is now Mayor of Atlanta. His advice to aspiring young politicians is to "start running now". Lay the groundwork for a political career now, especially if it means you may have to work with members of the old guard today.

No need to pile on however...

In the wake of the last election there were a lot of articles & columns that overanalyzed what happened with the Black "consensus" candidate. The Washington Post even published an article about racial politics here in Chicago and whether or not it had changed in the wake of this election.

This article from the Chicago News Coop talks about factors that led to her loss last week. A humiliating loss with only 9% of the vote and won only one precinct out of thousands around the city. The Black vote turned out for Rahm Emanuel who used to be Obama's chief of staff. Braun campaign aide Renee Ferguson was correct in saying that they were "up against a huge buzz saw from Day 1".

It seems the campaign wasn't merely overly optimistic even a few days away from the election. The article also shows what happens when you clash with a campaign manager:

In October, shortly after Mayor Richard M. Daley said he would not seek re-election, Ms. Braun hired Mr. Noonan, a former top operative for Michael Madigan, the speaker of the Illinois House. Mr. Noonan led the effort to circulate nominating petitions to place Ms. Braun on the ballot, gathering more signatures than any other candidate.

Soon after that success, Mr. Noonan said, he clashed with her. “We had fundamentally different views of how campaigns should be run,” he said, adding that Ms. Braun had made it impossible for him to schedule even the most basic campaign activities.

One e-mail shows that Ms. Braun canceled a meeting with an alderman on the eve of the event in December. “Nobody asked me about meeting with” the alderman, Ms. Braun wrote. “It can be rescheduled for another time that we clear.”

On Jan. 5, Ms. Braun sent an e-mail to aides to complain about an interview with a newspaper reporter, a commitment that she said she did not know had been put on her schedule.

“Would it kill you to call, text or send an e-mail to ASK me if I will sit down with a reporter for an interview?” Ms. Braun wrote. “Are you too busy to remember the Golden Rule? How would you feel if I just sent dictates to you with no conversation or notice? Being a candidate does not make me less than a human being.”

Gradually, Mr. Noonan’s involvement faded, although both he and Ms. Braun publicly denied a rift. Other supporters like Mr. Schaffer, a lawyer, grew in influence during the final two months of the campaign.

Could it be rust on Braun's part as she had been out of politic since an ill-fated bid for the Presidency? Could it be that well the former Senator could just be difficult to work with? It was said already that she was unmanageable.

Rich Miller considered Noonan's comments to the Chicago News Coop gauche. It may well be, however, it's time to move on either way. Let's hope that whatever Mayor-elect Emanuel decides to do in four years that the Black community can do better than what it put forward this year.

Just got to put this out there...

This story from ABC7 discusses whether or not Chicago is in the post racial era. Of course we should note the words of Alderman-elect Will Burns (well he's already an alderman :P):

"I think it is really hard to generalize about black politics in one election cycle," Alderman-elect Will Burns, 4th Ward, said.

That is true, but I could buy into the fact that many don't care about what color someone is in order to run for office. As you'll see later in this post, Blacks don't just want to see one of their own in office but they want someone viable and qualified. The above video may also discuss the generational divide although this story may not be directed at one racial or ethnic group particularly.

For Candidates, the 15th Ward’s Ills Are Daunting

15th Ward

You know there are some wards where it's difficult to get anything done. Chicago's 15th Ward is one of them as well they've suffered through not only lackluster Aldermen, but terrible voter turnout according to this Chicago News Coop article.

The incumbent Ald. Toni Foulkes but a challenger, attorney Felicia H. Simmons-Stovall, has received notice from the Tribune and the Chicago Crusader. If you give weight to endorsements the subscription website Early & Often has Foulkes running away with endorsements

One candidate that probably should get more notice is Syron Smith. He was able to beat in his race for Alderman challenges to his petitions unlike his race for State Representative. I know of him by his YouTube videos and has made several about this race. He likes to talk about his block-by-black activism. We'll know on Tuesday whether or not that strategy will result in a Smith victory.

Carol Moseley Braun violates Godwin's law

When I saw this post over at the CapFax I didn't see Godwin's Law in the title believe it or not. Main item of note is that she make a botched joke about Rahm Emanuel.

