* The Tribune’s Dan Mihalopoulos does a very good job of looking at the numbers so we don’t have to…
Quigley won the most votes of any candidate in the 12-way race in the 47th, 43rd and 44th Wards, known as “lakefront liberal” bastions. He also enjoyed a plurality in the affluent 32nd Ward, where rival John Fritchey was elected the Democratic Party’s committeeman last year.
Quigley didn’t need to win every ward or even win a majority in any of them, given the size of the Democratic field. In the 10 wards with the highest vote totals Tuesday, Quigley won five and finished second in four.
Of those wards, Fritchey won only the 45th and 36th Wards, where he enjoyed the support of local Democratic bosses. But Fritchey finished far short of the vote totals that he needed there. He did best in the 36th Ward, run by his in-laws, the Banks family. Even there, however, he managed less than one-third of the vote.
Fritchey also won Ald. Dick Mell’s 33rd ward by just 110 votes over Quigley. Not nearly enough.
Vic Forys really cut into Fritchey, winning Leyden and Proviso Townships, where Fritchey was widely endorsed…
Forys also carried the 38th Ward, which includes the heavily Polish neighborhood of Portage Park, even though the ward Democratic organization supported Fritchey. And Forys won a quarter of the vote in the 36th Ward.
Ald. O’Connor won his own ward and 39. Rep. Feigenholtz won no wards.
Quigley won his own ward, the Wrigleyville-based 44th Ward. He also won Ald. Gene Schulter’s 47th Ward, even though Schulter endorsed Fritchey. Quigley won the far Northwest Side’s 41st Ward, even though Committeewoman Mary O’Connor endorsed O’Connor. Quigley won the 1st Ward, where Ald. Manny Flores endorsed Fritchey.
* Commenter “Mr. Know-it-All” had a good observation about Vic Forys, who shamed the pundits and finished ahead of Ald. Pat O’Connor…
Forys finished 4th because he tapped into a significant portion of the electorate and ran a very effective campaign aimed at them. But since he never targeted the rest of the 5th, he never really stood a chance. The Polish constituency is measurable but not a majority.
* I’ll have more about Quigley for subscribers, but this is what I wrote last week…
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley started the race way ahead in the polls, and he’s still at or near the top. That means he’ll do well with people who believe it’s their duty to vote in every election but are still vague about their final choice. He has a loyal cadre of workers, and his campaign believes they have identified more than enough supporters to win. They just have to get them to the polls.
* “LaborGuy,” who is with SEIU, had this bit of polling data in comments…
The first poll in the race has Quigley at 22%. Our tracking poll had him at 25% ten days ago and he won with 22%.
* Name ID alone wouldn’t win it, though. The reformer mantle was all important.
Quigley was the obvious, credible, poplulist, anti tax hike “change agent” in the race. And he and his staff bluntly tapped into a very real anger out there. Remember this ad? It had all the elements Quigley needed and the voters craved…
Quigley summed it up well after he declared victory. Quigley mentioned Blagojevich and Todd Stroger and all the rest, and then said…
“After all the recent embarrassments, this was first chance that the voters had to voice their desire for change and they spoke loud and clear.”
Yes, they did. Well, at least enough voters did to put a win on the board. And that’s all that matters in this ballgame.
I owe you an apology. Yesterday I wrote that there was no chance that voter turnout would reach your prediction of 50,000. This morning, the Chicago Board of Elections web site shows TO of 49,753.
I tip my hat to you, sir. You were right and I was wrong.
- Mr. Know-it-All - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 6:57 am:
Thanks, Rich. Good work on this race, in spite of us commenters.
Well, since the Dem primary IS the election in the 5th District (there being no incumbent under indictment this time), Squiggly is going to Congress with a lousy 12,000 votes. And, he’s left it to the committeemen to choose his replacement on the county board. So much for his dedication to “reforming” Crook County. Stroger will soon have his lock on 9 votes for anything he wants to do, and no longer has to worry about promoting any of Squiggly’s relatives in order to get a budget passed.
Modern Math, apology accepted. The turnout was about the only thing I got right though. As Rich noted earlier, our polling always showed Quigley ahead. Mike’s “branding” as the reform candidate was impossible to overcome, especially in this kind of abbreviated electoral environment. As I said last night, as a resident of the 5th CD I will be proud to call Mike Quigley my congressman. I think this election demonstrates, once and for all, that the vaunted Democratic Machine is dead and buried. The “regular” organizations, except for the 36th ward, delivered absolutely zero for John Fritchey. That is good for the long-term health of democracy in Chicago. SEIU probably could have saved its money and had the exact same outcome. AFSCME, the Teachers Union, the Teamsters, UFCW and many other unions probably should have sat this one out also. This was not a stellar election for any of the unions. At least SEIU was with Sara for the right reasons.
The urban legend of ward and township organizations is that they’re supposed to be able to deliver in low-turnout elections. Looks like there are some paper tigers out there.
Does anyone care to share some insight into why it was so important for the Daley organization to keep O’Connor in the race. Surely, they didn’t think he could actually win. So, it must have been to keep someone else from winning. But who? Fritchey, Feigenholz, or did they think they could actually beat Quigley?
- cost-benefit run amok - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:47 am:
Wonder if SEIU is regretting their quarter-million dollar bet on Feigenholtz…
Call me a cynic, but I just don’t think we should read too much into the electoral strength of the reform cause from this victory. It’s hard to extrapolate a real election numbers from this 13% turnout special. It’s nice and I’m glad Mike won, but a smidge over 10,000 people decided who should represent 700,000.
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:55 am:
1) Go Rosanna Go!
2) I am laughing at my alderman, the vaunted Gene Schulter of the 47th Ward. He endorsed Fritchey and yet the ward went to Quigley. Hey Gene, you’ve alienated a lot of folks with your eminent domain/development shenanigans on Western Avenue.
Well, I’m glad to hear that at least some Chicago voters are starting to pay attention to things like corruption, excessive taxation, rampant patronage, pay to play, and so on. They have ignored these types of political shenanigans for years….decades, rather.
And let’s hope that more voters join in the reform
movement. Lots of elections coming up in 2010; plenty of opportunities to come out for reform. Let’s home the reform-minded haven’t exhausted themselves around this one little election. After all the Machine has probably only begun to fight.
SEIU does not regret our expenditure. We made a principled endorsement of Sara. She had been a champion for our members in Springfield and we felt she would have been a strong voice for healthcare reform in DC. There are no other races this year, so it is not as if we could better spend that money elsewhere. You obviously can’t win all of the time but we think it is important to make principled endorsements and make sure our endorsement means something. Win or lose, we want candidates to know that when SEIU endorses we are going to do all we can for them. Obviously, it is much more difficult to have an impact on federal races. That said, SEIU thinks Mike Quigley will make a wonderful congressman. We have a very good relationship with Mike and we’ll do all we can to support him. The big lessons from this election are that the upcoming election cylce will be difficult for incumbents. There is a great deal of voter anger out there over the Blago, Burris, Stroger scandals and some current office holders will probably pay the price. Second, the Democratic Machine is dead and buried. They delivered nothing for John Fritchey. So, look for independent candidates to do well for the next election or two and don’t worry about getting the Party’s endorsement. It won’t help anyway.
oakparker - I think the Mayor and his County Commissioner brother told O’Connor to run hoping that another Irish name on the ballot would drain votes from Quigley. As much as they’ll love to see Mike off the County Board, the Daleys are also petty bullies who’d have loved humiliating Congressman Quigley.
