Mayoral candidates to come courting

.

.

Vallas, Johnson may mine vote-rich Clearing, Garfield Ridge

By Tim Hadac

With the Clearing and Garfield Ridge aldermanic races decided in landslide victories on Feb. 28, attention now turns to the mayoral runoff, set for Tuesday, April 4.

Both former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson (D-1^st) are expected to make nice with the neighborhoods and their aldermen, Marty Quinn (13^th) and Silvana Tabares (23^rd) and make stops in the area. That would be something novel, as neither candidate campaigned in the area before Feb. 28.

While 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares has not yet said which candidate she will support for mayor, she has had a collegial relationship with Paul Vallas, who in October 2021 called her a “profile in courage” for standing up to Mayor Lightfoot on issues of importance to police rank and file. –Supplied photo

Quinn won over challenger Paul Bruton, in the most lopsided local contest of Feb. 28. With all 40 precincts reporting. Quinn ended with 10,910 votes (88%) to Paul Bruton’s 1,501 (12%).

Tabares brushed back a challenge from business owner Eddie Guillen. With all 33 precincts reporting, Tabares had 6,305 votes (73%) to 2,317 (27%) for Guillen.

Neither Quinn nor Tabares would directly answer a Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound question about whether they would support Vallas or Johnson on April 4.

But precinct workers in Clearing and Garfield Ridge, who asked that their identities remain confidential, said Tabares is leaning toward an endorsement of Vallas.

Opinion was split on what Quinn will do. Conventional wisdom says as a consistent supporter of law enforcement (who was backed on Feb. 28 by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7), Quinn must go with law-and-order candidate Vallas. On the other hand, Quinn is married to a CPS teacher and Chicago Teachers Union member and has in the past implied that his wife influences his views on public education. (Johnson is backed fervently by CTU leadership.)

The numbers tell a tale

In the Feb. 28 primary, more than 21,000 voters cast ballots in 13 and 23 combined. More than 11,000 of them voted for Vallas. Just 1,268 chose Johnson.

But that leaves thousands of local votes up for grabs in the 13^th and 23^rd—most notably the 6,118 men and women who voted for U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-4^th), who finished fourth of nine mayoral hopefuls, behind Vallas, Johnson and incumbent Lori Lightfoot.

Brandon Johnson is expected to continue to emphasize his pledge to provide top-quality public schools in every neighborhood, for the benefit of Chicago’s children. –Supplied photo

Could García play a kingmaker role?

“Take it to the bank that Vallas and Johnson are quietly going to Chuy, hats in their hands, to see what they can do to get his endorsement,” one precinct worker said. “For Chuy, it’s kind of a situation like yeah, he lost [the mayoral primary], but at the same time he won. He’s sitting pretty right about now.”

Another precinct worker downplayed the congressman’s influence.

“People who voted for Chuy did so because they respect him,” he said. “But they’re not robots awaiting instructions from Chuy. They have their own minds. They’ll look at Vallas, look at Johnson and decide for themselves. Give them some credit.”

There is also a chance that voters who backed García and other losing mayoral candidates will stay home on April 4.

That happened four years ago. In the February 2019 primary, 560,701 Chicagoans cast ballots, but just 526,886 voted in the April runoff between Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle.

Election day is Tuesday, April 4, but early voting will begin soon in all 50 wards. Sites and hours will be announced soon by the Chicago Board of Elections.