Leo Rojas-Banda, who is challenging Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) for her seat in February, is not only a candidate but he’s acting as his own campaign manager. Emma Ortega is managing Tabares’ campaign. Both are novices who will play an outsize role in steering their candidates to victory.
Ortega is a 23rd Ward staffer on leave from her position in order to take on her new task. She was tapped for the position by Tabares.
Rojas-Banda is not just a first-time candidate but is also managing his campaign with the help of Field Director Kevin Amaro and other support staff.
The manager who can strategize their way to 51.1 percent of the 52,209 registered voters will catapult their candidate, in Rojas-Banda’s case, himself, into the 23rd Ward aldermanic seat.
Making the race more interesting, both managers will be targeting the ward’s 41,016 Latino/Hispanic residents, a 76.6 percent majority population as of 2024.
This populace also earns a median household income of $85,191 with 74.6 percent of homes owner-occupied and 25.4% renter-occupied.
13% of ward resident voters in the ward live below the poverty line, 31.4% live 200% below the poverty line and 5% live in deep poverty.
*Statistics from: the Civic Data Atlas for the years 2020-2024.
The SouthWest News-Herald talked to Ortega and Rojas-Banda, who included his Field Director Kevin Amaro in our discussion, to find out not only what campaign managers do but how they are shaping their respective campaign strategies, including targeting, messaging and more.
1. Talk to us about campaign strategy.
ORTEGA: Long-term face-to-face encounters resulting in alderman-resident relationships are foundational to Ortega’s campaign strategy to get her candidate to a win.
“Our biggest strategy is going to be door-to-door. It’s tried and true,” Ortega said.
“Both Garfield Ridge and West Lawn have become accustomed to seeing the alderman out in the ward and are familiar with speaking with the alderman in the precincts; residents are also used to the alderman taking service requests [while walking], that are then relayed to the office for resolution as she walks,” she said.
Credit: Photo courtesy of: Chicago, 23rd ward office
Hard work is also a strategic quality both the alderman and ward staff possess.
“In my opinion, no one can outwork Silvana,” Ortega said. “She works seven days a week. We’re nonstop and if she’s working hard, we, on the campaign, we want to work just as hard as she is.”
“When I was in the ward office, she would always ask us, ‘Hey, I’m going to be out in this area. I’m going to hit these precincts today just to go and walk and see what’s going on,’”Ortega said.
“So she’s out there and we’re going to be doing the same on this campaign. Volunteers are going to be out there.”
ROJAS-BANDA: “With regard to campaign strategy, we’ve really identified three major subjects,” Rojas-Banda said. “So one is our field operation, which involves canvassing and talking to neighbors. Next would be our social media or really media in general, talking to reporters like yourself, having an online presence and making sure we have a reach that way. Last is a policy focus; making sure that we have a deep understanding of what neighbors want and having an understanding of what policies we want to have for the neighborhood.”
Credit: Photo by: Robin Sluzas
AMARO: Field Manager Kevin Amaro has “been in a number of campaigns and says their team is using a different strategy that is meeting people by knocking on every door rather than rely on registered voter data they possess.
“The beautiful thing about this momentum and this movement is that we have the capacity, the energy, and the willingness to really knock on every door possible that we’ve been able to do, and we are finding out there’s registered voters that haven’t moved yet, people who haven’t registered yet, or people that haven’t registered in decades,” he said.
He noted the benefits of campaigning door-to-door, saying hearing how residents feel, where they stand and building community in the process.
2. Voters need to trust a candidate. How or what, as a campaign manager, do you do to achieve gaining their trust?
ORTEGA: Ortega believes trust in the alderman built over years of service is already engrained in residents.
“I think in terms of trust, again, it’s really the door to door,” she said. “That’s our number one.”
Face-to-face connection with residents has built trust over the years and while Ortega’s goal is to get the alderman elected to another term, she believes the foundational trust gained by the alderman’s and ward staffs’ hard work is not just felt by residents but in the ward office, by the team and by the campaign overall.
