ALDERMANIC RACES: 33rd Ward race heating up... Meegan stronger in polls as Deb Mell can't get it together
A major independent poll of the 33rd ward (Albany Park, Avondale, Ravenswood Manor) race came out yesterday and doesn't look like good news for the continuation of the Mells' four-decade reign. It should be an interesting next few weeks. The 33rd Ward race is one of several where a Chicago teacher is running against an incumbent favored by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Aldertrack has been doing the best job of following the news from all 50 wards in the aldermanic races.
As election day, February 24, 2015, draws near, the campaign of Roosevelt High School history teacher Tim Meegan for alderman of the 33rd Ward has been gaining strength. Above, Meegan's work, which began six months ago, included speaking to the January meeting of CORE, the leadership caucus of the Chicago Teachers Union. Substance photo by Bob Simpson.PRESS RELEASE: Poll: Mell dynasty in �serious trouble� as runoff looms... Tim Meegan gaining against struggling incumbent Deb Mell
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Contact: 513-4-MEEGAN; meegan4ward33@gmail.com
Emanuel-appointed alderman Deb Mell is in �serious trouble,� according to polling data released Monday, February 9, 2015, by Chicago election-watchers Aldertrack.
Mell has the support of only one-third of likely voters, according to the poll, which shows challenger Tim Meegan prepared to push the incumbent into a runoff for the 33rd Ward seat.
Meegan�s campaign expressed its delight at the findings.
�You don�t see this too often: a Machine-backed incumbent, with universal name recognition and the support of the mayor, struggling to cross 30 percent two weeks before an election,� says campaign manager Christopher Poulos.
Mell, appointed to her seat in 2013 in a deal engineered after her father�s retirement, is facing ward voters for the first time. She�s also doing so under the cloud of an ethics investigation into in-kind donations from her father that appear to violate lobbyist contribution limits.
�The overwhelming message we�ve been hearing from conversations with voters is just what this polling shows: the ward is ready to be done with the dynasty,� Meegan says.
�There�s a real excitement for change here that this ward hasn�t seen in many years. It�s young people, it�s retirees, it�s nurses and office workers, people of all backgrounds. We want to show that an independent, progressive movement can take on the Machine and win.�
�And they should be worried,� Meegan says. �We�re winning over undecided voters every day.�
Tim Meegan (http://www.meegan4ward33.com) is a social studies teacher at Roosevelt High School and an independent candidate for alderman in the 33rd Ward. Meegan�s campaign calls for economic justice, including a $15 minimum wage, affordable housing, fully funded public schools, and an end to privatization of city assets.
Poll results: �33rd Ward: Mell in Trouble,� Ogden & Fry LLC
http://www.scribd.com/doc/255142692/Aldertrack-Ward-33-Poll
