*** UPDATED x1 *** Mayoral race odd couples
Friday, Feb 1, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a powerful voice in the African-American community, has endorsed Chicago mayoral candidate Bill Daley, he said Thursday night.
“The future of this city is dependent on us to get this election right,” Rush, a Chicago Democrat, said by phone. “I believe that Bill Daley has the national and international connections to drive economic development from the central city to the outlying communities and neighborhoods. We are suffering, and have been suffering, from decadeslong disinvestment in our neighborhoods.” […]
They both supported Chris Kennedy for the Democratic nomination in the Illinois governor’s race. Daley worked as Kennedy’s head of finances, and Rush endorsed the candidate. Later it was reported that Rush’s son and brother were on Kennedy’s payroll. […]
“I have for years and years wanted to see another African-American as mayor of the city of Chicago,” [Rush] said. “However, for this election, I think Bill Daley is the wise choice for my community. He’s tuned in to the lack of opportunities that a significant population of this city suffer under.”
*** UPDATE *** Emil Jones, too?…
* NBC 5…
Long-time proven vote-getter Dorothy Brown passed the torch to Amara Enyia on Thursday, endorsing her in the race for Chicago mayor.
Brown was removed from the ballot for not having enough signatures, and at least five other candidates spoke to her about winning her endorsement.
“The woman that I believe will be the next mayor of the city of Chicago, Amara Enyia!” Brown declared to a room full of cheers.
Reports have claimed for years that Brown has been under the microscope of a federal investigation, and though she was never charged, it brings questions to this endorsement.
* ABC 7…
“It’s time for honesty, integrity, to put that back into city government,” Brown said.
It’s a comment that might strike some voters as strange coming from Brown, who has been under investigation by the FBI for an alleged scheme to sell jobs and promotions in her office. Enyia dismissed those concerns.
“Well, I have no say or control over what the FBI does or the nature of these investigations. I think, again, at the end of the day, we just have to make sure that the process plays itself out,” Enyia said.
* Sun-Times…
Another veteran Democratic operative not aligned with any of the mayoral candidates said Brown’s support among older African-American voters carries “only upside” for Enyia.
“It’s not like anyone is running away with this race. Everyone is within single digits of each other. So, even these small things matter,” the operative said.
The operative noted that there are “multiple options for every voter out there,” a “remarkable” development that is likely to produce “two run-off candidates barely scratching at 20 percent.”
“If I were Amara, I’d try to utilize having Chance on her side. Try to generate some energy in a race that lacks energy with no real momentum candidate. I’m not saying she will be that. But, she has just as good a chance to do that as any of the others,” the operative said.
- Steve - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:25 am:
Bill Daley is proving to be a stronger candidate then people expected. His brother didn’t appreciate Bobby Rush running for Mayor. This is a big endorsement.
- Long Time R - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:26 am:
Wait one second, did I just read the words honesty and integrity in the same sentence as Dorothy Browns name? Hell might have just froze over!!!
- Henry Francis - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:34 am:
“I believe that Bill Daley has the national and international connections to drive economic development from the central city to the outlying communities and neighborhoods.”
I mean look at all the economic development he did for Kennedy’s campaign.
This is really turning into a strange election.
- west wing - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:54 am:
Bill Daley is emerging as a policy powerhouse in the race. That may help him win some major newspaper endorsements.
- Actual Red - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 10:56 am:
The Brown endorsement is funny. I think she does have some kind of constituency, but Enyia’s lane is definitely the “progressive-outsider-reformer-activist” and I think these folks tend to be pretty keyed in to what’s going on and as a result don’t trust Brown at all. Puts Amara in a weird position.
- Fax Machine - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:11 am:
Right now Bill Daley’s in the runoff and time is running out to dislodge him from it.
- Bobio - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:12 am:
I wonder what JB is going to do? He can’t want the Kennedy faction taking over the City, right?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:15 am:
===He can’t want the Kennedy faction===
There is no “Kennedy faction.” Where do some of you people get this? Chris has been invisible since the primary. All of his voters went with Pritzker.