Why could Alvarez make the only-female-in-the-race formula work and Feigenholtz couldn’t?
Quigley running against Todd Stroger seemed like a goofy message to get votes to go to Congress. Do voters hate Stroger so much they wanted to send a message? Do voters think Congress and the federal government are the same kind of rip-off as the county board and county gov’t?
Does a Quiqley victory mean newspaper endorsements are more relevant?
What’s it say about organized labor that neither organized labor candidate won?
How important was it that the timeline was so short? Is it possible that candidates like Fritchey and Feigenholtz were able to get their name ID up, but that there’s a lag between when the voters know a candidate’s name and when the voters become comfortable electing the candidate?
Are ward organizations waning in influence? Why?
What role did the economy play?
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:46 am:
The machine has effectively ignored the Polish community especially on the Northwest side and it came back to haunt them, big time, as they virtually unanimously voted for Forys. These people feel neglected and unrepresented and were determined to make a statement. That is why Fritchey lost.
Good insight BarryAldridge. I wonder if bringing in the manpower against Quigley, and then losing, puts the Daley politicos into a bind in the district. On another front, the Forys campaign may have cost Fritchey the election. But would the Polish community have even voted if Forys (or another Polish name) wan’t on the ballot?
- the ole preceinct captain - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:00 am:
Once again the 39th Ward came through and pulled out a victory for O’Connor yesterday as we did for Walker when we helped him last November. We do not seem to get the credit we deserve but no matter what we just win. This can be attributed to a dedicated group of people who deliver every time due to love for politics and pride in our community.
Gentrification has worked wonders: Never in my life did I expect to see the 32nd Ward referred to as affluent. Under the Rostenkowski family, the grimy, rust belt industrial 32nd was a “River Ward.”
Oak Parker has a good point. I think Polish voters would have stayed home without their “cause” candidate on the ballot.
I think another factor in this election is the strong dislike of John Fritchey. Something about him rubs a lot of people the wrong way. And it could be any of many factors. This is initially evident by the fact that Fritchey could not clear the field– a lot of Feigenholtz and O’Connor voters would have gone for him. It is now clear that all of his “organization” support could not overcome a likely negative response to Fritchey climbing up the greasy pole. He fought for years to gain control of the 32nd Ward organization and the result for him there were decidedly underwhelming. When your neighbors don’t even support you, what does that say?
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:15 am:
The Polish vote has been about as dependable a voting block for the regular dems as there is on the Northwest side but Forys was able to tap into pent up animosity due to feelings of being taken for granted. It wasn’t because his last name was Polish that he got so many votes it was because usual regular dems were making a statement.
I talked to several Polish voters who expressed these feeling too me-even though they expected the good doctor to not win.
In all my Infamous years of campaiging, I have found that tapping into voter anger produces the best results. Todd STROGER has captured the angry hearts of most of the good people of Cook County. Mike Quigley figured that one out 4 years ago.
Carl, Alvarez had the Daily Herald and an endorsement from Pat Quinn in the Primary. She also had great commercials! Ones that emphasized her not only as a professional but as a warm person. Sara’s mail was odd looking….sepia toned, the constant very old pix of mom…and her commercials were lacking in energy. the mail and commercials conveyed a tone that was downbeat. sara did not get the newspaper endorsements, her big endorsement could not match the Claypool endorsement of Quigley. It’s not just about gender.
Mike,
Every ward organization cares about their performance in their sphere of influence, their ward. They couldn’t control what happened in other places but they showed that they are a powerful force in their ward by having one of the best turnouts and carrying their endorsed candidate even though he ran a flawed campaign overall.
The vaunted 39th ward organization is anything but dead and they don’t like bussed in. out of district, paid for “volunteer” workers invading their turf. Candidates discount the 39th reg dems at their own risk!
Good point. I was not trying to diminish the 39th’s performance…and they should be proud of their efforts, but just wanted to point out that carrying a ward is not winning anything. Or maybe a better way to say it is they won a battle but were slaughtered in the war.
A tip of the hat to Tom_B and his team who ran a terrific campaign - surgical field op with a clear consistent message. Congrats to all
- Help Me Help You - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:35 am:
Oakparker, the way I look at it is Forys got over 6,000 votes and Fritchey lost by 2,275. I think you are right that many of the Polish only would have voted for Forys, so let’s be generous towards the ’spoiled for Fritchey’ theory and say 1/3 of the voters wouldn’t have voted at all and take 4,000 votes. For Fritchey to have beat Quigley, he would have needed over 50% of those voters and that’s if they voted 0% for Quigley. Take out half of Forys voters and you need over 75% of those votes with 0% going for Quigley.
Now if you want to say that BOTH O’Connor and Forys spoiled the election for Fritchey and that he could have found a 2,275 vote advantage among those 12,500 votes, I’d be much more likely to agree with you but it’s still not for sure.
Overall I think this race confirms that voters are fed up with Todd Stroger and Mike Quigley won because he’s been fighting against him for years.
==Why could Alvarez make the only-female-in-the-race formula work and Feigenholtz couldn’t?==
- Because Feigenholtz was not a down-the-ticket candidate. The only-female-in-the-race, vote splitting, etc. only work effectively when people are not familiar with the candidates. I believe that the vast majority of people who voted in this election specifically cared about **this** race OR did enough research to make an educated choice.
==Quigley running against Todd Stroger seemed like a goofy message to get votes to go to Congress. Do voters hate Stroger so much they wanted to send a message? Do voters think Congress and the federal government are the same kind of rip-off as the county board and county gov’t?==
I don’t think it is about running against Stroger, however, it is about proving you have taken principled & consistent stands. If you believe past behavior is a good predictor for the future, then Quigley standing up against Stroger is very relevant.
==Does a Quiqley victory mean newspaper endorsements are more relevant?==
In this race I think they were extremely important. With a compressed cycle & not a ton of mainstream press, I think it provided some good research to push voters over the edge.
==Are ward organizations waning in influence? Why?==
I think ward organizations influence is inversely proportional to:
- The number of voters who were raised in the suburbs, but now live in the city.
They are very simply not used to being pushed to vote a certain way — they think it is offensive.
- Higher Education. This is a very simple generalization, however, if you look at the neighborhoods were the machine was not successful they are nicely matched with ‘hot’ or gentrifying areas, i.e. ‘newcomers’ buying 500K houses.
