Alderman Bob Fioretti (2nd) is Running for Mayor After All
After spending the past few months acting like he's running for Mayor and the last couple of weeks making pretty unsubtle hints on Twitter that he's going to run for Mayor, Chicago 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti made it official.
He's running for mayor.
There are a lot of reasons a lot of people in Chicago have been looking forward to this. As I've written before, Fioretti's platform reads like a Chicago Progressives wishlist - minimum wage increase, mandatory paid sick leave, making the Chicago Public Schools board elected, reopening of the city's four mental health clinics, hiring over 200 police officers... Over the past two years, he's been one of Emanuel's most vocal opponents in the City Council. I continue to be a bit dubious about some of his ideas - like the commuter tax on suburbanites and allowing a casino in Chicago (everybody keeps pointing to Hammond and East Chicago as examples of how casino revenue can benefit, but everybody keeps forgetting that, for example, casino revenues didn't keep Hammond from shutting down its public transit system. Casino is a valid revenue source, but it's not a magic bullet). But I think Fioretti does have some worthwhile ideas and, if nothing else, having an opponent who advocates for those ideas will force Emanuel to defend his own positions as the election rolls on.
(As an aside, I have to admit that I'm a bit biased. I like Fioretti as a person, mostly because of our interactions back when I was writing for the Chicago Journal. When the paper shut down, Fioretti introduced a resolution honoring it for its service to the community - borrowing heavily from my article in the process. Thanks to him, my work is, in a way, part of the City of Chicago municipal records, which I'll always appreciate.)
While I have been following Amara Enyia's campaign with some interest, she has always been a bit of a long shot. Fioretti has more resources and better name recognition. And unlike Enyia, who has to struggle to get attention of any major media outlet, Fioretti's announcement got ample coverage from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and all the major television and radio stations. That level of coverage is going to continue until the election is over.
None of the other aldermen have responded to Fioretti's announcement (though we'll probably hear a few responses by Monday). Emanuel's campaign pulled no punches.
“Time and again, Alderman Fioretti has shown no backbone for making tough choices and little respect for Chicago taxpayers’ pocketbooks,” said Steve Mayberry, Emanuel’s campaign spokesman.
“Chicago can’t tax itself out of its problems. Chicago needs, and has, a strong leader who has shown that he is willing to make tough decisions,” Mayberry said.
To which I just have to note that the notion that Fioretti, who, as I said above, has been one of Emanuel's most vocal critics, has no backbone is so ludicrous that one can't help but roll one's eyes.
I hesitate to predict how this race will go, or how the vote will pan out. One thing is certain - the Chicago mayor's race just got more interesting.
Oh, and here's Fioretti's first campaign ad
He's running for mayor.
Click to viewThere are a lot of reasons a lot of people in Chicago have been looking forward to this. As I've written before, Fioretti's platform reads like a Chicago Progressives wishlist - minimum wage increase, mandatory paid sick leave, making the Chicago Public Schools board elected, reopening of the city's four mental health clinics, hiring over 200 police officers... Over the past two years, he's been one of Emanuel's most vocal opponents in the City Council. I continue to be a bit dubious about some of his ideas - like the commuter tax on suburbanites and allowing a casino in Chicago (everybody keeps pointing to Hammond and East Chicago as examples of how casino revenue can benefit, but everybody keeps forgetting that, for example, casino revenues didn't keep Hammond from shutting down its public transit system. Casino is a valid revenue source, but it's not a magic bullet). But I think Fioretti does have some worthwhile ideas and, if nothing else, having an opponent who advocates for those ideas will force Emanuel to defend his own positions as the election rolls on.
(As an aside, I have to admit that I'm a bit biased. I like Fioretti as a person, mostly because of our interactions back when I was writing for the Chicago Journal. When the paper shut down, Fioretti introduced a resolution honoring it for its service to the community - borrowing heavily from my article in the process. Thanks to him, my work is, in a way, part of the City of Chicago municipal records, which I'll always appreciate.)
While I have been following Amara Enyia's campaign with some interest, she has always been a bit of a long shot. Fioretti has more resources and better name recognition. And unlike Enyia, who has to struggle to get attention of any major media outlet, Fioretti's announcement got ample coverage from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and all the major television and radio stations. That level of coverage is going to continue until the election is over.
None of the other aldermen have responded to Fioretti's announcement (though we'll probably hear a few responses by Monday). Emanuel's campaign pulled no punches.
“Time and again, Alderman Fioretti has shown no backbone for making tough choices and little respect for Chicago taxpayers’ pocketbooks,” said Steve Mayberry, Emanuel’s campaign spokesman.
“Chicago can’t tax itself out of its problems. Chicago needs, and has, a strong leader who has shown that he is willing to make tough decisions,” Mayberry said.
To which I just have to note that the notion that Fioretti, who, as I said above, has been one of Emanuel's most vocal critics, has no backbone is so ludicrous that one can't help but roll one's eyes.
I hesitate to predict how this race will go, or how the vote will pan out. One thing is certain - the Chicago mayor's race just got more interesting.
Oh, and here's Fioretti's first campaign ad