2023 Chicago Mayoral/Aldermanic Elections

[Mr. Illini]

Thread to discuss the 2023 local elections in Chicago.

Piece of news from today: Alderman Tom Tunney (44th-Lakeview) is retiring after 20 years of service

https://twitter.com/BlockClubCHI/status/1564611624694063114?s=20&t=LII61cBqk...

[Gracile]

There have been quite a few retirements so far.

I'm most excited about the open 48th Ward seat, partly because this is in my neck of the woods and partly because it seems like a prime pickup opportunity for the DSA (and they seem to be taking it seriously already as they have made an early endorsement here for candidate Nick Ward - a DSA member and organizer for affordable housing).

[Illiniwek]

Vote. Out. Lori.

[Mr. Illini]

Rumors in Chicago that Tunney is considering challenging Lightfoot. Would be odd as he is her Vice Mayor, but it is Chicago after all.

https://twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1564625756176744453?s=20&t=oD_6c3D4Ro2...

[Gracile]

Another retirement: Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza of the 10th Ward (East Side, Hegewisch, South Deering) will not seek reelection-

https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/elections/ct-chicago-alderman-susan-sadlowski-garza-leaving-city-council-20220905-qxg25jnuxbgg7fjtigvw34krxy-story.html

[NewYorkExpress]

If Democrats want to be taken seriously in Chicago again, they should run an Obama for Mayor.

[Orwell]

If Democrats want to be taken seriously in Chicago again, they should run an Obama for Mayor.

Neither Obama wants to run for office again

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

If Democrats want to be taken seriously in Chicago again, they should run an Obama for Mayor.

Neither Obama wants to run for office again

I guess there's the open question of Sasha and Malia but that's one that can only be answered years from now.

[Bootes Void]

If Democrats want to be taken seriously in Chicago again, they should run an Obama for Mayor.

no that would sound like to me that they dont take Chicago seriously

[Lambsbread]

If Democrats want to be taken seriously in Chicago again, they should run an Obama for Mayor.

Nothing says "taking local elections seriously" like coaxing a former President/FLOTUS into running for a job that neither wants and shutting out people who are actually active in the community from running.

[Illiniwek]

Obama is nowhere near despotic enough to make being the Mayor of Chicago be anything other than the most excruciatingly painful post-presidency move of all time. Why would he want to do that to himself? If I were him I'd say "haha thanks go ___ yourself."

[Gracile]

Don't take NYE seriously. He brings up the idea Barack/Michelle/Malia/Sasha Obama running for some office in IL frequently. There's no chance that it will actually happen.

[Continential]

If Democrats want to be taken seriously in Chicago again, they should run an Obama for Mayor.

lol there is no "Chicago Democratic Party" as elections are nonpartisan.

[kyc0705]

Considering literally everything Michelle Obama has said about having any further involvement in electoral politics, if Barack actually did run for office again, he'd have to balance campaigning with divorce proceedings.

[warandwar]

Another retirement: Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza of the 10th Ward (East Side, Hegewisch, South Deering) will not seek reelection-

https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/elections/ct-chicago-alderman-susan-sadlowski-garza-leaving-city-council-20220905-qxg25jnuxbgg7fjtigvw34krxy-story.html

Ed Sadlowski's daughter, of course

[Gracile]

Chuy Garcia has endorsed Ana Guajardo for the open 10th ward-

https://mobile.twitter.com/royalpratt/status/1567518829525319683

[coloradocowboi]

So what do y'all think? Can Chuy beat Lori in 2023?

[Gracile]

Chicago DSA has endorsed three more Aldermanic challengers: Oscar Sanchez (10th Ward - Southeast Side), Angela Clay (46th Ward - Uptown), and Mueze Bawany (50th Ward - West Ridge). Clay previously ran unsuccessfully in 2019, and Bawany is the only one of these endorsees not running in an open seat at the moment - he's running to take on Ald. Debra Silverstein-

https://news.wttw.com/2022/09/14/chicago-s-democratic-socialists-endorse-3-city-council-challengers-amid-push-expand-power

[Gracile]

A new mayoral poll from Bendixen & Amandi on behalf of Nuestro PAC (a Latino interests organization urging Garcia to enter the race) just dropped shows Lightfoot having a narrow lead over Garcia in the first round. The numbers in parentheses are after undecided leaners are accounted for:

https://www.nuestropac.com/_files/ugd/d8c5dc_164fb78c8dd84e1ca26c23e5b67527de.pdf

Lori Lightfoot 21% (25%)
Chuy Garcia 20%  (24%)
Willie Wilson 11% (13%)
Paul Vallas 7% (9%)
Sophia King 4% (4%)
Pat Quinn 4% (6%)
Raymond Lopez 3% (3%)
Kam Buckner 2% (2%)
Ja'Mal Green 2% (3%)
Brandon Johnson 1% (2%)
Roderick Sawyer <1% (<1%)
"I wouldn't vote in this race" 1% (2%)
"Someone else" 0% (<1%)

400 likely voters, 4.9%

[Gracile]

Garcia is officially in:

https://twitter.com/ChuyForCongress/status/1590716724793352192

[new_patomic]

Pat Quinn 4% (6%)

[Suburbia]

Lightfoot can be defeated and she should.

Who is the most conservative mayoral candidate?

Who can appeal to all wings of Chicagoans?

[Suburbia]

Who is the most conservative mayoral candidate?

Depends on what you mean by “conservative,” but there's three leading contenders. Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas is an advocate for charter schools and other fiscally conservative measures. Willie Wilson is a devout Christian with a strong base among older black churchgoers. And Alderman Ray Lopez is probably the closest to your brand of conservatism.

Do you think Lopez could win?

I think he can cobble a coalition of blacks/Latinos and ethnic whites....if Sposato, O'Shea and Napolitano support him

[Suburbia]

Who is the most conservative mayoral candidate?

Depends on what you mean by “conservative,” but there's three leading contenders. Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas is an advocate for charter schools and other fiscally conservative measures. Willie Wilson is a devout Christian with a strong base among older black churchgoers. And Alderman Ray Lopez is probably the closest to your brand of conservatism.

Do you think Lopez could win?

I think he can cobble a coalition of blacks/Latinos and ethnic whites....if Sposato, O'Shea and Napolitano support him

After Daley's failure to make it to the second round in 2019, I doubt it. His fundraising hasn't been great and he'll split those votes with Vallas. The black vote will mostly stick with Lightfoot or Wilson, and the bulk of Mexicans will vote for Chuy.

If Lightfoot wins again, do you see businesses leaving Chicago en masse? It seems she is not a good mayor and a lot of jobs will leave Chicago and go to DuPage, etc.

Also, regardless of who wins, Chicago police commissioner David Brown should retire. He had a burned out decade. From Dallas's police shooting in 2016 to the Chicago crime wave, I am sure he has had enough.

[oldtimer]

I think this should be put into the "Election Type Events" category.