“The trust we build with our residents is [based on] that we’re the advocate for their concerns and for their voices.,” Ortega said.”When alderman is out there and talking to residents, I think that is the [best] way to build trust, to show that she is not just a politician and we are advocating for Tabares to be the alderman again for the next four years [based on] her face-to-face meetings and the being there, advocating to the city for the residents’ voices, we’re advocating for residents. That’s our number one.”
Many people walk into the ward offices with needs or concerns because they know they can trust their problem(s) will be resolved, she said.
Having an office in both Garfield Ridge and West Lawn, widening their service ability, allows the alderman and staff to respond to more resident needs whether by walk-ins or other means resulting in the trust that their lives will get easier when a problem is solved, Ortega said.
“I love when we get walk-ins and not just speak to residents on the phone,” she said. “You get to see a resident in person and they can see what we’re doing directly from the ward office.”
ROJAS-BANDA: Rojas-Banda is a lifelong resident of West Elsdon who graduated from Hubbard High School in 2016.
“When I introduce myself to neighbors, there’s already this level of trust and connection, knowing that they know I’ve been here my whole life and understand the issues that have been affecting us for so long,” he said.
Rojas-Bandas’ wife is a lifelong Garfield Ridge resident as well so having a perspective on resident issues affecting the area is important as a candidate, Rojas-Banda said.
Being aware of issues that affect ward residents are traffic fatalities on Pulaski and Archer due to racing and road quality and flooding, all of which have affected immediate family as well makes it easy to speak to and gain the trust of residents, he said.
AMARO: The campaign’s field manager echoed the same experiences are had by himself, staff and volunteers, many of whom live in the ward, he said.
The volunteers who have residency in certain precincts often take them, Amaro said.
3. Talk to us about messaging/communications with voters. How does technology play a part, do you use traditional methods or something else entirely to communicate the alderman’s campaign message?
ORTEGA: “Our biggest messaging strategy also relies on door to door communication,” Ortega said.
Ortega will increase door-to-door meetings with residents by the alderman and campaign teams to gain a deeper understanding of resident concerns, she said.
“When we’re out there walking, which we already have been, we’re hearing the concerns directly from our community members and that’s the best way to get across what we’ve been working on, what we’ve already done in the ward, and what we want to continue to work on in the next four years,” Ortega said.
“We also have political social media pages,” she said. “We have a political Instagram [feed] and we’re amping that up. Alderman is pretty active on her Instagram account already.”
The campaign is also active on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
“From our ward office, she has a city account, where she posts videos, Ortega said
“The alderman also has a YouTube account,” she said. “On our YouTube, we post clips from the news. When she’s in any interviews or if she appears on the news, we repost them on there as well.”
We also have a weekly newsletter,” Ortega said. “I always advocate for that newsletter because it is the fastest and the easiest way to get any information from our ward, what’s happening in the city, what Alderman’s doing, what she’s advocating for, anything that’s coming up that we’re doing changes on. That is also our number one way to keep in contact with our residents.”
Long-time attendance at beat meetings such as the 811 Community Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS)/Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch meeting will continue as well as attendance at the 822 CAPS meetings covering West Elsdon, she said.
Myself and the alderman attend the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch/Beat 811 CAPS meeting, Ortega said. “We always have a table there with resources and events for residents; one of our staffers regularly goes to the 822 CAPS beat meeting too.”
ROJAS-BANDA: “First, we do have social media. We post on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, and the response has been phenomenal,” Rojas-Banda said. “What we found is while we’re doing this and door-knocking at the same time, every single time we canvass, there are a few households who, people I’ve never met before, who have said, “I’ve seen you online,” and- Right … immediately want to sign.”
He noted the impact of social media that at first, was unexpected to him.
“What we found is the folks who actually interact with us online and then we subsequently meet them at the doors, want to get involved with the campaign. They want to volunteer,” Rojas-Banda said. “That’s been a really great experience.”
The candidate also said he was surprised at the intergenerationality of people responding to the campaign’s social media outreach.