She said Emanuel’s “so kind, so nice’’ image in his campaign commercials belied his record as a congressman of voting against 128 bills sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus and reminded her of the character in “The Producers,” who was “still in love with the Furher, which was Adolf Hitler,’’ she said.

She paused, waiting for the laughter.

It did not come.

“You don’t get the joke,’’ she said. “OK. We get the kind man, the gentle man on television and not the person who voted against $5 million for food aid to Africa.’’

She should leave the jokes to the comedians. Another item to note is that she didn't want to pay for a table at an event for Equality Illinois, an organization dedicated for gay rights. She seeking all the votes she can as a mayoral challenger doesn't believe she should have to pay money for access to voters.

Did you know Marathon Pundit has called her Carol Mostly Clown?

Black consensus candidate briefs...

We start with an article from Northwestern University's Medill News Service. The Black community hasn't warmed up to Carol Moseley Braun, the "consensus" Black mayoral candidate:

Back in December two experienced black politicians dropped out of the mayoral race to avoid splitting the black vote. But black voters apparently aren’t going to deliver as a voting block for Carol Mosley Braun.

Recent polls show black voters are split among all the candidates. This week Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and N’Digo publisher Hermene Hartman endorsed Rahm Emanuel, further undermining efforts to have blacks vote for a consensus candidate.

According to a recent ABC7 poll of 600 voters, 53 percent of black voters favored Emanuel.
...
Encouraging blacks to think along the same lines can be a challenging task for black leaders, said Audra Wilson, director of diversity and education outreach for Northwestern University Law School. Wilson said although blacks share a common history, they have a diversty of economic backgrounds and political views.

“It’s kind of two sides to the same coin,” Wilson said. “[African-Americans] don’t want to be taken for granted, but on the other hand we want people to recognize that we do diverge and we may see things differently, but there are issues that do affect our community much harder. We want to have an elected official who recognizes that and addresses those issues and talk to us about them.”

In past elections African-Americans support of black candidates has varied. In 1983, more than 90 percent of blacks voted for Harold Washington to make him the city’s first black mayor. In more recent mayoral elections, African-Americans have overwhelmingly supported Mayor Richard M. Daley, despite several black challengers.

Snowpocalypse Sparks Chico-Emanuel Shoveling Match

Seeing as the weather has turned and the snow has stopped with the skies clear and some sunshine out it's time to look at our political situation during the recent blizzard.

I've noted on this blog once that the 1979 blizzard cost a past mayor and election thanks to his activity during that blizzard. Chicago didn't work that year during the blizzard and Mayor Bilandic gave way to Mayor Jane Byrne.

What's different in 2011 is that now Chicago's Mayoralty is an open seat now. We may well want a mayor who will be able to respond decisively when the weather turned the way that it had over the last 24+ hours. Well here's an answer via NBC Chicago's Ward Room:

Gery Chico and Rahm Emanuel competed in a snow clearing competition of sorts.

Chico has been out on the streets of Chicago clearing snow drifts and helping folks in need by pushing stalled cars and offering warmth.

Chico released of video of himself helping push a car out a snowbank, and will be leading a team of shovelers at 2201 N. Maplewood in Logan Square, starting at noon.

Not to be outdone, Rahm Emanuel hit the streets of Logan Square to clear snow as well.

Every Northern mayor wants to emulate the heroics of Newark’s Cory Booker, who was out until 3 a.m. clearing snow after a December blizzard.

Chico criticized the city’s handling of the crisis on Lake Shore Drive, which was shut down at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, after commuters endured hours-long trips, and even abandoned their cars.

“You can’t predict everything, you can only plan for things that are forseeable,” Chico said, according the Tribune. “The question is, what plan was in place and should we have closed (LSD) earlier? I don't think the response plan was good.”
...
Emanuel sent out an e-mail to supporters advising them to call 311 if they became trapped indoors, not to shovel snow onto fire hydrants, and to “wear several layers of warm, dry clothing. Keep your extremities covered. Wear hats, gloves, winter boots, and warm socks.”

Before the storm hit, on Tuesday, del Valle toured A Safe Haven, a West Side social service agency, to raise awareness of homeless caught in the blizzard.

