* 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.