Canvassing is another bit part of messaging and communication, he said.
“While we canvass, we pass door hangers and f we don’t get a chance to talk to a neighbor immediately, we leave some material there with our website and information about myself,” he said.
“Lastly, I would say speaking to traditional media like yourself, Rojas-Banda said.
4. Does voter targeting play a part in your overall strategy? How do you choose what piece of the electorate to aim your resources at? Is there a minimal number of voters you seek to persuade to vote for your candidate?
ORTEGA: The Tabares campaign is aware of residents who have already voted and will continue door-to-door canvassing to speak to undecided residents who have concerns, Ortega said.
“We know people who have gone out and voted,” she said. “And it’s not just about activating those registered voters or those voters who turn out during election season. We have residents who have concerns, and we want to talk to everyone. That’s what we’re doing. Canvassing door-to-door.”
We have a goal of where we want to hit the entire ward a certain number of times because we want to speak with everyone, Ortega said.
“We’ll leave our contact information if you don’t open the door, if you’re not home, or if you’re busy.,” she said. “We know our residents are super busy so we want to be able to talk to them either over the phone in our ward office or face-to-face while we’re out there canvassing.”
BANDAS-ROJA: “Right now, we’re trying to target just every precinct,” Rojas-Banda said. “We do have a list of registered voters, but like Kevin mentioned earlier, really, we’re just trying to get our message out right now.”
“At the same time, we’re gathering signatures for our petition (to be on the ballot), he said. “So we’re not leaving any door un- knocked. We’re trying to get every individual who lives here to know who we are”.
5. Let’s talk about fundraising. What’s the best way or how do you raise funds for the campaign?
ORTEGA: “Alderman Tabares is going to have some fundraisers,” Ortega said. “The way that we’re really tackling it is we’re first focusing on activating all of our community members. Then fundraising is set up by herself or another part of our team that deals completely with fundraising.”
ROJAS-BANDA: “We’re very much a grassroots operation, so we’ve been getting donations mainly from neighbors, really, in the area,” Rojas-Banda said. “We’re really starting our fundraising operation right now. We held our first private fundraiser a couple of weeks ago, where we raised nearly $2,000.”
“We have a public fundraiser event hat’s going to be on Sunday the 18th of October, he said. “We’re aiming for between 4:00 and 7:00 PM. The details of the location and what’s going to entail the event, we’ll be releasing soon.”
Rojas-Banda said there’s more funding that needs to be raised, mentioning there are exciting collaborations in the campaign’s future from “folks” showing interest in his candidacy.
6. Right now, your campaign is still in the persuasion phase. As you move toward the final push and enter the action portion of the campaign, what does that look like for your strategy?
ORTEGA: “Our action phase, the get out the vote (GOTV) strategy is going to be as soon as mail-in ballots are sent, whenever those applications start, that is really when it’s all hands on deck,” Ortega said. “We’re going to have volunteers out canvassing in the ward. Alderman Tabares is going to be out in the ward.”
While canvassing, campaign teams will be checking to see who voted, who needs an application to register to vote or update their address, give early voting information and if they need a mail-in ballot application or if it’s sent, she said.
“Our GOTV is going to be door-to-door as well,” Ortega said. “That’s what we’re really banking on.”
ROJAS-BANDA: “We have a couple ideas with regard to that, he said. “ So first, we do want to assist people in registering to vote, just generally, to be able to participate.”
“Next we also want to educate folks on mail-in voting, and early voting And because that’s very convenient, and for those who don’t have time, maybe they’re working or maybe they have difficulty traveling, to really give them the opportunity to do that.,” Rojas-Banda said.
The Rojas-Banda campaign is also considering collaborating with other organizations to provide transportation to the polls for voters, he said.
7. The 23rd ward is home to a majority Latino population. Prevailing sentiment amongst this population seems to be their safety going to the polls and uncertainty their ballots will be processed correctly. How will you address any concerns around voting safety?
