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More on Vallas

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* Back in November, Paul Vallas said he wouldn’t run for anything in 2010…

Paul Vallas announced Sunday he would not run for governor or any office and has instead signed on for a third year as head of New Orleans’ public schools.

“I would have liked to have run for governor,” Vallas said.

But Vallas said he is staying on as chief of New Orleans’ school district for at least an extra year to “get it done right.”

Vallas signed on for a third year down South last week, meaning his contract won’t expire until June of 2010, too late he said to make a run for office in an election that November.

* Mark Brown tried to find out why Vallas decided to run for county board president as a Republican, and relates the conversation in his column today. Vallas mentioned his past work with Republicans and pointed to the fact that the state’s Democratic establishment “abandoned” him in the 2002 gubernatorial primary, then added…

As far as a philosophical awakening, Vallas said there was none

* Brown also reminded his readers today that two other Chicago Democrats turned Republican, Eddie Vrdolyak and Aurelia Pucinski, “made the switch to outflank an African-American politician, trying to gain some advantage in Chicago’s race-based politics.”

Vallas took umbrage at that suggestion…

Vallas was flabbergasted when I drew the comparison Wednesday during a telephone interview from Baton Rouge, where he is in the final year of a job rebuilding New Orleans schools. He said he sees no similarities between his “reform-minded” candidacy and those of the three “career politicians” I named.

“I’m not trying to figure out the political calculation,” Vallas said. “For me, it’s about the mission. The mission is to reform government.” […]

But these pre-election political conversions always rub me the wrong way. They smack of opportunism and expedience, especially when overlaid on the race equation (not that there’s anything wrong with dumping Stroger).

* There are other skeptics…

“He certainly would have to answer questions about why he chose to leave the Democrat Party and join the Republican Party,” said Murphy, who adds he is still “very seriously considering” a run of his own.

* But there is also plenty of GOP excitement…

Vallas’ candidacy has “injected excitement” into the GOP, according to Lee Roupas, the chairman of the Cook County Republican Party and the Palos Township Republican committeeman. […]

Dennis Cook, the head of the Illinois Young Republicans and an Orland Park resident, said Vallas’ decision to switch parties and run for board president is “exciting.”

“It’s very nice to see him come over and run as a Republican,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) said Vallas brings “stature and tremendous credibility” to the race.

* Keep in mind when reading this figure that the election in question was almost seven years ago. Voters tend to forget politicians…

Vallas won 48 percent of the vote in the suburbs lining Chicago when he ran against Blagojevich, who garnered 29 percent, and Roland Burris, who had 24 percent, in the 2002 Democratic primary for governor.

* Stroger reacts…

Stroger said Wednesday he was unfazed by allegations from Vallas that the county is mismanaged and he took a shot at him for working in far-off New Orleans.

“If they only thing you know about county government is what you read in the papers from New Orleans… that is the impression you’d get,” Stroger said.

* As does Daley…

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley offered a lukewarm response to news that his former schools chief Paul Vallas reportedly plans to run for Cook County Board President in 2010. […]

Vallas made gains as Daley’s schools chief, but the two parted on not-the-best-of terms.

Today, Daley was asked about the news that Vallas was lining up a bid for Cook County Board President.

DALEY: I haven’t heard anything.

The mayor offered a neither-here-nor-there type of response.

DALEY: Listen. Anyone wants to run for public office, you’re excited about. People want to run for public office, you should be excited.

* And Vallas downplayed the certainty of his departure to the New Orleans paper…

While the Chicago media Wednesday morning reported that Vallas had decided to leave New Orleans at the end of 2009 to run for the board, he was less clear-cut in subsequent interviews.

“It’s not definitive that I’m running,” he said. “I have formed an exploratory committee to consider a run.”

Vallas stressed that his attention would remain focused squarely on New Orleans schools for the next year. “Nobody should have to question my attention,” he said. “I’m kind of ADD (attention deficit disorder) anyway.”

If the primary is in February of 2010, he cannot possibly give the school district his undivided attention for a full year. Petitions will go out in August, for crying out loud.

Comments

That’s dollar amount is paltry for a party that’s located in one of America’s most populated counties. They need a good fundraiser fast!

Comment by Levois Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 9:58 am
Paul Vallas thinks the GOP is going to raise money for him while he still works in NO….he is in for a big wake-up call. The GOP should also realize that Vallas still owes vendors, printers, etc. from his 2002 Gov. run, so any money raised may be headed to pay off old campaign debts.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 9:59 am
Less than eight grand in the bank. Wow. I knew the GOP was down, but goodness gracious!

