It's a Dog Fight
It's not even November, and already the fight has begun for alderman in the 50th Ward. I can't remember a time when the municipal elections began so early, but I've had canvassers come to my door (twice now), and seen one candidate (Salman Aftab) walking down Devon Ave with another candidate (Tony Peraica). I wonder if that means that Aftab is a Republican? (His website is rather vague.)
My neighbor, who already has a Greg Brewer sign in her window, tells me that Greg is the one to watch. He does seem to be all over the media, and clearly is Berny Stone's arch-nemesis. I've even seen his yellow car around the neighborhood. Not only does he have my neighbor campaigning for him, but he's got a bunch of folks out knocking on doors. They seem very organized.
How vulnerable Alderman Stone is (people having been talking about his daughter replacing him for years -- it's an open secret in the Ward) can be seen by the fact that we even have a 33 year old young mother running for his seat! Naisy Dolar can best be compared to the candidate as high school cheerleader. She's very cute. Not only does she look like she's in high school, but you get that impression by talking to her, as well! I was waiting for her to jump into the air and land in a split any minute.
This is going to be fun!
The 50th Ward has been oppressed by the Stone regime for more than thirty years. The irony of Berny Stone's horror at the city becoming an embarrassment across the land is that he's been an embarrassment to the 50th Ward for years. Whether it was Stone's Wall on Howard, or his shocking, but highly-quotable, comments to the press, Stone has been an embarrassment to us all. Perhaps now, Stone has embarrassed us for the last time. We can only hope!