Just my opinion
- Lakefront Liberal - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:45 am:
Rich,
What is the real story on how Quigley’s replacement will be choosen? I have heard it will be the other County Commissioneres, I have heard it will be Todd, I have heard it will be the Democratic Ward Committeeman — which is true?
Some responses to the previous comments: First of all, Feigenholtz was not the only woman in the race (Jan Donatelli was also in the field).
Secondly, the commentor who said that O’connor was in the race to split up the the Irish vote and defeat Quigley is mistaken. The Daleys grew up thinking that for the most part, going to Congress in a lateral transfer, if not a demotion for local office-holding pols, a means of getting trouble-makers out of the way. (After all, how many jobs does a Congressman control?) Getting that ninth vote on the County Board (without having to cater to the whims of the Republicans or a total jerkhead like Larry “the Lobbyist” Suffredin) was well worth giving Quigley a few years at playing Congressman, at least until Rahm Emanuel comes back to reclaim the job (which he will now almost certainly will come 2012).
Don’t be shocked if Pat O’Connor, who has far more of his 40th Ward in Quigley’s County Board District than in the 5th congressional district, is selected by the party bosses as Quigley’s County Board replacement. That way, the Daleys can reward O’connor for playing the Spoiler in Tuesday’s election while letting the independents and reformers know just how big a bunch of chumps they are.
LaborGuy, it’s insincere to say the Machine is “dead and buried” because they didn’t “deliver” for Fritchey. Fritchey was not the “Machine” candidate; if he was, O’Connor would not have been in the race.
And with “no other races” to spend on and pulling out all the stops and $300k+, a third place showing–behind a fraction of the Machine–is not good.
How can you say your endorsement was principled? You said yourself this was about “anybody but Fritchey” in your “debates” with Bill.
I never said it was “anyone but Fritchey”. We wsere with Sara because she had been great on our issues in Springfield. And yes, the Machine is dead. How can you say Fritchey wasn’t the Machine candidate when he had 9 committeemen with him? Get a clue buddy.
Jerry,
There you go again. You don’t have to end every comment with a personal attack.
If your “leaders” don’t care about you wasting over $300k on a fringe candidate then your outfit is being run even worse than I thought. Give it a rest, loser.
Better yet try spending some of that money to negotiate a decent contract for a change.Hire less hacks and more experts. Your rank and file might be more effective if you could get them better than minimum wage. The newly “organized” members are going to make less money than they are now after you make them pay dues.
I think that anyone associated with machine politics in the City and in the County would have wanted to see Mr. Quigley go to Washington.
He can cause problems for the Daley and Stroger patronage armies and he brings awareness of Daley’s slush fund to the public.
Quigley won’t be making any noise about TIF’s or sales tax rates or any of these other things anymore. He’s at the bottom of the seniority pool in a body of 435 people.
He’s no longer an annoying gadfly for the powers that be in Chicago.
Why was the mayor of Melrose Park pushing so hard for Sara. His people were over the limit. What kind of deal did Serpico make. It just doesn’t make sense.
I don’t think it is quite accurate to say the machine is dead. Or at least, it is no more accurate than saying big labor is dead. The AFL-CIO backed Fritchey and the SEIU backed Sara and both lost. It’s just as easy to say big labor couldn’t deliver for those two as it is to say the machine couldn’t.
Also, just like big labor, the “machine” was split with some backing O’Connor and some Fritchey.
It seems this election is a good example of confirmation bias. Whatever you thought before the election is what came true, no matter what. When someone wins with as few votes/percent as Mike, and in an election with so many candidates, I don’t think it is wise to draw many, if any, lessons from it.
Lakefront Liberal – The replacement is made by the committeemen in the CD with votes weighted based on past Dem votes (–per the person who has the most vested interest in this).
I was a 47th ward judge. There were people who came to vote for Quigley who didn’t know which party he belonged to. (They had to know that before they could take a ballot and we got to help them figure it out. And then, as I have pointed out before, we judges get to see how you vote as your ballot goes in the scanner.)
The April election will be fascinating. We will now see every voter who is there because the ward “boss” told them to vote. Who else is going to bother?
(Sara looked haggard in her commercials. Looks count; there’s loads of research on it. Wasn’t Alvarez both the only woman and the only Hispanic on the ticket?)
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:59 am:
It was amusing how main stream labor sloughed off the SEIU endorsement and many thought it would hurt Feiganholtz more than it helped. They’re the black sheep of the family. The kind that starts a fight at Thanksgiving dinner.
Bill, as a member of SEIU I take exception to your use of quotation marks. I also would put up my percentage pay raises and health insurance up against other newly organized members of a Union. Politically, I’d say we are doing quite well. I was part of efforts to win Indiana for Obama, knocked on doors in the aldermanic races. In fact, this has been the first loss I can recall since being a member here. What’s your anti-laborguy campaign really about? Seems to be personal and not related to the 5th CD. Maybe you just dislike Sara, didn’t think she was a fringe candidate. Why trash a losing candidate, that is a State Rep.? That seems weird.
LaborGuy: Wow, slow your roll! Ouch. All I meant was that you can’t say the Machine is dead based on this election. Maybe they are, but this election doesn’t really provide evidence one way or the other. Was the Fifth Floor actively raising gobs of money for one candidate? Were they strong arming potential vote-splitters off the ballot? Fritchey may have had the backing of some of the most powerful ward organizations, but the Machine wasn’t fully behind him. And you did say that Fritchey was the only unacceptable outcome for you guys–that hardly sounds like you were enamored with Sara.
Bill- We can all disagree without being uncivil. This thread is about the IL05 election, not SEIU’s competence as a union. Calling LaborGuy a “loser” after chiding him for a personal attack is hardly fair.
I want to say something very clear to all the commenters in the Democratic family.
This is over, hatchet buried, done and done.
There is a vehemently ignorant and intolerant person running against Mike right now on the Republican side.
The bickering in the comments does nothing to move the ball forward.
Good for SEIU for putting their foot forward, they care about things that really matter to people and they fight. Win, lose or draw, you can’t ever take that away from them.
AFL, and I say this as a former Laborer, has done more for working people, wages, health care and government than pretty much any organization across the country.
Commissioner Quigley has set the example that open arms are to be extended.
Both he and I would appreciate it if people come back together and we follow the example our president has set. Let the clenched fists go, open your hands and reach back out.
We have a really big mess out there in government and the economy, as Rich covers today, and we really need everybody to pitch in and fix things.
Nyberg: Alvarez won based on her ability to run as an outsider in the State’s Attorney’s office, and her ability to stay calm and focused in a nasty, sexist race…Sara played the race like a connected dude by accepting help ($) from organized labor which has historically supported connected candidates (read: Machine) The ads were not standouts because they featured more of the same “I’m such an outstanding candidate! Look what I did for you!” Dreck!
You know I have been pounding her ringers on this site for their sanctimonoius support of “Saint Sara”. The voters saw though her and opted for a guy who has stood out on his own, dropped out of the Cook Cty. President race for Claypool, and has bashed the Todder over and over again in public! Yay! Sometimes the god guy wins!