ORTEGA: “We want to advocate for their concerns, advocate for things that are rising issues in the community,” Ortega said. “Close to voting time, we’re going to go door to door, making sure that everything is okay with our residents, that they have all the information that they need, and so that they know that we are advocating for their voice.”
The Tabares campaign will also advocate for mail-in ballots for residents concerned about safety around in-person voting.
“Mail-in ballots,” she said. “I do know that in some cases, the Chicago Board of Elections offers a specialized electronic balloting (online voting) and I think a lot of people don’t really know about that, so that is an option as well.”
“Because we do have a lot of Latinos in the area who don’t speak English and are more comfortable speaking Spanish, getting those resources out to them is going to be important to us,” she said. “I’m excited to be here, to work here and to advocate for my own community that I grew up in.”
ROJAS-BANDA: There’s a lot of synergy with that nationally, protections at the polls, he said.
Both Kevin and I are hoping that doesn’t happen, Rojas-Banda said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen in November. Maybe that’ll be an indication as to how things will go in February. I think my answer would be really trying to make a community effort to go out there as a group, and if possible, for our campaign members to assist voters. Just being present at the polls so that they don’t feel alone. “
AMARO: “(Vote) at your own pace, if possible and that way also you don’t have to go out in the middle of a winter,” Amaro said. “Sometimes it’s not a good day (weatherwise), but I think those combined efforts will be helpful in the situation.
“I was thinking, this is why poll watchers are very important, to have individuals from our team be present at polling stations,” he said.
Making pollwatching a community effort is another option and that there is also strength in numbers, Amaro said.
“It’s very scary if this is a concern of yours and you’re going alone,”he said. “It can be different if you’re going as a community or as a larger group, and it can be a less intimidating process.”
8. What skills does someone need to be a successful campaign manager?
ORTEGA: “I truly believe that public service is at the forefront of being a campaign manager,,” Ortega said. I’ve been involved in this community, in the Garfield Ridge community. I grew up in West Lawn and hen we moved to Garfield Ridge so West Lawn also feels like home to me. I know it like the back of my hand; I’ve been here a very long time.”
Ortega decided to take on the campaign manager role because she enjoys speaking with residents and senior residents in the ward, she said.
“I’m familiar with our small businesses,” Ortega said. “I’ve seen businesses come in. I’ve seen businesses that I’ve known since I was a little girl in the area and they’re still here. And I still go often to those restaurants and to those paleterias that are on Pulaski
I’m excited to be here, to work here, and to advocate for my own community that I grew up in,.” she said.
ROJAS-BANDA: “I would say it’s two characteristics,” Rojas-Banda said. “One, I would say grit, being a very hard worker, someone who’s relentless. And the second part, I would say positivity. And the reason I say those two things is because Kevin and I, alongside some of our leadership team, we’re canvassing every day, five hours a day.”
The candidate said that determination and grit is key for his teams as most work full-time jobs or other employment while doing the work as volunteers.
“The reason why we’re able to do it so consistently and without failure is because of that positivity aspect,” he said. “We all feel very confidently that we are going to win this because we’re part of the community. We’re neighbors leading this. And so yes, I think it takes a combination of grit and positivity.”
CONTACT/EVENT INFORMATION:
ORTEGA:
Mail-In (Absentee) Ballot Info: https://chicagoelections.gov/voting/vote-mail
Accessible Ballot Info: https://chicagoelections.gov/voting/accessibilityvoters-disabilities
Campaign Email: friendsoftabares@gmail.com
Campaign Office Phone: 773-270-0163
Facebook: Tabaresfor23rdWard
Instagram: @tabaresfor23
For residents to receive Alderman Tabares’ weekly newsletter, call the Ward Office at 773-582-4444 and give their email over the phone, or email Ward23@cityofchicago.org to get updates about the ward and upcoming events.
For information about Silvana’s Campaign and voter information, residents can contact the Campaign Office by email or phone.
ROJAS-BANDA:
For the candidate’s Tik-Tok, Instagram and Facebook feeds, use @leonardofor23