Confirming long-time rumors, Chicago Alderperson Mary Ann Smith, of the 48th Ward (Edgewater and part of Uptown), has let the Chicago Tribune group report that she is retiring.
Smith, who chairs the Parks and Recreation Committee, has been on the council since 1989. She was the first of many aldermen Mayor Richard Daley got to appoint.
Smith confirmed that she won't seek re-election in her North Side ward and told the Tribune she would explain why later today.
Current rumors are that State Rep. Harry Osterman will be the choice of the Regular Democrats in 48 to succeed Ms. Smith. Mr. Osterman's mother was Ms. Smith's predecessor in the office, which Ms. Smith was named to after Ms. Osterman became Mayor Richard M. Daley's head of the Office of Special Events. No word on any independent challengers.
Lake Effect News, the local news page for the Northside Lakefront, run by the former editor for several Lerner newspapers on the same beat, Lorraine Swanson, writes a story on the latest D2 (campaign finance) filings for several Chicago Aldermanic campaigns starting from the 46th Ward and heading north and west.
A taste:
(Berny) Stone, the Chicago City Council's oldest alderman, showed $8,033 in campaign cash as of July 1. During the same reporting cycle in 2006, available cash in Stone's campaign fund was double that amount at $16,499.
Contributions to the Bernard L. Stone Campaign Committee during the 2007 election cycle surged to $309,045, when Stone won a contentious runoff. In 2008, Stone lost the coveted democratic ward committeeman post to State Sen. Ira Silverstein (8th District).
Silverstein has said that he is mulling a run for the ward alderman in 2011. Silverstein reported $47,552.00 in available campaign funds on July 1.
Longtime independent Bob Bartell, who previously served 4 terms over a decade ago as state chair of the Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization, a/k/a IVI-IPO, has reportedly won the state chairmanship, after a vigorous contest whose balloting concluded today. Bartell, recently active in Northside DFA, and a frequent contributor to local Democratic blogs, boosted the membership of the organization significantly in his previous tenure. The organization in subsequent years suffered some decline after some bitter internal divisions. Bartell campaigned on a plank of rebuilding.
The venerable organization continues to be a sought-after endorsement for candidates, as voters continue to place value on the group's cumbersome but thorough procedures. In the most recent election, parochial infighting seemed to play a part in the unexpectedly hot race; political insiders attributed some efforts to oppose Bartell's candidacy to 48th Ward regular Democratic forces. Bartell is also a resident of the 48th Ward, and was a member of the now-defunct independent Network 48.
Outgoing state chair David Igasaki, who did not run for re-election, supported longtime IVI-IPO stalwart Hilda Frontany, who placed second in the balloting. Marc Loveless, another 48th Warder, who has been most active on LGBT issues, came in third.
(I'm bumping this story back up because the discussion has moved on to the meeting Saturday where Carol Ronen was appointed Committeeman. If you were there, please weigh in with your experience of that morning's events. - promoted by Jim in Chicago)
I recently received a letter (see letter below the fold) from long-time committeeman Mike Volini informing me that he would be stepping down from his position.
As you can imagine there are a lot of rumors running around and a lot of talk has been happening. Much of what I know was presented at last weeks Edgewater/Rogers Park DFA meeting, and also from some other conversations and a few email lists.
Most of the talk is about who will replace Mike Volini and what the process will be. Ward committeeman are elected every four years during the presidential primary, that much I know for sure. When a committeeman steps down prior to election, my current understanding is that the ward's precinct captains vote on who the committeeman will be. Their choice is then approved (confirmed) by either the county or state party, but I am not sure on that point. I've heard the process is outlined in the IL Democratic Party By-Laws and/or the Cook Co. Democratic Party By-Laws, but I've not been able to find those documents. So I imagine there will be a meeting of some sorts. Will it be open to the public? Will there be candidates? State Rep Gregg Harris was chosen recently to replace Larry McKeon in a similar situation, that meeting was open, the candidates spoke, the meeting went on for a good long time before the decision was presented. I guess I am hoping for something similar to that.
Carol Ronen, who is the wards State Senator, State Central Committeeman and DNC Member apparenly has her eye on being Ward Committeeman. Personally, while Carol has taken the lead on a number of progressive issues, for which I am greatly appreciative and supportive, there are some issues that she's aligned herself with that I would normally associate with your typical machine Democrat. And ultimately I think we need more voices in the party rather than less.
During the meeting, Sandra Verthein, who leads the Edgewater/Rogers Park DFA Group expressed interest in being committeeman. Sandra is an organizer extra-ordinaire! Read this post We are making a difference from the DFA-Link website for just a small piece of what our group is accomplishing on the Democratic frontlines. I know Sandra, so I can be accused of being biased, but no one can deny she has a lot of energy, passion and vision. I think she could really activate the 48th Ward Dems in a really positive way. Sandra also asked that we send letters to our local elected leaders to inform them of her interest and qualifications.
I am not sure if anyone else has expressed interest in the position.
A few of you know me, and know that I have been working on Chris Persons' campaign for 48th Ward Alderman. By now most of you know that Mary Ann Smith's (current 48th Ward Alderman) campaign has been successful at removing all 3 of her challengers from the ballot for petty filing errors, and hers will be the only name on the ballot -- there's more about this below the fold.
I'm still in mourning for what I feel is a great injustice that has been heaped upon our campaign. I still can't believe Chris' name won't appear on the ballot. We'd worked so hard, we'd come a long way, and to be stopped for a truly petty mistake is heartbreaking.
I've decided to take my disappointment and my anger and work towards changing the election laws. I'm writing this post to ask you to support me in this effort.
Short term actions:
Build base of support - contacting you, contacting all those that have been objected to this year, contacting various organizations, etc.
Research - gather information on objections (how many, what types, etc.), information on the election laws themselves and also on the responsibilities of boards of elections, etc.
Contact all members of the general assembly (house and senate) - inform them of our research, ask them if they would support a change in the law that would allow a fair opportunity to comply with the rules before removing a candidate from the ballot, and finally would they sponsor, co-sponsor, and/or draft the needed legislation.
Re-evaluate where we are based on responses from the general assembly.
Democracy Denied website
I've created a website at www.democracydenied.com to house all this information. It's also a place where people can voice support and get involved with this campaign.