- Day After Thoughts - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:18 pm:
I think those who believe Quigley’s win reflects strongly on his messages - of “independence” or “reform”, or anti-tax - run the risk of reading too much into the result. They may see what they want to see rather than what is.
I believe that Quigley entered the race with built-in advantages, and the collapsed schedule leading to the special primary created extreme difficulty for any candidate to change that dynamic.
For example Quigley had the most constituents in the district. He had by far the highest name recognition and support in initial polling. He had the strong endorsements of both papers. And though two candidates outspent him he had plenty of money.
Those built in advantages in this race looked like the advantages of an incumbent. The very tight schedule, tuned out voters and skimpy media coverage, made it easier for Quigley to preserve those advantages. He did not have to build, just to hold what he started with.
This is to take nothing away from the candidate and his campaign. It’s just to say that while I wish there was a real, abiding and deep current of support for reform and independence - as Quigley and some observers are now claiming - I don’t think this race offers much if any evidence that there is.
Bowen when you stole Denny Hastert’s seat in a special election it was impressive, this is equally as impressive just in a different way. Congrats.
And the other big winner last night was the Strategy Group who not only did the Quigley mail, but had alumns Tom Bowen (campaign manager) and Billy Weinberg (Communications) in key positions.
- Kelly Dietrich - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:21 pm:
Tom, as I said to you and your team last night, congratulations on a big win. I, for one, will be proud to call Mike Quigley my congressman. SEIU has always had a good relationship with Mike. We hope that nothing we have done or said during this campaign has changed that relationship. We are eager to sit down and talk about the general election that is only a month away. I agree that our Republican opponent is the worst kind of reactionary, hatemonger. I am ready to get this party started. Congrats again on a well-run, disciplined campaign. I still hate losing though…even to Mike.
- Mr. Know-it-All - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:34 pm:
Tom B - may we and you live up to your exhortations. Democrats must come together and kick the snot out of Pulido, and give Mike the chance to make us proud in DC.
I remain fascinated that in all the discussion of this election, both before and after, one particular word is never being heard, be it positively, negatively or sideways: “Daley”.
- Northshore Blue Dog - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 1:18 pm:
Scooby - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09
Tom Bowen did not win the Special Election for Foster last year. A very good, polite and much more organized individual from Pen. came in, treated local elected officials and volunteers with respect, ran a good ground game and won the race. Moreover, he gave the credit to the volunteers and the workers.
Bowen screwed the pooch on Super Tuesday when he wasted over $2 million against an opponent who spent $100k and only won by 300+ votes. While a win is a win is a win it proved that Tom had a lot to learn about respect and field organizing.
Obviously Tom learned something from that as we should all do in live - learn by our mistakes. The proof is in the pudding with his extraordinary work on the Quigley race. For that he deserves a LOT of respect.
Unless I’m drinking again, likely, Feigenholtz carried the precincts in the 46th Ward. The numbers I’m looking at show her getting 52 percent of the vote. Those precincts are entirely south of Irving and generally east of Sheridan. North Lakeview. Her home area essentially.
She did relatively better in the lakefront highrises, than the less dense areas to the west.
Given the choice of Quigley, Fritchey or Fiegenholtz, if my guy can’t win, then Quigley was the best choice. Congrats to him and I hope he remembers the whole district and not just the lakefront. More importantly lets hope he makes the right decisions for America.
I’d like to come back to why O’Connor was urged by the Daley organization to stay in the race (see yesterday’s post by Rich Miller), and why the southwest side wards sent in Precinct workers to help him (as noted in blog posts yesterday morning). If the Daley organization just wanted to get Quigley out of the county board by sending him to Congress, then why were they pushing so hard for O’Connor? If they would have been able to keep Quigley from winning (say by splitting the Irish vote) then they would have been stuck with him on the county board. So far, the best explanation I’ve seen is that they wanted to punish Quigley (by denying him the Congressional seat) for not going along on the county board. Or, maybe they were totally deluded and thought they could actually elect O’Connor yesterday.
Tom B said: “There is a vehemently ignorant and intolerant person running against Mike right now on the Republican side.”
Geez, don’t pull your punches now, chief! So, if someone breaks into your home & steals your stuff, are you “vehemently ignorant and intolerant” if you take issue with it and call the police? Or, is THAT type of criminal not covered under your political correctness policy?
- South West Sider - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 4:27 pm:
===and why the southwest side wards sent in Precinct workers to help him===
We were sent up to help Fritchey. Maybe others were sent up to help O’Connor but not our guys.
This race was over all of our paygrades when it came to predicting. I don’t think the Daley’s cared but were just sending in troops because they were asked by a loyal soldier. Or maybe they really did want Quigley up and out.
Not sure what you’re trying to say Snidely, but have you read any of Pulido’s commentary on immigration? I think that was the “ignorant and intolerable” part Bowen was referring to.
I saw Mrs. O’Connor Tuesday night post-election and she expressed surprise at the outcome. I don’t have a clue if the surprise was about how poorly her husband did or regarding how others did. She did mumble something to herself about someone’s “not going to like this.”
This was said before the final outcome was known so I suspect she was reacting to the poor showing by Fritchey in a ward that was dominated by Schulter’s people doing GOTV all day.
- Pete Giangreco - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 5:42 pm:
While the kudos are greatly appreciated, the victory belongs to Mike Quigley. Ten long years of being an often lonely voice for reform meant something to voters. We worked for an authentic guy who was always willing to take risks for what was right — he was (and is) “the real deal.”
We just ran a campaign that stayed true to Mike. And Bowen (as well as Anna Valenica and crew) made every dollar work, and every hour mean something. Great team.
As with Barack, winning is a heck of a lot easier when you have the best candidate in the race.
wordslinger, the two started off well enough years ago but Fritchey saw that he would never have the type of absolute power that makes Daley immune to voters. If Fritchey wanted to make a name for himself and remain on the scene after Daley passes, he would need to position himself as a reformer. (His wife’s family aside, his legislative record is mostly populist and pro-reform.) After putting daylight between the mayor and himself in the Matlak/Waguespack race up in 32 (and then actually beating the mayor’s candidate), I think Daley wanted to slap him down. O’Connor was a good way to do that.
DayAfter - if the Committeemen put some pro-Stroger/Daley boob in Mike’s place, I think we’ll have a very lively campaign when that seat comes up for election (2011?). Then we’ll see if the voters desire reform. I think that reformers will be able to effectively run against Stroger (at least on the north side), especially since he’ll likely be running, too.
- Modern Math - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 6:38 am:
Laborguy,
I owe you an apology. Yesterday I wrote that there was no chance that voter turnout would reach your prediction of 50,000. This morning, the Chicago Board of Elections web site shows TO of 49,753.
I tip my hat to you, sir. You were right and I was wrong.
- Mr. Know-it-All - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 6:57 am:
Thanks, Rich. Good work on this race, in spite of us commenters.
