Rep. Jackson getting closer to mayoral run
Rep. Jackson getting closer to mayoral run
By Dan Mihalopoulos, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporters Gary Washburn and Mickey Ciokajlo contributed to this report
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published September 7, 2006
Sketching out an ambitious plan that he promised could change politics in Chicago, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said Wednesday "it's more likely than not" that he would run for mayor next year.
In announcing that a committee would be formed to explore his chances, Jackson said there was a 75 percent chance that he would run in February, and he sought to position himself as the most viable alternative to Mayor Richard Daley.
To conduct a credible campaign, Jackson said it would take registering 100,000 new voters and raising between $4 million and $6 million. He also said he is working to recruit a slate of candidates for city clerk, city treasurer and about 15 City Council seats.
Jackson, however, declined to reveal the names of his exploratory committee members, who are scheduled to meet for the first time next week.
Jackson has been a frequent critic of the Daley administration for more than a year. On Wednesday, he said Daley "has done, in some ways, an extraordinary job" but added that voters want change.
"I have received enthusiastic calls and messages from people throughout the city urging me to run for mayor of Chicago," Jackson said during a news conference on the lawn of his South Side home.
Two other African-Americans, including Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, have announced that they are running for mayor.
Daley was first elected 17 years ago and since then has handily defeated a series of challengers. But Daley supporters have said privately the most serious challenge to the mayor could come from a well-organized African-American candidate who could enjoy the sort of popular support that made Harold Washington the city's first black mayor more than 20 years ago.
While Daley says he has not decided whether to run for re-election, he has begun forming a campaign team and last week hinted that only some unforeseen circumstance could prevent him from seeking a sixth term. The mayor sidestepped questions about potential challengers Wednesday.
"There is plenty of time for politics," Daley said when asked about Jackson and Brown, who declared her candidacy last week. "My responsibility is to be the mayor on a daily basis."
Candidates have to declare for mayor by mid-December. Jackson, 41, said he would announce his final decision in November.
He said he first ran for Congress 11 years ago on the advice of his wife, Sandi, and she said Wednesday that the time has come to bring his political career back home from Washington.
"I have been encouraging him to do this," Sandi Jackson said. "I don't think there's anybody better suited for this job."
Jackson said his supporters already have pledged $2.5 million for a mayoral bid, and he pointed out that he could tap another $1.3 million in his federal campaign fund.
Daley had $1.95 million in his campaign account as of June 30, state records show.
"He has a better chance [of beating Daley] than anybody in recent history," said Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), a Jackson ally who said he expects the congressman to run for mayor. "The money he has automatically makes him the strongest challenger."
Asked about running as one of several black candidates in a potentially crowded field, Jackson replied, "The more the merrier."
He noted changes in Chicago's election law since the racially divisive mayoral races of the 1980s. Under the current rules, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two would meet in a runoff election.
"This cannot be a campaign for African-Americans only," Jackson said.
To register voters, Jackson likely will rely heavily on his father's Rainbow/PUSH coalition and Salem Baptist Church on the South Side. The Salem Baptist congregation, led by state Sen. James Meeks, an Independent who is seeking re-election as a Democrat, has ramped up its voter registration efforts in the last year.
Jackson now will begin what he called a "listening tour" to hear from people across the city before making his decision. He said one of the first such meetings would be with lawyer Michael Shakman, whose lawsuit against the city led to federal court restrictions on political hiring.
Mayoral hopefuls have drawn encouragement from the ongoing federal investigations of City Hall corruption, including recent convictions in a hiring scheme centered in the mayor's office, said Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th), a longtime Daley ally.
"But quite honestly I think that a lot of folks are positioning themselves and then hoping that there's more coming down the road from the U.S. attorney's office," O'Connor said. "At this time, you'd still say that the mayor would be the odds-on favorite."
Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th), another Daley backer, said Jackson "wants to be king" but has little influence in his West Side ward.
"If his name was anything other than Jesse Jackson, he wouldn't be where he is today," Carothers said.
The congressman's father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, provokes strong reactions--both positive and negative.
But Jackson dismissed the notion that his father would be a liability to a mayoral campaign: "Many Chicagoans and many Americans are proud of my father and his efforts."