“On this cold, harsh day in the city of Chicago, we must think of the thousands of individuals that are out there--some numbers indicate that there are as many as 89,000 or 90,000 individuals are homeless in the City of Chicago,” del Valle said.

Del Valle tweeted this morning that his phone bankers are calling “thousands of Chicagoans” -- and probably finding most at home.

I posted a link so this would be my fourth video of the day so here's former CPS Chairman and I believe he's the Chairman of Chicago's City Colleges, Gery Chico running for Mayor of Chicago helping a motorist

I think I will hand it more to Chico and Emanuel to get dirty with the people as they dig out of the snow today. Del Valle has the right idea as well to consider the homeless and where are they going to be when it snows like this. They have to have somewhere to go and it can't be staying outdoors. Maybe we'll see who will win this race amongst this group. Besides where was Carol Moseley Braun, Patricia Van-Pelt Watkins or even Bill "Dock" Walls? :P They should've been out here helping too and we shouldn't have to rely on the major news channels to tell us either.

Chicago Argus: Somebody didn’t learn from own history

This post written by Gregory Tejada at Chicago Argus was written exactly one day before our former US Senator, Carol Moseley Braun, had went off on Patricia Van-Pelt Watkins. Watkins herself is a challenger for Mayor in this open race, although it's expected that she won't be a huge factor in this race. I'll talk more about that event later.

Now you'll just read about what Tejada has to say about our former Senator:

For there were three major candidates wishing to run for U.S. Senate from Illinois as a Democrat. Besides Dixon and Moseley-Braun, there was also Al Hofeld, an attorney of some personal financial means who had never held elective office.

I still remember the debates that resulted between the three. Hofeld had run a negative campaign, trying to make Dixon appear to be someone old and out-of-touch. Dixon tried responding by making the political neophyte appear to be politically clueless.

Dixon and Hofeld beat up on each other. They largely ignored Moseley-Braun, who when she did speak came across as the one concerned about issues. In fact, she came across as the only logical person among the three candidates.

This time, Moseley-Braun went on the attack to the point where she appeared to be the one who was clueless. She managed to make Rahm Emanuel, the Mighty Rahm-bo with the foul mouth and crass temperament, appear to be the calm, collected, intelligent candidate.

Sign of a mediocre candidate looking for traction unlike what happened when she first ran for US Senator. It was noted at The Argus that she doesn't have much support either financially or pollwise. Her base might well be those who want to support a Black candidate for Mayor but not much more than that. It seems like a very hard fall for a woman who won election to the US Senate and couldn't hold her seat six years after that.

All that crying last month and he's still coming to Chicago

Remember when such Black luminaries in this town such as Congressman Danny Davis, former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (CMB) and even Jesse Jackson Sr. were all upset about the former "1st Black President" was coming to town to stump for Rahm Emanuel? Well President Clinton is coming anyway according to Greg Hinz:

Despite protests from some African-American leaders, former President Bill Clinton apparently is going ahead with a trip here to push Rahm Emanuel's campaign for mayor.

   The ex-president will appear at a rally for Mr. Emanuel on Tuesday at the Chicago Cultural Center, according to Mr. Emanuel's campaign. He also will appear at a nearby fundraiser that hotel scion and investor J. B. Pritzker is hosting.

   News of the event leaked out several weeks ago, drawing protests from then-candidate Danny Davis and others who said that Mr. Clinton — sometimes known as America's first black president — ought not to be getting involved in Chicago.

What some of this was about is fear that Clinton, who may well still have a following among Blacks in the nation, would take something away from the "consensus" Black mayoral candidate. Davis is out of the race so the only major name in the race is CMB. While there is a long way between now and next month's election day, it can basically be said that CMB may not be a huge factor in this municipal election.

That clears the way for Clinton to come to town and stump for a former member of his administration.

Black politics in Chicago, 2011

Greg Hinz at Crains believes that Black leadership in the fair city of Chicago is missing the point of Harold Washington's own success as Mayor of Chicago:

The "it's our turn" rhetoric echoes Mr. Vrdolyak's appeal to voters in 1983 to back an unknown Republican over Mr. Washington "before it's too late." The moral high ground now has been lost -- even if some black leaders now say that, of course, the next mayor will serve all of Chicago, not just African-Americans. Given recent events, many voters will be skeptical.