- Snidely Whiplash - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 7:43 am:
Well, since the Dem primary IS the election in the 5th District (there being no incumbent under indictment this time), Squiggly is going to Congress with a lousy 12,000 votes. And, he’s left it to the committeemen to choose his replacement on the county board. So much for his dedication to “reforming” Crook County. Stroger will soon have his lock on 9 votes for anything he wants to do, and no longer has to worry about promoting any of Squiggly’s relatives in order to get a budget passed.
- Laborguy - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:21 am:
Modern Math, apology accepted. The turnout was about the only thing I got right though. As Rich noted earlier, our polling always showed Quigley ahead. Mike’s “branding” as the reform candidate was impossible to overcome, especially in this kind of abbreviated electoral environment. As I said last night, as a resident of the 5th CD I will be proud to call Mike Quigley my congressman. I think this election demonstrates, once and for all, that the vaunted Democratic Machine is dead and buried. The “regular” organizations, except for the 36th ward, delivered absolutely zero for John Fritchey. That is good for the long-term health of democracy in Chicago. SEIU probably could have saved its money and had the exact same outcome. AFSCME, the Teachers Union, the Teamsters, UFCW and many other unions probably should have sat this one out also. This was not a stellar election for any of the unions. At least SEIU was with Sara for the right reasons.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:35 am:
The urban legend of ward and township organizations is that they’re supposed to be able to deliver in low-turnout elections. Looks like there are some paper tigers out there.
- Oakparker - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:47 am:
Does anyone care to share some insight into why it was so important for the Daley organization to keep O’Connor in the race. Surely, they didn’t think he could actually win. So, it must have been to keep someone else from winning. But who? Fritchey, Feigenholz, or did they think they could actually beat Quigley?
- cost-benefit run amok - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:47 am:
Wonder if SEIU is regretting their quarter-million dollar bet on Feigenholtz…
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:50 am:
Can’t wait to hear ‘laborguy’ desperately spin his way out of all of his big talking about his 3rd place candidate. What a pompous buffoon.
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:51 am:
Call me a cynic, but I just don’t think we should read too much into the electoral strength of the reform cause from this victory. It’s hard to extrapolate a real election numbers from this 13% turnout special. It’s nice and I’m glad Mike won, but a smidge over 10,000 people decided who should represent 700,000.
- Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 8:55 am:
1) Go Rosanna Go!
2) I am laughing at my alderman, the vaunted Gene Schulter of the 47th Ward. He endorsed Fritchey and yet the ward went to Quigley. Hey Gene, you’ve alienated a lot of folks with your eminent domain/development shenanigans on Western Avenue.
- Cassandra - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:02 am:
Well, I’m glad to hear that at least some Chicago voters are starting to pay attention to things like corruption, excessive taxation, rampant patronage, pay to play, and so on. They have ignored these types of political shenanigans for years….decades, rather.
And let’s hope that more voters join in the reform
movement. Lots of elections coming up in 2010; plenty of opportunities to come out for reform. Let’s home the reform-minded haven’t exhausted themselves around this one little election. After all the Machine has probably only begun to fight.
- Cassandra - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:03 am:
Sorry, I mean, let’s hope the reform-minded…
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:26 am:
I knew the results would be interesting - and they definately were.
- BarryAldridge - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:28 am:
snidely - Name-calling and hiding behind a screen name - the refuge of a scoundrel.
- Laborguy - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:30 am:
Hey Cost Benefit,
SEIU does not regret our expenditure. We made a principled endorsement of Sara. She had been a champion for our members in Springfield and we felt she would have been a strong voice for healthcare reform in DC. There are no other races this year, so it is not as if we could better spend that money elsewhere. You obviously can’t win all of the time but we think it is important to make principled endorsements and make sure our endorsement means something. Win or lose, we want candidates to know that when SEIU endorses we are going to do all we can for them. Obviously, it is much more difficult to have an impact on federal races. That said, SEIU thinks Mike Quigley will make a wonderful congressman. We have a very good relationship with Mike and we’ll do all we can to support him. The big lessons from this election are that the upcoming election cylce will be difficult for incumbents. There is a great deal of voter anger out there over the Blago, Burris, Stroger scandals and some current office holders will probably pay the price. Second, the Democratic Machine is dead and buried. They delivered nothing for John Fritchey. So, look for independent candidates to do well for the next election or two and don’t worry about getting the Party’s endorsement. It won’t help anyway.
- BarryAldridge - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:34 am:
oakparker - I think the Mayor and his County Commissioner brother told O’Connor to run hoping that another Irish name on the ballot would drain votes from Quigley. As much as they’ll love to see Mike off the County Board, the Daleys are also petty bullies who’d have loved humiliating Congressman Quigley.
- Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:39 am:
I’ve got a bunch of questions:
Why could Alvarez make the only-female-in-the-race formula work and Feigenholtz couldn’t?
Quigley running against Todd Stroger seemed like a goofy message to get votes to go to Congress. Do voters hate Stroger so much they wanted to send a message? Do voters think Congress and the federal government are the same kind of rip-off as the county board and county gov’t?
Does a Quiqley victory mean newspaper endorsements are more relevant?
What’s it say about organized labor that neither organized labor candidate won?
How important was it that the timeline was so short? Is it possible that candidates like Fritchey and Feigenholtz were able to get their name ID up, but that there’s a lag between when the voters know a candidate’s name and when the voters become comfortable electing the candidate?
Are ward organizations waning in influence? Why?
What role did the economy play?
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:46 am:
The machine has effectively ignored the Polish community especially on the Northwest side and it came back to haunt them, big time, as they virtually unanimously voted for Forys. These people feel neglected and unrepresented and were determined to make a statement. That is why Fritchey lost.
- Oakparker - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:57 am:
Good insight BarryAldridge. I wonder if bringing in the manpower against Quigley, and then losing, puts the Daley politicos into a bind in the district. On another front, the Forys campaign may have cost Fritchey the election. But would the Polish community have even voted if Forys (or another Polish name) wan’t on the ballot?
- the ole preceinct captain - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:00 am:
Once again the 39th Ward came through and pulled out a victory for O’Connor yesterday as we did for Walker when we helped him last November. We do not seem to get the credit we deserve but no matter what we just win. This can be attributed to a dedicated group of people who deliver every time due to love for politics and pride in our community.
- Mike Murray - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:03 am:
===Once again the 39th Ward came through and pulled out a victory for O’Connor yesterday as we did for Walker when we helped him last November.====
FYI O’Conner lost, Quigley won. Who cares about a single ward
- Honest Abe - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:05 am:
Gentrification has worked wonders: Never in my life did I expect to see the 32nd Ward referred to as affluent. Under the Rostenkowski family, the grimy, rust belt industrial 32nd was a “River Ward.”
- Conservative Republican - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:09 am:
Oak Parker has a good point. I think Polish voters would have stayed home without their “cause” candidate on the ballot.