----------
dmihalopoulos@tribune.com
By Dan Mihalopoulos, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporters Gary Washburn and Mickey Ciokajlo contributed to this report
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published September 7, 2006
Sketching out an ambitious plan that he promised could change politics in Chicago, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said Wednesday "it's more likely than not" that he would run for mayor next year.
In announcing that a committee would be formed to explore his chances, Jackson said there was a 75 percent chance that he would run in February, and he sought to position himself as the most viable alternative to Mayor Richard Daley.
To conduct a credible campaign, Jackson said it would take registering 100,000 new voters and raising between $4 million and $6 million. He also said he is working to recruit a slate of candidates for city clerk, city treasurer and about 15 City Council seats.
Jackson, however, declined to reveal the names of his exploratory committee members, who are scheduled to meet for the first time next week.
Jackson has been a frequent critic of the Daley administration for more than a year. On Wednesday, he said Daley "has done, in some ways, an extraordinary job" but added that voters want change.
"I have received enthusiastic calls and messages from people throughout the city urging me to run for mayor of Chicago," Jackson said during a news conference on the lawn of his South Side home.
Two other African-Americans, including Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, have announced that they are running for mayor.
Daley was first elected 17 years ago and since then has handily defeated a series of challengers. But Daley supporters have said privately the most serious challenge to the mayor could come from a well-organized African-American candidate who could enjoy the sort of popular support that made Harold Washington the city's first black mayor more than 20 years ago.
While Daley says he has not decided whether to run for re-election, he has begun forming a campaign team and last week hinted that only some unforeseen circumstance could prevent him from seeking a sixth term. The mayor sidestepped questions about potential challengers Wednesday.
"There is plenty of time for politics," Daley said when asked about Jackson and Brown, who declared her candidacy last week. "My responsibility is to be the mayor on a daily basis."
Candidates have to declare for mayor by mid-December. Jackson, 41, said he would announce his final decision in November.
He said he first ran for Congress 11 years ago on the advice of his wife, Sandi, and she said Wednesday that the time has come to bring his political career back home from Washington.
"I have been encouraging him to do this," Sandi Jackson said. "I don't think there's anybody better suited for this job."
Jackson said his supporters already have pledged $2.5 million for a mayoral bid, and he pointed out that he could tap another $1.3 million in his federal campaign fund.
Daley had $1.95 million in his campaign account as of June 30, state records show.
"He has a better chance [of beating Daley] than anybody in recent history," said Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), a Jackson ally who said he expects the congressman to run for mayor. "The money he has automatically makes him the strongest challenger."
Asked about running as one of several black candidates in a potentially crowded field, Jackson replied, "The more the merrier."
He noted changes in Chicago's election law since the racially divisive mayoral races of the 1980s. Under the current rules, if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the top two would meet in a runoff election.
"This cannot be a campaign for African-Americans only," Jackson said.
To register voters, Jackson likely will rely heavily on his father's Rainbow/PUSH coalition and Salem Baptist Church on the South Side. The Salem Baptist congregation, led by state Sen. James Meeks, an Independent who is seeking re-election as a Democrat, has ramped up its voter registration efforts in the last year.
Jackson now will begin what he called a "listening tour" to hear from people across the city before making his decision. He said one of the first such meetings would be with lawyer Michael Shakman, whose lawsuit against the city led to federal court restrictions on political hiring.
Mayoral hopefuls have drawn encouragement from the ongoing federal investigations of City Hall corruption, including recent convictions in a hiring scheme centered in the mayor's office, said Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th), a longtime Daley ally.
"But quite honestly I think that a lot of folks are positioning themselves and then hoping that there's more coming down the road from the U.S. attorney's office," O'Connor said. "At this time, you'd still say that the mayor would be the odds-on favorite."
Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th), another Daley backer, said Jackson "wants to be king" but has little influence in his West Side ward.
"If his name was anything other than Jesse Jackson, he wouldn't be where he is today," Carothers said.
The congressman's father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, provokes strong reactions--both positive and negative.
But Jackson dismissed the notion that his father would be a liability to a mayoral campaign: "Many Chicagoans and many Americans are proud of my father and his efforts."
----------
dmihalopoulos@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:24 AM
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