Comment by Vote Quimby! Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:01 am
I’m about as excited over the rumors about Vallas running for Cook County Board President as a Republican, as I was excited over the rumors about Former Governor Jim Edgar running in the 2004 US Senate race, or 2006 Governor’s race.

I’ll believe it when I see it.

And conditions have to be perfect for Vallas in order to win in Cook County. These voters are flat-out lemmings willing to support Todd Stroger and Rod Blagojevich. Take a look at the nutjobs they elect for other offices. They’ve been screwed up for so long, they don’t know how to vote any other way beside Democratic. They believe in the Democratic Party and that’s it.

I don’t see these voters switching.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:10 am
I’m in the anyone, but Stroger camp. I’ll take my Dem primary ballot as usual though. If in November, it’s Stroger v. Vallas, then this life long Dem will be punching the ballot for Vallas (a Dem anyways).

Comment by Niles Township Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:19 am
Anon -

The party doesn’t raise money for the candidates…the candidates raise money for the party. Believe me, Vallas will have the $$$ to win the primary & the general election.

Comment by scoot Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:20 am
It sounds like he’s hoping for an uncontested primary. I doubt that will happen. He’s going to have to go all in by Labor Day or forget it.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:29 am
There is no Cook County Republican Party. Vallas might know that had he been living here. He would be nuts to jump in bed with what passes for GOP leadership in IL and Cook.

Comment by GOP'er Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:33 am
Speaking of leaving Chicago and deficits, doesn’t Paul Vallas still owe Fako & Associates $100G or something like that?

He can’t have his cake and eat it too. If you’re going to run, then run and leave New Orleans, not possible to do both - really.

Comment by carbon deforestation Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:33 am
the Greek community is into this so he’ll probably get lots of money and Kass is into him. but, he has a contract and now he’s going back on his word. not nice.

Comment by Amy Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:33 am
“Believe me, Vallas will have the $$$ to win the primary & the general election.”

Why should we believe you? Where is he getting this money? He’s not personally wealthy. He has no history with the party. He is not especially tight with labor.

Comment by JonShibleyFan Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:33 am
No, Vallas expects the party to raise the money for him — he actually said it. Keep in mind he was a terrible fundraiser for his Gov race. His Gov race was almost totally dependent on his brother’s personal fortune to keep it afloat — and they publicly stated they don’t plan to do that again. The GOP will expect Paul to raise money as they should and Paul will wonder why his coffers are so low while he is running up deficits in NO rather than campaigning in IL.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:35 am
This is pure speculation but maybe Vallas removed himself as a potential candidate a few months ago because he hoped or thought an Obama appointment might come his way. No appointment came so on to Plan B. So he finishes the job in New Orleans, then what? On to another school district? Consulting? He’s been on the road, so to speak, for 6 years.

Comment by Cosmic Charlie Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 10:42 am
It seems that the ILL GOP will try any gimmick.

I too would gladly see Vallas over Stroger, but that doesn’t change the fact that the people “running” the ILL GOP - Edgar, McKenna, SSC, Cross, et. al. - have so destroyed their party that they are stuck recruiting Democrats to run in their primaries.

Based upon the info I see on this site (and others), this is a long shot at best, and will likely drain money from legislative and other statewide races.

The ILL GOP will try anything EXCEPT crafting a bold and aggressive policy agenda. What will they do next, recruit Rod B. to run as a Republican for his old Cong. Seat?

They would probably consider it if he could use his war chest. Geez, it shocks one to see just how low have these guys brought their party.

Comment by Bruno Behrend Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:06 am
Paul,
In order to be a “career politician” you have to win an election or two. I don’t think that we will ever have to worry about you becoming one. Anyway, thanks for coming out of the closet as a Republican. We always knew that you were one.
Somethings truthfulness comes later in life.
Tell Dean to hold the mayo.

Comment by Bill Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:11 am
In order to be a “career politician” you have to win an election or two.

Wrong!

A politician isn’t just a current or former office holder. A politician is someone who uses politics professionally. So a career politician can be someone who has never held public office, or hasn’t ever ran for public office.

You have too much trust in politicians not to recognize this!

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:19 am
i don’t know if the GOP leadership will embrace him nor do I know if he is qualified in their eyes as he is not some multimillionaire who can self fund.

Comment by Wumpus Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:22 am
There’s a lot of misinformation being thrown around here:
-Vallas settled his debt with Fako
-Vallas left Chicago Public Schools with a SURPLUS of over $300 million.
-Vallas left Philadelphia with a deficit of less than 2% of their budget when the state reduced their funding…that years budget became a surplus when the funding was put back in.

I think it was a nice touch that in the fall of 2006 when we had the honor of choosing between Judy Baar Topinka and Rod Blagoyavich, Vallas was on the cover of U.S.News and World Report as one of the 20 Best Leaders in America.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/best-leaders-2006/

The past 8 years should have taught us that we should be electing our leaders based on their qualifications.