I think another factor in this election is the strong dislike of John Fritchey. Something about him rubs a lot of people the wrong way. And it could be any of many factors. This is initially evident by the fact that Fritchey could not clear the field– a lot of Feigenholtz and O’Connor voters would have gone for him. It is now clear that all of his “organization” support could not overcome a likely negative response to Fritchey climbing up the greasy pole. He fought for years to gain control of the 32nd Ward organization and the result for him there were decidedly underwhelming. When your neighbors don’t even support you, what does that say?
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:15 am:
The Polish vote has been about as dependable a voting block for the regular dems as there is on the Northwest side but Forys was able to tap into pent up animosity due to feelings of being taken for granted. It wasn’t because his last name was Polish that he got so many votes it was because usual regular dems were making a statement.
I talked to several Polish voters who expressed these feeling too me-even though they expected the good doctor to not win.
- HACK - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:18 am:
In all my Infamous years of campaiging, I have found that tapping into voter anger produces the best results. Todd STROGER has captured the angry hearts of most of the good people of Cook County. Mike Quigley figured that one out 4 years ago.
- Amy - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:18 am:
Carl, Alvarez had the Daily Herald and an endorsement from Pat Quinn in the Primary. She also had great commercials! Ones that emphasized her not only as a professional but as a warm person. Sara’s mail was odd looking….sepia toned, the constant very old pix of mom…and her commercials were lacking in energy. the mail and commercials conveyed a tone that was downbeat. sara did not get the newspaper endorsements, her big endorsement could not match the Claypool endorsement of Quigley. It’s not just about gender.
- Bill - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:19 am:
Mike,
Every ward organization cares about their performance in their sphere of influence, their ward. They couldn’t control what happened in other places but they showed that they are a powerful force in their ward by having one of the best turnouts and carrying their endorsed candidate even though he ran a flawed campaign overall.
The vaunted 39th ward organization is anything but dead and they don’t like bussed in. out of district, paid for “volunteer” workers invading their turf. Candidates discount the 39th reg dems at their own risk!
- Mike Murray - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:29 am:
Bill,
Good point. I was not trying to diminish the 39th’s performance…and they should be proud of their efforts, but just wanted to point out that carrying a ward is not winning anything. Or maybe a better way to say it is they won a battle but were slaughtered in the war.
- day after - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:32 am:
A tip of the hat to Tom_B and his team who ran a terrific campaign - surgical field op with a clear consistent message. Congrats to all
- Help Me Help You - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:35 am:
Oakparker, the way I look at it is Forys got over 6,000 votes and Fritchey lost by 2,275. I think you are right that many of the Polish only would have voted for Forys, so let’s be generous towards the ’spoiled for Fritchey’ theory and say 1/3 of the voters wouldn’t have voted at all and take 4,000 votes. For Fritchey to have beat Quigley, he would have needed over 50% of those voters and that’s if they voted 0% for Quigley. Take out half of Forys voters and you need over 75% of those votes with 0% going for Quigley.
Now if you want to say that BOTH O’Connor and Forys spoiled the election for Fritchey and that he could have found a 2,275 vote advantage among those 12,500 votes, I’d be much more likely to agree with you but it’s still not for sure.
Overall I think this race confirms that voters are fed up with Todd Stroger and Mike Quigley won because he’s been fighting against him for years.
- ac - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:40 am:
==Why could Alvarez make the only-female-in-the-race formula work and Feigenholtz couldn’t?==
- Because Feigenholtz was not a down-the-ticket candidate. The only-female-in-the-race, vote splitting, etc. only work effectively when people are not familiar with the candidates. I believe that the vast majority of people who voted in this election specifically cared about **this** race OR did enough research to make an educated choice.
==Quigley running against Todd Stroger seemed like a goofy message to get votes to go to Congress. Do voters hate Stroger so much they wanted to send a message? Do voters think Congress and the federal government are the same kind of rip-off as the county board and county gov’t?==
I don’t think it is about running against Stroger, however, it is about proving you have taken principled & consistent stands. If you believe past behavior is a good predictor for the future, then Quigley standing up against Stroger is very relevant.
==Does a Quiqley victory mean newspaper endorsements are more relevant?==
In this race I think they were extremely important. With a compressed cycle & not a ton of mainstream press, I think it provided some good research to push voters over the edge.
==Are ward organizations waning in influence? Why?==
I think ward organizations influence is inversely proportional to:
- The number of voters who were raised in the suburbs, but now live in the city.
They are very simply not used to being pushed to vote a certain way — they think it is offensive.
- Higher Education. This is a very simple generalization, however, if you look at the neighborhoods were the machine was not successful they are nicely matched with ‘hot’ or gentrifying areas, i.e. ‘newcomers’ buying 500K houses.
Just my opinion
- Lakefront Liberal - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:45 am:
Rich,
What is the real story on how Quigley’s replacement will be choosen? I have heard it will be the other County Commissioneres, I have heard it will be Todd, I have heard it will be the Democratic Ward Committeeman — which is true?
- fedup dem - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:46 am:
Some responses to the previous comments: First of all, Feigenholtz was not the only woman in the race (Jan Donatelli was also in the field).
Secondly, the commentor who said that O’connor was in the race to split up the the Irish vote and defeat Quigley is mistaken. The Daleys grew up thinking that for the most part, going to Congress in a lateral transfer, if not a demotion for local office-holding pols, a means of getting trouble-makers out of the way. (After all, how many jobs does a Congressman control?) Getting that ninth vote on the County Board (without having to cater to the whims of the Republicans or a total jerkhead like Larry “the Lobbyist” Suffredin) was well worth giving Quigley a few years at playing Congressman, at least until Rahm Emanuel comes back to reclaim the job (which he will now almost certainly will come 2012).
Don’t be shocked if Pat O’Connor, who has far more of his 40th Ward in Quigley’s County Board District than in the 5th congressional district, is selected by the party bosses as Quigley’s County Board replacement. That way, the Daleys can reward O’connor for playing the Spoiler in Tuesday’s election while letting the independents and reformers know just how big a bunch of chumps they are.
- cranko - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 10:59 am:
LaborGuy, it’s insincere to say the Machine is “dead and buried” because they didn’t “deliver” for Fritchey. Fritchey was not the “Machine” candidate; if he was, O’Connor would not have been in the race.
And with “no other races” to spend on and pulling out all the stops and $300k+, a third place showing–behind a fraction of the Machine–is not good.
How can you say your endorsement was principled? You said yourself this was about “anybody but Fritchey” in your “debates” with Bill.
- Laborguy - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:19 am:
I never said it was “anyone but Fritchey”. We wsere with Sara because she had been great on our issues in Springfield. And yes, the Machine is dead. How can you say Fritchey wasn’t the Machine candidate when he had 9 committeemen with him? Get a clue buddy.
- Bakersfield - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:21 am:
Ugh, Pulido is the nominee for the GOP?
Count this Republican as one more vote for Quigley (not that he’ll need it)
- Bill - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:36 am:
Jerry,
There you go again. You don’t have to end every comment with a personal attack.
