Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
It should be obvious to everyone by now that Chuy isn't a progressive, or at least he is not the kind of progressive outsider-reformer that some people think he is. He pretended to be one in 2015 to lure gullible Bernie Bro voters. He's really just the new (Latino) face of the machine. But if he brings even a watered-down progressivism combined with his connections/insider status, he could be the best person to achieve progressive goals. Nobody wants to hear that yet. But we'll certainly hear about it after the runoff, if it's Vallas vs Chuy.
Idealists like Brandon Johnson, if elected, will find very quickly that even a fiery progressivism means nothing if you can't work the system. Our city is technically a weak-mayor system with a lot of power vested in the aldermen. The reason Chicago is known for iron-fisted mayors is because those individuals were just masters of working outside the system, horse-trading and cutting deals, even blackmail sometimes. I don't think Johnson can play the game - neither could Harold Washington. It's sorta like LBJ at the presidential level - he was the ultimate "beltway insider" and mastered the workings of Congress like a swamp dweller, but once elected he was able to use that power to pass the most progressive agenda since FDR.
Vallas is a (conservative-leaning) reform type. But it's important to remember that he is an outsider, just like Lightfoot, Brandon Johnson or Harold Washington. You may think this is a good thing, but it definitely impacts the ability of a mayor to cut deals and get stuff done.
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So true re: Chuy. It's frustrating to see such an obvious empty suit figurehead for the cook county machine gain so much traction. Hard to see how we'll ever break out of the cycle when pols like him just have to show up to become a frontrunner in elections.
I'm pretty sold on Vallas at this point. In a perfect world Kam would have a real shot, but I don't think he's got the juice this time around.
Vallas has decades of (successful) experience in civic admin roles--he's worked within the Chicago system before without getting swallowed up by it and has worked all over and gotten (mixed, but mostly successful) results. I was just recently reading about his time in Philly and he's still viewed as one of their best superintendents even 20 years later. I appreciate that he has partnered with lots of stakeholders from around the world throughout his career--Chicago needs someone who has a rolodex full of contacts outside of IL. The city is parochial enough.
I don't love his courting of the FOP or speaking at ultra-conservative events, but I'm of the strong belief that party politics do not matter in local elections. Pragmatism > ideology every day of the week when it comes to mayor.
EDIT: I'm not wealthy or a rabid anti-crime person, btw. My biggest issues are improved transit and growing the population. Crime--or the perception of crime--is arguably the biggest hurdle Chicago faces to accomplish major progress in those two areas.
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