Comment by Teacher for life Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:25 am
VanMan,
You don’t have to win one for yourself but you do have to win some once in a while.. Vallas has never been a player. I don’t think he has ever punched a doorbell. Daley pulled him out of obscurity and elevated him to take the heat for the demise of public education in Chicago. His current persona is a figment of the Chicago media’s imagination spurred on by a multi-million dollar pr staff.
There is no substance there. He has managed to make himself a millionaire at the public trough in Phillie and NO. It is not coincidence that both places bounced him as soon as his overly generous contract was up.

Comment by Bill Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:32 am
I was interested in his candidacy until I found out he was running as a GOPer. I just don’t trust them. Sure, Paul’s sane and all, but if you let the GOP rebuild in Cook County before long we’ll have to deal with the christ and morals brigade, and I just don’t want to.

Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 11:52 am
Vallas wasn’t the atrocious fundraiser some are making him out to be, he did ok for a first time candidate, not great but not terrible either. Their real crime was how they got bled by consultants. The money was going out the door as fast as it was coming in. If my memory is right their fundraising consultant org was pulling down $15k/mo, plus they had a handful of generic strategy consultants on top of the usual, media/mail/pollster. They just bled too much.

Comment by Scooby Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 12:06 pm
Why the deleted comment?

Comment by Brett Michaels Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 12:27 pm
Too snarky Rich?

Comment by Brett Michaels Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 12:27 pm
The Prez race will be expensive, but it’s not like Vallas has to raise statewide $$$ in Cook County.

I think Stroger has too worry about money and surviving his primary…which will be tough & expensive. Remember in 06′ it was Stroger begging former Gov Blago for $$$ for his not so pretty win of Periaca.

Comment by scoot Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 12:34 pm
I dunno,I like Vallas, but already hedging on if he’s getting in, hoping the party raises money for him, and saying he’ll stay in NO? That seems to demonstrate a lack of commitment (and the last one would make a pretty killer 30 second ad). I think the Republicans would overlook his philosophy, but if he’s not gonna work for it…

Comment by colby Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 12:43 pm
It’s way too early to be predictive on this wide open race in my humble opinion…Vallas is a consumate manager, loves a challenge and is hoping for a KO of Stroger…after the Democratic primary mess and the Cook County sales tax increase, it’s anybody’s guess how this will play out…The Trib is fanning the flames with a countdown to election day after the Todder raised the sals tax to an unheard of and unequaled county rate…

Comment by Anonymous45 Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 1:08 pm
1. The Vallas candidacy originated elsewhere than the Illinois GOP. It was more local. So would the usual broken records like GOP’er and Bruno Behrend give us all a break.

2. Cash on hand for the Cook County Demcoratic Central Committee as of 12/31/08: $5,846.71. It is quite correct that the money flows through the candidate committees, not the Central Committee.

3. Before all throw an entire trash can of muck to dirty up Vallas, a brief recap from 2001:

VALLAS: “IT’S TIME TO GO”
Exit Signals Daley’s Desire for Clean Sweep of Reformers
By Michael Martinez and Ray Quintanilla
Chicago Tribune
June 7, 2001

Excerpts:

“Under Vallas and Chico, the system saw a net gain in its reading and math scores. When the system banned “social promotions” and forced students to post minimum test scores or face flunking, Chicago drew national attention for its daring and defied critics who said that retention would cause soaring dropout rates. The system spent millions on summer and after-school programs to help bring students closer to national averages in reading and
math.”

“Known for encyclopedic recitations of his achievements, Vallas on Wednesday cited six consecutive balanced budgets, a $2.65 billion construction program to build new and repair schools, and an alphabet soup of dramatic sanctions that resulted in the ousting of teachers and principals deemed inept.”

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF CHICAGO SCHOOLS RESIGNS
By Jodi Wilgoren
New York Times
June 7, 2001

Excerpts:

“In addition to several years of rising reading and math scores, Mr. Vallas presided over a $3 billion construction effort that built 71 schools and renovated about 500. He cut about 2,000 nonteaching positions and stabilized the district’s finances. Given broad executive authority after the mayor wrested control of the school district, Mr. Vallas ended automatic
promotion from grade to grade and greatly expanded summer school, policies that have been copied across the country.

And, as a former legislative aide and budget director, he was among the first of a growing wave of noneducators taking the helm of large school districts.

“He’s put a lot of ideas on the table that have been very influential with other urban school systems across the country, and he has restored a lot of balance and common sense in urban education,” said Michael D. Casserly, director of the Council of Great City Schools, a Washington group representing the nation’s 60 largest urban districts. “He has had a major influence on the whole conversation about urban schools, urban school performance and accountability for it.”