If your “leaders” don’t care about you wasting over $300k on a fringe candidate then your outfit is being run even worse than I thought. Give it a rest, loser.
Better yet try spending some of that money to negotiate a decent contract for a change.Hire less hacks and more experts. Your rank and file might be more effective if you could get them better than minimum wage. The newly “organized” members are going to make less money than they are now after you make them pay dues.
- jerry 101 - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:42 am:
I think that anyone associated with machine politics in the City and in the County would have wanted to see Mr. Quigley go to Washington.
He can cause problems for the Daley and Stroger patronage armies and he brings awareness of Daley’s slush fund to the public.
Quigley won’t be making any noise about TIF’s or sales tax rates or any of these other things anymore. He’s at the bottom of the seniority pool in a body of 435 people.
He’s no longer an annoying gadfly for the powers that be in Chicago.
- ElectMike - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:44 am:
Why was the mayor of Melrose Park pushing so hard for Sara. His people were over the limit. What kind of deal did Serpico make. It just doesn’t make sense.
- ThreeSheets - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:44 am:
Laborguy,
I don’t think it is quite accurate to say the machine is dead. Or at least, it is no more accurate than saying big labor is dead. The AFL-CIO backed Fritchey and the SEIU backed Sara and both lost. It’s just as easy to say big labor couldn’t deliver for those two as it is to say the machine couldn’t.
Also, just like big labor, the “machine” was split with some backing O’Connor and some Fritchey.
It seems this election is a good example of confirmation bias. Whatever you thought before the election is what came true, no matter what. When someone wins with as few votes/percent as Mike, and in an election with so many candidates, I don’t think it is wise to draw many, if any, lessons from it.
- Redbright - election judge - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:47 am:
Lakefront Liberal – The replacement is made by the committeemen in the CD with votes weighted based on past Dem votes (–per the person who has the most vested interest in this).
I was a 47th ward judge. There were people who came to vote for Quigley who didn’t know which party he belonged to. (They had to know that before they could take a ballot and we got to help them figure it out. And then, as I have pointed out before, we judges get to see how you vote as your ballot goes in the scanner.)
The April election will be fascinating. We will now see every voter who is there because the ward “boss” told them to vote. Who else is going to bother?
(Sara looked haggard in her commercials. Looks count; there’s loads of research on it. Wasn’t Alvarez both the only woman and the only Hispanic on the ticket?)
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 11:59 am:
It was amusing how main stream labor sloughed off the SEIU endorsement and many thought it would hurt Feiganholtz more than it helped. They’re the black sheep of the family. The kind that starts a fight at Thanksgiving dinner.
- SEIU member - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:01 pm:
Bill, as a member of SEIU I take exception to your use of quotation marks. I also would put up my percentage pay raises and health insurance up against other newly organized members of a Union. Politically, I’d say we are doing quite well. I was part of efforts to win Indiana for Obama, knocked on doors in the aldermanic races. In fact, this has been the first loss I can recall since being a member here. What’s your anti-laborguy campaign really about? Seems to be personal and not related to the 5th CD. Maybe you just dislike Sara, didn’t think she was a fringe candidate. Why trash a losing candidate, that is a State Rep.? That seems weird.
- cranko - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:06 pm:
LaborGuy: Wow, slow your roll! Ouch. All I meant was that you can’t say the Machine is dead based on this election. Maybe they are, but this election doesn’t really provide evidence one way or the other. Was the Fifth Floor actively raising gobs of money for one candidate? Were they strong arming potential vote-splitters off the ballot? Fritchey may have had the backing of some of the most powerful ward organizations, but the Machine wasn’t fully behind him. And you did say that Fritchey was the only unacceptable outcome for you guys–that hardly sounds like you were enamored with Sara.
Bill- We can all disagree without being uncivil. This thread is about the IL05 election, not SEIU’s competence as a union. Calling LaborGuy a “loser” after chiding him for a personal attack is hardly fair.
- Tom B. - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:06 pm:
I want to say something very clear to all the commenters in the Democratic family.
This is over, hatchet buried, done and done.
There is a vehemently ignorant and intolerant person running against Mike right now on the Republican side.
The bickering in the comments does nothing to move the ball forward.
Good for SEIU for putting their foot forward, they care about things that really matter to people and they fight. Win, lose or draw, you can’t ever take that away from them.
AFL, and I say this as a former Laborer, has done more for working people, wages, health care and government than pretty much any organization across the country.
Commissioner Quigley has set the example that open arms are to be extended.
Both he and I would appreciate it if people come back together and we follow the example our president has set. Let the clenched fists go, open your hands and reach back out.
We have a really big mess out there in government and the economy, as Rich covers today, and we really need everybody to pitch in and fix things.
BOWEN
- Anonymous45 - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:08 pm:
Nyberg: Alvarez won based on her ability to run as an outsider in the State’s Attorney’s office, and her ability to stay calm and focused in a nasty, sexist race…Sara played the race like a connected dude by accepting help ($) from organized labor which has historically supported connected candidates (read: Machine) The ads were not standouts because they featured more of the same “I’m such an outstanding candidate! Look what I did for you!” Dreck!
You know I have been pounding her ringers on this site for their sanctimonoius support of “Saint Sara”. The voters saw though her and opted for a guy who has stood out on his own, dropped out of the Cook Cty. President race for Claypool, and has bashed the Todder over and over again in public! Yay! Sometimes the god guy wins!
- Day After Thoughts - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:18 pm:
I think those who believe Quigley’s win reflects strongly on his messages - of “independence” or “reform”, or anti-tax - run the risk of reading too much into the result. They may see what they want to see rather than what is.
I believe that Quigley entered the race with built-in advantages, and the collapsed schedule leading to the special primary created extreme difficulty for any candidate to change that dynamic.
For example Quigley had the most constituents in the district. He had by far the highest name recognition and support in initial polling. He had the strong endorsements of both papers. And though two candidates outspent him he had plenty of money.
Those built in advantages in this race looked like the advantages of an incumbent. The very tight schedule, tuned out voters and skimpy media coverage, made it easier for Quigley to preserve those advantages. He did not have to build, just to hold what he started with.
This is to take nothing away from the candidate and his campaign. It’s just to say that while I wish there was a real, abiding and deep current of support for reform and independence - as Quigley and some observers are now claiming - I don’t think this race offers much if any evidence that there is.
- Scooby - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:19 pm:
Bowen when you stole Denny Hastert’s seat in a special election it was impressive, this is equally as impressive just in a different way. Congrats.
And the other big winner last night was the Strategy Group who not only did the Quigley mail, but had alumns Tom Bowen (campaign manager) and Billy Weinberg (Communications) in key positions.
- Kelly Dietrich - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:21 pm:
Amen Tom. Well said. Time to move forward.
