An African American Mayor of Chicago?

Civic, community leaders tell how to get a Black mayor

by Wendell Hutson

 
As several potential Black candidates ponder whether to run for mayor of Chicago, community activists,
clergy and elected officials offer key ingredients needed for a Black candidate to win.


Facing the best shot in decades to push an agenda — including better solutions to violence, foreclosures and unemployment plaguing underserved Black neighborhoods — Black clergy, politicians and others have been meeting to try to throw their collective weight behind just one person, hoping the rest of the Black community follows their lead.
“It is important to get behind one candidate ... who has a sense of urban reconstruction,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of several community leaders arranging meetings.
But others put less stock in the effort. At least one candidate has expressed impatience with the notion of waiting to be anointed. And there is no guarantee such a coalition can unite a community that is more independent than ever — or persuade other candidates to bow out after making its pick.
Chicago’s Black community, 35 percent of the city’s population, is increasingly diverse and not as tied to racial politics as in the past.


Political consultant Delmarie Cobb says the heightened interest in running also stems from how long people have waited for the opportunity — Mayor Richard M. Daley won six straight terms before announcing last month he wouldn’t seek a seventh. The last Black mayor was Eugene Sawyer, who was elected by the City Council and served a mere 17 months after Washington’s death in office in 1987.
“I really don’t think we will come up with a consensus candidate because egos won’t let (the others) step aside,” said Cobb, spokeswoman for Jackson’s 1988 presidential bid and the 1996 Democratic National Convention.
Several groups considering whom to support plan to come together and try to pick “the best candidate to pay attention” to issues in the Black community, said Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), chairman of the City Council’s Black Caucus.
Those involved in the meetings among Black leaders say their candidate doesn’t necessarily have to be Black, though it seems likely.
The top vote-getters in a straw poll of about 100 ministers taken Sept. 17 were state Sen. James Meeks, D-15th, also a prominent Black minister, and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-7th, who also is Black, said the Rev. Ira Acree, pastor of Greater St. John Bible Church.
Runners-up included former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-2nd, despite recent revelations of an affair and allegations he wanted a group of Indian businessmen to raise millions for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson’s appointment to Obama’s old Senate seat.
But nobody is ruling out Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, who is white and has made a name for himself with several actions viewed favorably in Black communities, including his prosecuting several people in a burial scandal at a historically Black cemetery. He came in fifth in the ministers’ poll, Acree said.
Acree acknowledged Emanuel could benefit in the Black community from his connection to Obama, who once worked as a community activist on the South Side and remains immensely popular there. But the former presidential aide isn’t as popular among the city’s Black leaders, who hope his entry in the race could help unify the community around someone else.
“Our job is to educate (voters) that Rahm is not the second coming of Barack Obama, that what they’re thinking is based on irrational logic,” Acree said.
No candidate will get far without being able to raise a lot of money and “show evidence of moving voters to vote” across all races and neighborhoods, the Rev. Jackson said.
To win a Black candidate must be able to register large masses of Blacks but also be able to inspire and encourage them to vote, especially seniors, said Harold Lucas, president and CEO of the Black Metropolis Convention and Tourism Council, a Chicago community, non-profit organization.
“The most viable Black candidate is the one who can get the Black community involved in the election process. It (is) also important for Black candidates to attract the white liberal community as well.”


But registering voters is only half the battle, said Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.


“You have to be able to raise money. You have to be a good fundraiser because you will need roughly $10 million to be a formidable candidate,” White explained. “Money is a big part of any election.”


In 1983 Chicago elected Harold Washington as its first Black mayor. White had served with Washington in the Illinois General Assembly.


According to the Chicago Board of Elections, when Washington was first elected he received the majority votes in every Black ward over incumbent Mayor Jane Byrne by a five–to-one ratio. He later won re-election in 1987 by once again beating Byrne, in part, after receiving the majority vote in every Black ward and a few non-Black wards, such as the 22nd, 26th, 46th, 48th, and 49th.


Washington not only defeated Byrne in 1983 but also then-Cook County State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley, who finished a distant third place. Daley later defeated Mayor Eugene Sawyer in 1989, two years after Washington died from a heart attack.


Over time Washington built a coalition that included strong support from the Hispanic and Asian communities, White said.


“He was articulate, smart and for all of Chicago. So the next Black mayor of Chicago would have to be for everyone and not one ethnic group,” White said of Washington.


Beyond money and registering voters, White added that to launch a successful mayoral bid a Black candidate should have currently or previously held an elected office. By doing so it provides much needed experience to manage a large government such as Chicago, White said.


Additionally, a strong Black candidate should have unquestionable credibility and should have a track record as an effective community leader, he added.


“I don’t care if they were a board member of a school or park, they should be able to show how they have made life easier for the community,” White said.


And equally important for the next Black mayor is the ability to connect with churches.


“Precinct captains play an important role in who gets elected mayor because they are the ones who help register voters and serve as a liaison to churches,” the secretary of state explained.


Rev. Leon Finney, pastor of Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church on the South Side, has worked on several campaigns for Blacks  – including Washington – and insists the number one ingredient for a Black to win the mayoral race is receiving a wide spectrum of ethnic votes.


“To win, a Black candidate would need to command a decent amount of votes from three of the four groups: organized labor, lakefront liberals, southwest voters (voters living in Southwest Side communities, such as Beverly), Catholics or Hispanics,” explained Finney.


State Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-5th, Braun and community organizer William “Dock” Walls are the only declared Black candidates for mayor.


Other potential Black candidates include Meeks, U.S Reps. Davis and Jackson Jr., businessman Larry Rogers, attorney Christopher Cooper and Chicago State University Professor Jonathan Jackson, son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson.


Lucus said he expects more Black candidates to enter the race before the Nov. 22 filing deadline.


At that time, candidates must submit at least 12,500 signatures from registered voters to be placed on the ballot for the Feb. 22 non-partisan election. And to win, a candidate must pick up at least 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate reaches that percentage, the top two vote getters will face off in an April runoff and the winner would be sworn into office May 16.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender