The Southeast Side's 10th Ward Unites with Sue Garza and Dumps Incumbent Rahm Emanuel lapdog John Pope... Pope refused to concede, but Garza is still ahead after a day of counting the absentee and provisional ballots from the 10th Ward at Langdon Neal's 'Board of Election Commissioners'...
The last thing Rahm Emanuel wants is Sue Sadlowski Garza on the Chicago City Council. But for all his millions of dollars, Rahm Emanuel doesn't live or vote in Chicago's gritty 10th Ward. And despite hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into ward campaigns by Emanuel and his various PACs (Substance has identified at least three of them that have done mailings attacking progressive candidates), the voters have been getting rid of Emanuel aldermen and voting in true progressives.
Friends and supporters of Sue Sadlowski Garza kept a careful watch on the counting of the absentee and provisional ballots from the 10th Ward aldermanic runoff on April 9, 2015. Because incumbent alderman John Pope refused to concede after the results showed Garza ahead by more than 80 votes, the decision went to the counting of the absentee and provisional ballots (which are not counted unless the results are very close and neither side concedes). Above, Garza supporters Sarah Chambers (left) and Miriam Socoloff (fourth from left) watch as the envelopes are opened and the remaining vote tallied. Substance photo by David Vance.Sue Garza on Wednesday, April 8, 2015, the days after the election, was leading by 89 votes. So she declared victory to her supporters and to the media. But despite the fact that he was behind by a serious margin, incumbent John Pope, who was as loyal as anyone in City Council to Rahm Emanuel, refused to concede, so the vote count went downtown. If an election is close and neither side conceded, the provisional and absentee ballots are counted under the auspices of the Chicago Board of Election commissioners. Today, April 9, 2015, the Board of Elections counted the mail-in ballots. John Pope gained 45 votes. Which means Sue Garza is up by 44 votes.
As of early Friday, April 10, Sue Garza is still on top of the vote and John Pope is still losing. And just to be sure there was no funny stuff at the Board of Election Commissioners, Garza had as many people watching the counting of the absentee ballots at Pope did.
Everyone on Sue Garza's campaign staff is confident that even with the provisional votes (there are not many -- five or ten, I'm told) that she will survive the last vote totals and be declared the official winner by the Board of Elections.
Chicago Teachers Union Field Rep (PSRPs) Anita Burks kept a close eye on the counting and tabulating of the absentee ballots from Chicago's 10th Ward at the Board of Election Commissioners on April 9, 2015, as the Sue Garza victory was tabulated and Garza's supporters made sure there was no Chicago trickery. Burks, a veteran of Chicago and union elections, was joined by younger CTU members who were facing their first showdowns in Chicago-style politics. Substance photo by David Vance.Sue Garza has said over and over that she didn't win by herself.
Sue won because a coalition of the all primary slate of candidates joined behind her when it was announced that there would be a runoff between Garza and Pope. Those who had run and "lost" in February gave 110% support to Garza in the runoff election held April 7.
These candidates included: Rich Martinez, Juan Huizar, Frank Corona, and Olga Bautista.
There were other coalitions of groups that pulled their weight in the Sue Garza campaign, most strong of course the Chicago Teachers Union, where Garza is on the Executive Board, a member of the House of Delegates, and a leader of CORE, the Caucus Of Rank and file Educators.
There was major union support. Local support came from the retired steelworkers group, and teachers from the neighborhood. Broader support came from sections of the SEIU. Major support came from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), and other union activists. Campaign money came from many sources including four fund raiser events.
A number of community groups joined in the cause to dump Pope: the Bush, South Chicago, East Side and Hegewisch. Strong environment support came from activists with the demand "Ban Pet Coke!"
And, because of these union and community organizations there was a true movement down on the far Southeast Side of Chicago, and the 10th Ward will never be the same. There were young and old involved in this campaign.
Although he "won" the general election against Jesus Chuy Garcia, these grass roots movements in the wards (and the 10th Ward is not the only one that dumped one of Rahm's slavish loyalists) may be the last thing Rahm Emanuel wanted. Rahm's loyalists were ousted in several wards. The Chicago City Council may still have a majority that slavishly votes "Yes" on anything the mayor demands, but that's not as likely as it's been for a hundred years or more.
The neighborhoods are rising up. With union involvement there is more power when we organize. And beginning in May, when the mayor and aldermen are sworn in, Rahm Emanuel will be facing Sue Garza along with many other progressives in the Chicago City Council.
By: Jimmy Higgins
Garza and 'that old time unionism'...
Someone should add a song to the "Solidarity Forever" that CORE members have been singing at every meeting. It would run something like "Give me that old unionism..." to the tune of "Give me that old time religion..." The Garza campaign, right down to the wire at the Board of Election Commissioners, is truly continuing the spirit that built Chicago's union power during battles like the "Little Steel" strikes and everything else that makes South Chicago, Hegewisch, and the East Side a part of all our history...