Calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save “a great American city,” former police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Wednesday he will run against Mayor Rahm Emanuel to fix an economy that fosters inequity, tamp down ever-rising taxes and reverse rampant gun violence that has sullied Chicago’s national reputation.
Publicly discussing his mayoral bid for the first time in an exclusive Chicago Tribune interview, McCarthy described himself as a “conservative Democrat.” That’s cutting against the grain in a city with an increasingly progressive political bend, but the former top cop said his call-it-how-I-see-it style and a dedication to coming up with real solutions over playing politics will win over voters in the February 2019 election.
“Between the taxes, our economy, the schools and the crime rate here, we’re a laughingstock in America,” McCarthy said. “The prevailing thought about Chicago is we’re on our way down in all those areas, and they all infect each other, and nobody seems to get that. It’s almost like a ‘Wake up, Chicago’ moment.” […]
He has little in the way of campaign cash, loathes the idea of fundraising and, unlike other high-profile Illinois Democrats of late, does not have his own money to pour into a run. He also lacks experience working on issues outside of crime and will have to address the Laquan McDonald police shooting scandal that occurred on his watch. Plus, his entree into politics will be for one of the toughest public jobs in America against one of the country’s most seasoned politicians.
A conservative Democrat in Chicago who “loathes” raising money? He’s gonna run to the right of campaign cash-loving neo-liberal Rahm Emanuel in that liberal city without loads of dough? Good luck with that, dude. Two Chicago-based members of the Cook County Board lost their re-elections Tuesday after fighting hard against the pop tax. And he wants to run as a law and order guy, but a legalizing marijuana referendum just got 73 percent in the city.
* Press release…
The Chicago For Rahm Emanuel campaign launched a web ad today highlighting one of Garry McCarthy’s biggest fans: President Donald Trump.
While McCarthy neglected to feature Trump in his own announcement, it’s clear that the New Yorkers share much of the same worldview, and Chicagoans deserve to know more about their mutual admiration society.
“When Garry McCarthy says he’s a conservative Democrat, the only part we question is the word Democrat,” said Pete Giangreco, spokesman for the Emanuel campaign. “Donald Trump thinks McCarthy is ‘a phenomenal guy’ because they’re both cut from the same New York cloth and embrace the same bitter, divisive rhetoric and policies. But personal bitterness isn’t a way to build a bright future for Chicago.”
McCarthy and Trump have known each other for years, with Trump calling McCarthy “a phenomenal guy.” McCarthy continues to refuse to say whether he voted for Trump or Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump on McCarthy, who he “said he personally knows”: “he’s a phenomenal guy… he could stop [gang violence in Chicago] if we allowed him to stop it… believe me.” [Washington Post, 8/29/15; Video (7:25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRu1c45aGBA]
McCarthy admitted that he “knew Trump from his days as a New York cop, when he worked the precinct in which Trump’s building was located.” [Chicago Tribune, 9/27/16]
Sun-Times Columnist Mark Brown wrote that in a City Club speech McCarthy “decried the ‘lawlessness in America,’” “sounding almost Donald-Trump-like at times.” [Sun-Times (Brown), 9/20/16]
McCarthy refused to tell reporters if he would be voting for Clinton or Trump, telling reporters, “None of your business. Great journalism.” [Chicago Tribune, 9/27/16]
McCarthy on whether he voted for Trump: “I don’t think I should answer that question, but the bottom line is – I don’t think it’s anybody’s business who I voted for.” [NBC5, 12/15/17]
McCarthy on Trump: “I think he does really care about what’s happening [in Chicago].” [New York Times, 3/29/17]