   The pity is, it didn't have to be this way.

   Mr. Obama didn't get to be our senator or president by running as the black candidate, but by running as the best candidate -- who happened to be an African-American. Neither did Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who easily won a Democratic primary race filled with other blacks, and just one white, because she was the best candidate of any race.

   Chicago, black voters and white voters alike, has grown beyond enmity. We've shown that another way is possible.

   Now, some are trying to pull us back to the bad old days, the days when desperate politicians used race as a weapon, regardless of the damage it did and could do to Chicago -- blacks, white, Latinos and Asians alike.

   It's ironic, because although Mr. Washington had extraordinary support from black voters, he became mayor because he brought liberal lakefront whites and Latinos into his coalition, too.

  Harold Washington was a smart man, a good mayor who was just hitting his stride when he died. Too bad too many people out there have forgotten his message that "unity" means everybody.

And the best the black community could do this year is Carol Moseley Braun. The last big named Black person in the mayoral race and she's not without her own issues. Just read this profile of her at the Mayoral Tutorial blog. This is what jumped out at me:

The thing about Carol Moseley Braun is that her past is like a BIG RED WARNING SIGN that says: DO NOT TRUST MY JUDGMENT! The reason why the media doesn’t talk about the “leading African-American contender’s” past could be because if they did that she would quickly no longer be the “leading African-American contender” and that would completely screw up a storyline. How bad is her judgment? As the Recorder of Deeds she excused herself from her own ethics rules. As a candidate for United States Senate she could have been both indicted and disbarred for her role in her mother’s Medicaid case because she appears to have laundered money… only a merciful media guy not writing a story probably stopped all of that from happening. BEFORE that there was Kgosie Matthews, her fiancé, sexually harassing her female junior staff members and after they wrote a letter to her asking her to help them by stopping him, she brings in a lawyer who then quickly covered it up. There’s still a report that was written she’s never released. She went to visit a dictator and she apparently treated her campaign funds like a personal bank account.

The question is… has her judgment gotten any better? Let’s see she gets picked as a finalist in a process to identify the “consensus” African-American candidate and just by hiring Victor Reyes and Mike Noonan, two men known beating the unruly general public into submission for some political machine or the other, she gets demoted to also-ran status. This is cataclysmically bad judgment because it is actually causing progressives and large numbers of active African-American voters to move away from her. So it looks like the “leading African-American contender” is going to have a hard time getting liberals and politically active African-Americans to remain in her base… wouldn’t that make her something other than the leading contender? I’m just asking.

From Charles Thomas this is a very unfortunate paragraph:

As recently as two days before Christmas, there were three (3) major black candidates running for Mayor of Chicago.  With the trio threatening to divide their natural base of support, there was muffled laughter in the other candidate camps at the political disorganization and disunity in the African-American community.

As unbelievable as it is, there may be a path to victory for former Sen. Moseley Braun:

It leaves Braun as the major African-American candidate running for mayor in a city where black voters routinely make up 40-45% of Chicago's election turnout.


  She also is the highest-profile female candidate running for mayor.

  Braun's emergence as the "consensus" African-American candidate would seem to virtually assure a first or second place finish on February 22nd.   And if she is able to consolidate her base in the black wards, it is not unfathomable that she could reach out to enough voters citywide to win a 50-percent-plus-one victory in the first round.

BTW, did you know our former White House chief of staff and mayoral frontrunner instead of campaigning here in the city, he chose to take a holiday in Thailand?

It's really hard to get worked up for this race, I mean really!

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun wants newspaper columnist fired...

Remember that Neil Steinberg column I posted about on Monday. Well Carol wasn't amused by the column. She wants the man who is a "verified drunk and a wife beater" to be fired from the Sun-Times. You know all it shows is that Steinberg has earned his pay.

Even though the mayoral aspirant and former US Senate who once held the seat now occupied by Mark Kirk has been out of politics since her run for President in 2004 she had her supporters outside of the Sun-Times HQ:

Earlier on Tuesday, a small group of protestors marched outside the offices of the Sun-Times. What provoked their anger was a Steinberg column published in Monday ’s newspaper. It portrayed Braun as utterly clueless, to the point that she’d be unable to distinguish over-the-top mockery from genuine praise.