- Laborguy - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:30 pm:
Tom, as I said to you and your team last night, congratulations on a big win. I, for one, will be proud to call Mike Quigley my congressman. SEIU has always had a good relationship with Mike. We hope that nothing we have done or said during this campaign has changed that relationship. We are eager to sit down and talk about the general election that is only a month away. I agree that our Republican opponent is the worst kind of reactionary, hatemonger. I am ready to get this party started. Congrats again on a well-run, disciplined campaign. I still hate losing though…even to Mike.
- Mr. Know-it-All - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:34 pm:
Tom B - may we and you live up to your exhortations. Democrats must come together and kick the snot out of Pulido, and give Mike the chance to make us proud in DC.
- SEIU member - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:39 pm:
Tom you are a rock star. I am anxiously await production and distribution of an “I like Mike” button.
- Sara Supporter - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 12:58 pm:
As a Sara support, I am sadden by the results, but am ready to stand behind the next congressman.
Sara will still be fighting for us in Springfield, and will probably have more influence/power in Springfield vs. D.C.
The difference between Sara and Mike is small and I believe endorsements by both papers did have an influence.
It was an INTERESTING race no doubt.
Spoke with Sara and she is ready to head back to the “budget” battle in Springfield.
- TSG Groupie - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 1:07 pm:
Yea. The. Strategy. Group.
- Bubs - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 1:12 pm:
I remain fascinated that in all the discussion of this election, both before and after, one particular word is never being heard, be it positively, negatively or sideways: “Daley”.
- Northshore Blue Dog - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 1:18 pm:
Scooby - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09
Tom Bowen did not win the Special Election for Foster last year. A very good, polite and much more organized individual from Pen. came in, treated local elected officials and volunteers with respect, ran a good ground game and won the race. Moreover, he gave the credit to the volunteers and the workers.
Bowen screwed the pooch on Super Tuesday when he wasted over $2 million against an opponent who spent $100k and only won by 300+ votes. While a win is a win is a win it proved that Tom had a lot to learn about respect and field organizing.
Obviously Tom learned something from that as we should all do in live - learn by our mistakes. The proof is in the pudding with his extraordinary work on the Quigley race. For that he deserves a LOT of respect.
- Bill - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 1:39 pm:
Bowen,
Ditto and congratulations again.
- IrishPirate - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 2:59 pm:
Unless I’m drinking again, likely, Feigenholtz carried the precincts in the 46th Ward. The numbers I’m looking at show her getting 52 percent of the vote. Those precincts are entirely south of Irving and generally east of Sheridan. North Lakeview. Her home area essentially.
She did relatively better in the lakefront highrises, than the less dense areas to the west.
- ElectMike - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 3:17 pm:
Given the choice of Quigley, Fritchey or Fiegenholtz, if my guy can’t win, then Quigley was the best choice. Congrats to him and I hope he remembers the whole district and not just the lakefront. More importantly lets hope he makes the right decisions for America.
- Oakparker - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 3:18 pm:
I’d like to come back to why O’Connor was urged by the Daley organization to stay in the race (see yesterday’s post by Rich Miller), and why the southwest side wards sent in Precinct workers to help him (as noted in blog posts yesterday morning). If the Daley organization just wanted to get Quigley out of the county board by sending him to Congress, then why were they pushing so hard for O’Connor? If they would have been able to keep Quigley from winning (say by splitting the Irish vote) then they would have been stuck with him on the county board. So far, the best explanation I’ve seen is that they wanted to punish Quigley (by denying him the Congressional seat) for not going along on the county board. Or, maybe they were totally deluded and thought they could actually elect O’Connor yesterday.
- Chicago homer - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 3:59 pm:
Oakparker returns to a key question–why did the Daley’s throw their organization at O’Connor in a late stealth campaign?
Maybe some loyalty for his fealty on the city council. No doubt also an attempt to hurt Quigley, who Daley loathes.
In either event, it didn’t accomplish much. People have had it with business-as-usual insiders, and that worked to Quigley’s advantage.
- Snidely Whiplash - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 4:16 pm:
Tom B said: “There is a vehemently ignorant and intolerant person running against Mike right now on the Republican side.”
Geez, don’t pull your punches now, chief! So, if someone breaks into your home & steals your stuff, are you “vehemently ignorant and intolerant” if you take issue with it and call the police? Or, is THAT type of criminal not covered under your political correctness policy?
- South West Sider - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 4:27 pm:
===and why the southwest side wards sent in Precinct workers to help him===
We were sent up to help Fritchey. Maybe others were sent up to help O’Connor but not our guys.
This race was over all of our paygrades when it came to predicting. I don’t think the Daley’s cared but were just sending in troops because they were asked by a loyal soldier. Or maybe they really did want Quigley up and out.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 4:38 pm:
Not sure what you’re trying to say Snidely, but have you read any of Pulido’s commentary on immigration? I think that was the “ignorant and intolerable” part Bowen was referring to.
- Oakparker - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 4:54 pm:
South West Sider, the posters yesterday may have gotten it wrong. Thanks for clearing it up.
- Redbright - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 5:12 pm:
I saw Mrs. O’Connor Tuesday night post-election and she expressed surprise at the outcome. I don’t have a clue if the surprise was about how poorly her husband did or regarding how others did. She did mumble something to herself about someone’s “not going to like this.”
This was said before the final outcome was known so I suspect she was reacting to the poor showing by Fritchey in a ward that was dominated by Schulter’s people doing GOTV all day.
- Pete Giangreco - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 5:42 pm:
While the kudos are greatly appreciated, the victory belongs to Mike Quigley. Ten long years of being an often lonely voice for reform meant something to voters. We worked for an authentic guy who was always willing to take risks for what was right — he was (and is) “the real deal.”
We just ran a campaign that stayed true to Mike. And Bowen (as well as Anna Valenica and crew) made every dollar work, and every hour mean something. Great team.
As with Barack, winning is a heck of a lot easier when you have the best candidate in the race.
- Modern Math - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 6:06 pm:
I think Daley was using O’Connor as an “X” to block the square against Fritchey.
- You got it - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:02 pm:
Bingo
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 4, 09 @ 9:10 pm:
What’s the story on those two, anyway?
- Modern Math - Thursday, Mar 5, 09 @ 6:45 am:
wordslinger, the two started off well enough years ago but Fritchey saw that he would never have the type of absolute power that makes Daley immune to voters. If Fritchey wanted to make a name for himself and remain on the scene after Daley passes, he would need to position himself as a reformer. (His wife’s family aside, his legislative record is mostly populist and pro-reform.) After putting daylight between the mayor and himself in the Matlak/Waguespack race up in 32 (and then actually beating the mayor’s candidate), I think Daley wanted to slap him down. O’Connor was a good way to do that.
- BarryAldridge - Thursday, Mar 5, 09 @ 1:40 pm:
DayAfter - if the Committeemen put some pro-Stroger/Daley boob in Mike’s place, I think we’ll have a very lively campaign when that seat comes up for election (2011?). Then we’ll see if the voters desire reform. I think that reformers will be able to effectively run against Stroger (at least on the north side), especially since he’ll likely be running, too.