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| EMANUEL: No. 1, but is that good enough? |
In that cycle, it seems obvious incumbent Rahm Emanuel will get more votes
than anybody else. Which is why the many other officials who either have declared
their candidacy or are still contemplating their desire are more concerned with
finishing second.
IT’S
ALL BASED in the non-partisan nature of our municipal government in Chicago.
Whether Democrat or Republican or whatever other political party one wants to
identify with, everybody will get lumped into one election come Feb. 26.
Should
it turn out Emanuel does not get a 50 percent-plus-one majority, he and
the second-place finisher will compete against each other in a run-off to be
held exactly one year from Monday.
Which
means that none of the people wishing to challenge Emanuel are thinking about
beating him. They merely wish to be “first runner-up,” so to speak.
One
such candidate, the former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, says openly his desire is to get Emanuel into a run-off,
where he figures that all of Chicago will unite behind his candidacy.
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| McCARTHY: Wants revenge for dismissal |
HE
WINS, BECAUSE he thinks a majority of Chicagoans will vote for Anybody But Rahm,
and he wants to be the guy they’re forced to vote for.
Which is the line of logic that also goes behind the strategy of former
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, former school principal Troy
LaRaviere, self-made millionaire Willie Wilson and possible candidates Ra Joy
(he was paired with Chris Kennedy’s recently-unsuccessful governor campaign), Lori
Lightfoot (Chicago Police Board president), Bridget Gainer (a Cook County
Board commissioner) and Amaya Enyia (a community organizer).
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| VALLAS: Thinks 2nd is enough to win |
None
of them can beat Rahm Emanuel in a one-on-one fight. But
they really think enough people in Chicago are eager to dump Rahm from
office that they’ll begrudgingly vote for whichever of them survives the
first portion of the municipal election process.
It probably would serve them right if Emanuel were somehow able to get a
majority vote in February – thereby making the need for a run-off unnecessary.
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| WILSON: Willing to be fringe candidate again |
NOT
THAT I’M saying I’m eager to see Emanuel re-elected. Or that I have ill will
towards any of the individual challengers.
It’s
just that we’re not going to have an election cycle in Chicago where anybody is
trying to unite the various segments of our city’s electorate. It’s going to be
about everybody trying to find their particular segment of supporters – with the
ultimate hope being that the REST of Chicago will have to “suck eggs,” so to
speak, and put up with them.
I
don’t know that a majority of Chicagoans hate the idea of “Mayor Emanuel” all
THAT much. Or that we're prepared to love any of them as an alternative.
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| Could Gainer become the second woman ... |
I
also don’t know there’s anyone amongst the various Rahm challengers who’d be
capable of uniting everybody in Chicago to vote against Rahm.
I
COULD SEE where certain people with political dreams (such as McCarthy) will
appeal solely to small segments of Chicagoans, many of them who would then feel
compelled NOT to vote come an April 2 run-off.
The
idea of a Bridget Gainer bid for office might appeal to those who’d like to see
another woman beyond the late Jane Byrne rise to the ranks of being the
so-called “Man on Five” at City Hall. But I could also see where the people
inclined to vote for her might also be the types who could wind up voting for
Emanuel.
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| ... since Byrne to be mayor? |
I
already have heard enough people dredging up Vallas’ mid-1990s performance with
the Chicago school system and using it as reasons they could NEVER vote for
him. As for the rest, they could wind up being the candidates who struggle to
get 1 percent voter support.
Which
means we have 365 days and counting until we can put this mayoral quarrel behind
us; then shift our attention to the desire to dump Donald Trump from his office
come 2020.
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