BTW, I didn't finish that quote from the first paragraph which is actually Carol's words. She was referring to Steinberg's arrest in 2005 for domestic abuse. The full quote is:

"He's a verified drunk and a wife beater who showed his disdain and disrespect for the African-American community in that article -- in several articles. He's got a history of this, and I'm just actually surprised that the Sun-Times would continue to give him a platform."

You know this wasn't the first time he was accused of disrespecting the Black community. He has some choice words to say about John Stroger when he fell ill in 2006 a week before the primary. Roland Martin went after him on his radio show back then as well. In any event, he later apologized for his remarks.

Congrats Carol you not only made it about you, but also about race. *smh*

Since today started talking about Mayors...

Congressman Danny Davis has a problem with former President Bill Clinton coming to town to campaign for former Congressman and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. He even plays the dreaded race card to keep Pres. Clinton out of this city's Mayoral race. For a guy who wasn't very visible in the 2011 mayoral race when Rahm finally did return to town he sure is feeling someone breathing down his neck right now!

Steinbery: Carol, I miss you already

A Neil Steinberg column on the only Black woman to have held a seat in the US Senate, Carol Moseley Braun. She is currently running for Mayor of Chicago and this is a bit of a hilarious column:

See, that’s why I revere Carol Moseley Braun, in an ironic but very real sense, and will miss her when she returns to the deep obscurity she popped out of to stage her quixotic quest for mayor. Because she can say things like “I was quite surprised” after state Sen. James Meeks dropped out of the mayoral race last week.

Moseley Braun, the former senator, former ambassador, and current would-be mayor, was caught off guard when the pastor of the Salem Baptist Church took his ball and went home, while even third-rate pundits who live in the suburbs saw this coming a mile away.

From this column exactly 11, count ’em, 11 weeks ago:

“This is Meeks’ way of dropping out of the race,” I wrote, on Oct. 11, after Meeks, in the first of a series of jaw-dropping gaffes, vowed that he would keep his day job running a mega-church after he was elected mayor — a premise that might have pleased the flock “but, to non-parishioners, it seems a preacher-slick way of saying, ‘I quit.’”

Such obviousness whizzed past the brand of savvy that Moseley Braun brings to the table, and is why part of me wishes she had a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming Chicago’s next mayor. Never underestimate a politician’s entertainment value.

Then there's this:

Alas, after February we won’t have Carol Moseley Braun to kick around anymore, and I for one will feel the loss. She represents the egomaniacal muddle that Chicago black leadership has slid into, where calls for imaginary and self-destructive racial solidarity trump minor concerns like reason or history.

Which is why Meeks, in the comment that sealed his fate, could dismiss women and Hispanics as not being worthy of the title “minority.” Politics is the art of drawing people in, not shutting them out, and candidates such as Meeks fail because they don’t grasp that what drives them to their feet, applauding in the pews on Sunday, lands with a thud when delivered to the city in general.

I hope some ambitious University of Chicago sociology graduate student does her masters thesis on the search for a so-called “consensus” candidate among the marginalized black power structure in Chicago; it would make for a fascinating study in magical thinking.

This went from a comment about the "cluelessness" (?) of Carol Moseley Braun to an indictment of Black leadership in Chicago. To advance in politics anywhere, racial or ethnic solidarity isn't going to get an aspiring politico very far.

ABC7: Meeks drops out of mayor's race

UGH! And the Black community is only left with Danny Davis and Carol Moseley Braun. They're more well known even though one was turned out of the US Senate over a decade ago. The other has a long tenure in the US House of Represenatives and is hitting 70. Not that hitting 70 is a bad thing.

Sure Meeks had his issues. One of which was the fact that he's a big time Christian Pastor and he's made statements that only served to hurt his campaign, but I could've easily voted him in faster (much faster) than I would Davis or our esteemed former US Senator.

It's really hard to get worked up about this mayoral race. Really hard and if nothing else this is even more Rahm Emanuel's to lose. UGH!!!!!!11!!!1!

Speaking of political dynasties....

