Tom Bevan calls for the re-election of Rahm Emanuel:
So Rahm got his comeuppance. He also became a historical footnote: He’s the first (and only) mayor in Chicago to be forced into a re-election runoff since the city shifted to the “non-partisan” election system in 1995.
It’s not hard to see why many were rooting for Rahm’s humiliation. His foul-mouthed, tough-guy shtick has worn thin over the past four years. His record of accomplishment is even thinner.
Some of his supporters feel he hasn’t gone far enough in tackling the serious budget issues facing the city. (He still has tire marks on his back from getting run over by Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis in his first term.) Despite some nibbling around the edges, the city still faces massive fiscal issues which Emanuel has yet to address in any meaningful way.
Meanwhile his enemies, including the aforementioned Lewis, feel he’s gone too far on the budget and accuse him of racism, among other things, for closing some 50 public schools in poor neighborhoods around the city. They also accuse Emanuel of catering too much to business — those evil one percenters, in particular — and claim he’s responsible for creating “two Chicagosâ€: one where the downtown thrives and the other in which the neighborhoods on the south and west sides are left behind.
Mr. Bevan’s basic point is that bad as Emanuel is Chuy Garcia would be worse.
I think he needs to look at the bigger picture. Chicago will need a full-time mayor and whether he’s re-elected or not Rahm Emanuel won’t be a full-time mayor. He’ll inevitably be drawn into the presidential election and Chicago will receive short shrift. The difference between Michael Bloomberg and Rahm Emanuel is that Michael Bloomberg knows something about business. Rahm Emanuel knows something about fundraising.
Mayor Emanuel had better hope that my neighbors aren’t typical of Chicagoans. His support is extremely thin here. Of the Chicagoans that bothered voting the majority voted for “Anybody But Emanuel” and that feeling hasn’t gone away yet.