- Rockford Randolph - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:25 am:
Daley has been running the best campaign. Not sure if that will be enough to win but still worth pointing out.
TP’s campaign has been running like its a coronation and they should snap to it fast if they want to avoid a disaster.
Susana’s campaign makes grand pronouncements and then backtracks within 24 hrs. Totally underwhelming and, aside from costing her this election, may actually harm her chances for anything after Comptroller at this rate.
- Sonny - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:29 am:
Emil might have just wandered over there.
- ZC - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:30 am:
I can imagine many of these candidates as next Mayor of Chicago.
One I absolutely, positively did not want to see as Mayor, was Dorothy Brown, and for that alone I am grateful to Toni Preckwinkle’s campaign for getting her off the ballot.
- wordslinger - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:32 am:
–I wonder what JB is going to do? He can’t want the Kennedy faction taking over the City, right?–
The Kennedy faction? Who are they?
The Trib is really overselling the value of Rush’s endorsement. In last year’s primary, Kennedy got clobbered by Pritzker in the First District and finished third in the city, behind Pritzker and Biss.
https://chicagoelections.com/en/election-results-specifics.asp
- Amalia - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:34 am:
count me in the people who underestimated Bill Daley. he’s not just doing well in the polls, he has good ideas presented in a friendly package.
- Roman - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:43 am:
Rush might help Daley finish third or fourth in a handful of black wards. That’s not insignificant when you consider 80,000 votes might mean a ticket to the runoff.
- Anonymous - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:44 am:
Commenters here are really overselling the value of Bill Daley’s “good ideas” unless they think turning Chicago into a more extraneously-policed version of New York City is a good idea.
- NIU Grad - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:48 am:
Establishment going to establishment.
- Natarus 4 Mayor - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 11:56 am:
@NIUGrad
Every top tier candidate is “establishment”.
- Fax Machine - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:19 pm:
Bill Daley raised a lot of money, put good ads on TV, kept raising a lot of money and put more good ads on TV.
It’s like the JB Pritzker strategy except he’s using his Rolodex rather than his trust fund.
- Flynn's Mom - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 12:30 pm:
I’m thinking that Dorothy Brown jumped on the Amara Enyia bandwagon because of Chance and Kanye. She thinks she can get a few bucks out of them.
- Telly - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:06 pm:
== unless they think turning Chicago into a more extraneously-policed version of New York City is a good idea. ==
I don’t know…NYC has fewer than half the murders despite having three times the population of Chicago. They’re doing something right there.
- northsider (the original) - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:16 pm:
Seems like Bobby is looking for a soft landing for either himself or one of his kids.
Amazing no one is bringing up Daley’s embrace of Rauner in 2014– wouldn’t endorse the Dem candidate and jumped onto Rauner’s transition team quick as a flash.
- Soccermom - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:20 pm:
OG Northsider –
I had forgotten that Daley was Rauner-adjacent. Ugh.
- WSJ Paywall - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 1:45 pm:
Amara damaged her brand big-time in the long term with the Dorothy embrace.
- west wing - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:12 pm:
Daley has a whole policy section on workforce development and building trades as path for full employment for the south and west sides, plus a push on advanced manufacturing to revive the city’s traditional manufacturing focus. He has policy on government reform, expanding economic growth from downtown into the city’s 77 neighborhoods .. lots of thoughtful stuff
- Independent - Friday, Feb 1, 19 @ 2:24 pm:
So the tradeoff for the demise of Ed Burke may be another Daley ascending to the 5th Floor. Sometimes you just can’t win.
- Anonymous - Monday, Feb 4, 19 @ 9:03 am:
Daley definitely has the best ideas of anyone running at this point. I just can’t stomach another Daley. If he makes it to the runoff I will likely support him because I will almost certainly not like his opponent.