Kind of what was mentioned in last night's post about corruption in Illinois one may start to emerge in the City of Gary thanks to this report from Chicago Public Radio. The daughter of former Mayor Richard Hatcher is seeking Gary's Mayoralty:

Right now, [Ragen Hatcher is] an at-large member of the Gary City Council. Instead of making a bid for another four-year term, she wants another position in the city: mayor. If she wins May’s Democratic primary, and then the general election in November, she would be the first woman to hold that seat.and, of course, she would be the second Hatcher at the city’s helm.

Gary’s next mayor, regardless of whether it’s a Hatcher or not, will face serious problems. The next mayor will have to reduce crime, improve the city’s failing schools and find ways to attract economic investment.  Plus, the city’s nearly broke, thanks in large part to Indiana’s new property tax cap system and major reductions in U.S. Steel’s tax obligations.
...
However it’s not a foregone conclusion that Ragen Hatcher will actually get an electoral boost by being associated with her father. After all, not everyone views the name ‘Hatcher’ through the rosy glow of the civil rights movement—some actually associate the name with the city’s deterioration during Richard Hatcher’s 20 year tenure the city saw a mass exodus of the city’s white population.

“Out in the suburbs, Hatcher’s name has a negative connotation,” said James Lane, history professor at Indiana University Northwest in Gary and co-founder of the Calumet Regional Archives at IUN. “Many blame (Hatcher) for having to loose their homes or sell their homes at bargain basement prices but that trend might have been hurried by Hatcher’s election but that trend was going on.”

Here's is who she will likely be facing well in next years Gary municipal elections:

One is another woman: Karen Freeman Wilson, a graduate of Harvard law school. Freeman Wilson has done a little of everything. She served as Gary City Court judge and was appointed as Indiana attorney general by Indiana Gov. Frank O’Bannon in 2000.  Another opponent, and perhaps the toughest to beat, is Rudy Clay. He’s held the office since 2006. Clay is also a veteran of Lake County, Indiana’s rough and tumble political game.

“Her name is only going to help her in the fact that she’s in opposition to the incumbent,” [Gary resident Derric Price] said. “Other than that, people are going to look for ideas. What are you going to do different?”

You should read the whole article. I'm going to assume Gary's municipal elections are next year. Of course Chicago's municipal elections will commence on February 22, 2011.

You can check out Ms. Ragen Hatcher's campaign website here.

Charles Thomas: Danny Davis, M.I.A.

Signs that your campaign isn't very serious:

He still has no campaign office or website that this reporter can find, nor has he announced the appointment of a campaign manager or communications director.  And while State Senator James Meeks, City Clerk Miguel Del Valle, Carol Moseley Braun, Rahm Emanuel and Gery Chico are engaged in a discussion of the issues at various levels, physical or electronic signs of a Davis campaign are nowhere to be found.
...
In Washington early last week, I asked the Congressman about the mayoral campaign and he sounded like an old Sam and Dave song when he answered "Hold on, I'm coming".


The question remains...when?

Pols began whispering doubts about Davis' mayoral ambitions as long ago as his mid-November announcement.  Many of the prominent Coalition members who named him their "consensus" candidate did not bother to show up.

And Davis' Congressional colleague Rep. Bobby Rush--who was one of the original movers in the effort to rally financial and political backing around a single black candidate--announced his support for Carol Moseley Braun.

There is also whispered concern that Davis has not been able to raise enough cash for a campaign.

Just wondering if Congressman Davis has sat in his US House seat for so long that he may not know how to mount a campaign with a much broader constituency. The city may mostly have Black residents, but you need to get the votes everywhere you can. Besides even if Blacks are a majority of residents in this city you can still roughly divide the major ethnic groups in this city in thirds: Blacks, whites, and Latinos.


Thomas notes that Davis has a lot of things in his favor for this run:

On the 22nd, he led a parade of supporters to the Board of Elections where he presented petitions he said listed the signatures of over 50,000 Chicagoans who supported Davis' candidacy.


  Then on December 1st, Davis won the drawing to be the coveted first name listed on the ballot.
...
What Danny Davis does have is great name recognition, an admirable record serving Chicago in Washington and a voter base that stretches from the lakefront to the city limits on the west side.