But as test scores this year hit a plateau and even dipped, the mayor who installed Mr. Vallas and Mr. Chico began to express concern over the pace of progress. Some believe Mr. Daley feels threatened by Mr. Vallas’s independent popularity, while others say the mayor is simply impatient.”

Comment by Bubs Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 1:52 pm
Do you think Illinois would have a $9 billion deficit if Paul Vallas had been nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor in 2002? I think not! We would probably have a deficit, but it would be manageable rather than draccnian.

Who nominated Blagojevich - Cook County Democratic power brokers, including Daley, Madigan, etc… Blagojevich got a strong assist from Burris and labor - ironically Downstate labor put Blago over the top.

Who gave us Todd Stroger? Daley, Madigan, and other Democratic power brokers.

So I am very pleased to have an alternative choice in the general election - someone from outside the mainstream of eelcted officials. Vallas won’t perform miracles, burt at least he understands budgets.

We need to give nontraditional candidates with some measure of administrative competence a chance to see if we can do better than the institutionally corrupt leaders like Daley, Madigan, and many others in both parties.

Instead of marketing themselves as conservatives, Republicans might do better to market themselves as adminstrative reformers and competent managers . It will sell a lot beter than cultural conservatism in the swing suburbs.

So I welcome Paul Vallas to the field, whether he’s a Republican, Democrat, or independent, I’m a hard core Democrat so I’ll have a tough decsion for me to make between Vallas, Claypool, or Preckwinkle. But if the choice in November 2010 is between Vallas and Stroger, Stroger will lose decsively - not becasue of race, but because of competence issues.

Comment by Captain America Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 1:56 pm
“it’s not like Vallas has to raise statewide $$$ in Cook County.”

He’d have to go on Chicago broadcast TV, which is one of the biggest financial hurdles facing statewide candidates.

“Do you think Illinois would have a $9 billion deficit if Paul Vallas had been nominated as the Democratic candidate for Governor in 2002? I think not!”

Would Governor Vallas have solved the national economic crisis?

Comment by JonShibleyFan Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 2:22 pm
Don’t you understand that the voters liked Rod’s hair way better than Paul’s? I mean it’s not like we vote based on competence for the job or any thing…we just like real slick veneers…except when they leave us with a deficit of one billion per year…but hey, Rod didn’t raise taxes or have the GA do it for him…so it’s all good!

Comment by Anonymous 45 Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 2:36 pm
===He’d have to go on Chicago broadcast TV, which is one of the biggest financial hurdles facing statewide candidates===

Your kidding…I had no clue Chicago was in Cook County….thanks.

Comment by scoot Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 3:04 pm
>

You are absolutely dreaming. Unlike Stroger, Vallas does not have a strong, entrenched county machine to ensure folks come out and vote for him. He has given no one - or their family members - county jobs to protect. The tax increase is long behind us (I hate to break the news to the Tribune) - we’ve accepted it and made some changes to our purchasing. It would be very tough for Vallas, and I say that as a hopeful liberal republican from suburban Cook County. He’d need tons of support from Sen. Rodogno, Rep. Durkin and Judy; and I’m not sure that’s where they want to spend their political energy.

Comment by Keep Smiling Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 4:06 pm
Sorry, don’t know why my Capt. America’s excerpt didn’t come through, but I still maintain he’s still dreaming for saying:

==between Vallas and Stroger, Stroger will lose decisively ==

Comment by Keep Smiling Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 4:16 pm
Some here are assuming that Todd Stroger will be the Demcoratic nominee in 2010. That is not a certainty . . . not at all.

In 2006, Peraica had no entrenched organization, (though he did have a fairly good sized campaign effort), and even had high negatives in some quarters, but still got 46% against Stroger.

It is hard to see what Stroger has done to create an improvement in his percentage, if he is the nominee.

It will never be easy for a Republican to win a Cook County race. But with Paul Vallas it is certainly conceivable.

Comment by Bubs Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 4:30 pm
Keep Smiling-

Since you have the solution to fixing Cook County and it’s problems…then maybe you should tell Vallas not to run & save him the time and energy.

Comment by scoot Thursday, Feb 5, 09 @ 6:38 pm
Hmmmm. Perhaps I did sound overly cynical. But maybe Vallas could run with a clear plan on remaking a leaner, more effective Cook County government, a phased re-opening/reconsideration of ALL county jobs that could present employment opportunity while cleaning up cronyism, and a significant tax reduction. If respected parties from both sides of the aisle would take the risk of standing firmly at his side and offer him organizational assistance and political support, he could have a go.

Comment by Keep Smiling Friday, Feb 6, 09 @ 9:23 am