SEIU and the 50th
The big stalking horse in the upcoming alderman elections is SEIU, the Service Employees International Union. Naisy Dolar tells us that she has the backing of SEIU and that she already has SEIU people working for her. This is a big boost for her campaign.
But Ald. Berny Stone is not convinced. He tells the Sun-Times that "He expects most labor unions involved in the building trades to continue to support him as they have in the past. He even predicts that the 50th Ward candidate being groomed for SEIU backing [ie, Dolar] won't emerge as his main challenger."
The reason that Stone isn't worried about SEIU is that he's got his eyes firmly on Greg Brewer. That crafty old devil has been attacking Brewer at every opportunity. Berny plays dirty. He's as mean as they come. He literally revels in it. But he's so afraid of Greg Brewer that he accuses Brewer of having someone "planted in the dept. of planning." He is that paranoid. Brewer's reponse to one of Berny's attacks can be found here.
The thing I don't understand is why SEIU wants to split the anti-Stone vote. As much as I like Naisy Dolar (she's cute!), even I can't imagine her as my alderman. She's only 30 and just had her second child. With two small children in her house, she won't have much time to be alderman. She's just not ready to be our alderman. Her family has to come first-and we should respect that.
Dick Simpson, dean of Chicago's reform wing, says that "You have to have a credible challenger," someone who's spent the "time to position themselves and do the early fundraising." There seems to be general agreement in the ward that the only credible challenger in this race is Greg Brewer. He has "the best organized and well-funded campaign of the three."
Berny Stone can afford to be cocky about his re-election as long as Dolar and SEIU are intent on splitting the anti-Stone vote. Multiple candidates allow Stone to play his game of whispering in the ear of one campaign about how the other campaign has dissed them. The community really needs to coalesce around one candidate. That candidate should be Greg Brewer in his battle with Berny Stone. If beating Stone is your goal, then Brewer is your candidate. I only wish I could explain that to SEIU.
posted by Jay @ 6:39 AM
16 comments
16 Comments:
Naisy received excellent coverage today for her petition filing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXKnXB43_TU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_-7BhMUTGI
She did! And cute as a button. Naisy really has that cheerleader thang goin on!!!
Naisy also lists this one: NBC5 Chicago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3EyGpWCa3o
JS in the 50th, what makes you think that Greg Brewer isn't seeking SEIU's support? Has he said that?
No one's cuter than that little baby-faced Brewer! I just want to pinch his cheeks when he gets all excited and out of breath talkin' about the ward.
i'm unsure why you imagine that naisy has seiu's support in the bag. yes, we know of people who work for seiu who are helping naisy, but that by no means constitutes an endorsement of naisy by seiu. greg is fighting for seiu's endorsement as he seeks to unite all the progressive forces in the 50th ward and beyond. while i appreciate your sentiment, i don't think you should be jumping to conclusions.
ac
brewer campaign manager
You have to admit, Bernie would probably lose any cuteness contest.
Unfortunately for his challengers, that doesn't appear to be a useful quality for a working alderperson.
What you have to really consider here is what qualities DO make an alderperson effective in their job.
While many of the aldermans challengers may have exciting ideas, they have yet to provide proof they can implement any of them. It is easy to propose ideas, much harder to actually get financing and support for them.
That is where Alderman Stones decades of experience come into play. If you look at his accomplishments as a whole, (not the least of which is managing to keep one of the most diverse and complex communities in America reasonably healthy for decades under enormous change) It becomes something of a gamble to support a challenger that has not proven themselves capable yet.
Yes, there are things that could have been done, such as, say, putting in a new bike path. Somehow, I think that, however, it is a lower priority than taking care of the many senior citizen in the ward in an era of diminishing budgets, or establishing better public education for the wards children.
Then again, I have never had to contend with the attempted vehicular homicide that is inherent in normal Chicago driving.
The bottom line is, just because Alderman Stones achievements are not flashy, doesn't not necessarily mean that they are any less valuable, or that the ward would not potentially be a far poorer place with a less experienced person at the helm. I think that thats a risk that is simply not worth taking at the moment.
Upon reflection, I think the SEIU will also probably consider that maintaining the stability of the ward (and hence their members employment), far outweighs any potential benefits of supporting a challenger. Even a small amount of strife as political forces realign themselves around a new alderman would affect the service industry far more than other sectors of the economy.
Personally, I do not think that, in general, many residents are interested in taking the risk of seriously destabilizing the status quo for the worst by electing a challenger, especially at such a critical time for the ward. The potential benefits simply do not warrant that sort of drastic action.
Stone is long in the tooth, well past his prime. Any achievements he's had came long ago. Look at the proposed school on Whipple. Stone can't make it happen, but he has been promising that for years. His only goal now is to set up Alanna as his successor, and he rightly knows that we won't stand for it.
I guess we are all anonymous here. I say take the gamble. Stone's health isn't very good, so why gamble on his not serving out his term?
i think naisy referenced bernie stone in terms b.s. to mean bad service.. not the bull**** a writer previously mentioned.
i don't understand how anyone can support stone. yes, he may have had achievements but if you all noticed city politics.. the older generations are always trying to die in office to have their son/daughter take over. obviously, stone wants to pass his seat on to one of his kids. aren't people in this ward tired of it?! i think people need to stop worrying about the fact that a new leader will lead to instability. if you stand behind fear, how can there ever be change?
Are you implying that women with children are unfit for office? Perhaps you should pass that message along to Lisa Madigan.
Stone's gotta go! Just say no to Ilana!!! She is my neighbor and she's awful. She yells at people and parties all the time. She is not qualified to be alderman!!! She's a glorified secretary in Bernie's office and not even a good one.
Anyone would be better than Stone and Ilana!
Lisa Madigan is a most excellent example. Thank you for that. With all her money, her powerful father, and Dem Club backing, Lisa just barely won the 50th in 2002. Naisy does not have Lisa's money, powerful father or the support of the Democratic organization.
The role of mother in the home is a very important job, least we forget. The potential for conflict is something that some people will consider when looking at Naisy.
You're comments and analysis of candidates should be based on their substance / content, instead of summarizing their ability to be a good alderman based on their experience in the community and track record.
Naisy has a good track record, is very articulate, and caring individual. If you want to slander her because she is young and a mother, you have no case. All I see here is sexism [implying that women cannot have a career / family] and age-ism.
Her "B.S" Comment, was clever marketing...directly quoted "There is a lot of B.S. going on in the ward... Bernie Stone and Bad Service."
LOL. You resort to name-calling, but accuse me of ignoring substance? If Naisy has such a great track record, why couldn't she explain it when I asked her?
At least one thing is for certain- Salman Aftab has got to be the ugliest looking candidate for the 50th ward.
THIS CAMP. IS NOT BASED ON LOOKS YOU BIG DORK!
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