Thomas also notes that the veteran pol doesn't have a lot of time if he wants to win the race for Mayor. Then again he's been in politics long enough to have survived without having a campaign website or a presence on "social media". But if one seeks office in the 21st Century, using only 20th century methods isn't going to cut the mustard.

I want to refer you to this earlier post about Davis being the consensus candidate. Bouncing off of Charles Thomas' report it was called a "lost opportunity".

Daley retiring from City Hall is still news

Rich Miller writes a statewide syndicated column talking about the 2011 mayoral race's potential impact on the 2010 election.

Unknown Chicago history blog at ChicagoNow offers his thoughts on Mayor Daley's time in office and ponders why a biography hasn't been written for him as many have about his dad Richard J.

Charles Thomas at ABC7 talks about talking with the mayor not long after his announcement in terms of his first election in light of the death of Chicago's 1st black Mayor, Harold Washington.

Oh yeah we know one person in the race. The second person is serious, but all I need to know is WHY??? former US Senator Carol Moseley Braun.

Gay Chicago Magazine takes a look at possible candidates for Mayor. Also written by the Broken Heart himself who also wrote on his original blog that his Alderman, Joe Moore was considering a run for Mayor himself.

Dorothy Tillman seeks to gain back her city council seat???

Just over three years ago former 3rd Ward Ald. Dorothy Tillman was defeated in her bid for re-election to incumbent Ald. Pat Dowell. Now it looks like she may want to return although in 2007 we saw reasons why shouldn't be returned to the Chicago City Council. You don't have to look further than my 2007 archives, especially between January and April of that year:

While Stroger rides his leather swivel chair into the political sunset, Dorothy "The Hat" Tillman could be cooking up a comeback. In 2007, after 22 tumultuous years as 3rd Ward alderman, Tillman was vanquished by longtime adversary Pat Dowell.

Known for her flamboyant head apparel and defiant ways, Tillman rose to power as a voice for the downtrodden. Dowell and other critics charged she morphed into an autocrat who stymied economic development and ran her South Side ward like a fiefdom.

Tillman, 62, has stayed in the fray. She hosts a lively WVON radio show, deceptively titled "Coffee, Tea, and a Conversation with Dorothy." She and her family have been criticized for alleged mismanagement of Bronzeville's Harold Washington Cultural Center.

Now Tillman is revving up. Last October her daughter, Ebony, unleashed an e-blast that defended Tillman's record and excoriated her successor. The missive, headlined, "The 3rd Ward is Ran by An Ametuer" [sic], boiled with angry accusations and personal attacks. Sounds like a campaign preview.

In March, Tillman delivered fiery words at a nationally televised forum on the black agenda, hosted by Tavis Smiley. Last week, she issued a passionate, three-page press release that ripped the city's black establishment and the Chicago Police Department for "abdicating their responsibility" to stem the city's ravaging street violence. The incendiary statement drew little notice.

Days later, I talked to her by phone. She was still sizzling, demanding more racial diversity among police brass, funds for community policing and stand-up elected officials. Young people are dying, she noted, while "the Chicago City Council sits lock, stock and barrel, doing nothing."

With the citywide elections just 10 months away, is she running for something? Alderman, perhaps? Tillman repeatedly dodged the question. She laughed.

"That's funny," she said. "That's real funny."

Forgot to note that this article actually starts off with Laura Washington, the columnist, talking about the latest controversy involving outgoing county board president Todd Stroger. He decided to buy some more furniture for his county office and at that it appears he's still trying to squeeze some people onto the county payroll. For may people it appears old habits are dying hard. Even if it appears Stroger is getting out of politics.

Anyway a couple of observations about Tillman. Well I just so happened to think about a forum Tillman was supposed to be at in 2007 that she effective blew off. And you know the aide she had in her place was none other than Jacky Grimshaw who now sits on the CTA board. How Grimshaw handled that was abrasive, but while Grimshaw may not be hurting now was also know that Tillman hasn't changed much.

Well Tillman is no longer an Alderman. We do know that in 2008 she had been arrested because she seems to be of a cantankerous sort. So hey someone got the raw deal in that instance.

I wonder how Tillman would fare in a 2011 rematch. And believe it or not it'll be a very short time before any Aldermanic hopeful will have to circulate petitions to get on the ballot next year. First, however we need to focus on 2010 here in this state!