The Case for the 50th Ward

It is not uncommon for voters to vote for or against a candidate. Ideally, we want to vote for the best person for the job. But I'd like to offer an additional criteria: I'd like to challenge you to vote for the best person FOR THE WARD.

While a lot of attention has been spent on what the alderman does down at city hall, fundamentally, the work of the alderman is here in the neighborhood. In Chicago, the job of alderman is more one of ward manager than city legislator. Fixing potholes, water mains and sidewalks, keeping the ward clean, and eliminating rodents is not glamorous work, but that's the job we are electing.

One of the stories I remember about our Mayor is that, about a decade ago, he was still going out in the middle of the night, checking to see if an area was basically free of rats. Woe to the alderman who's ward was discovered to be rat-infested. The Mayor was known to dress down those who's ward didn't meet his standard of what a first-class city should be, sometimes publicly.

This reminds us of how strong the Mayor is in Chicago. For some, like the unions, this is bad, because it means that power is concentrated in the Mayor's office. The city council should be more independent of the Mayor. Absolute power is a dangerous thing, and it certainly makes corruption easier.

But there's a reason why we have aldermen and not city councilman. Aldermen are not merely our representatives on the city council, they are our ward managers. Aldermen effectively coordinate the delivery of city services in their ward. The alderman appoints the ward super, who "hangs out" at the alderman's office. The police captain always takes the alderman's call (or so he says). They control what kind of special events go on in the ward. They control zoning and development in the ward, and have real impact on our property taxes. The alderman has a much bigger say in local business, who stays and who comes in, than you might think.

The ward has changed a lot in the last couple of decades. It is no longer the neighborhood that Stone first served or in which Dolar grew up. Many new residents have come in and bought homes, especially during the housing boom. Many of these new residents have come from other wards where the alderman was more attentive to the appearance of the ward and the delivery of services. They do expect more from the alderman.

How you decide who's best for the ward depends on what message you want to send. While I am drawn to the notion of building competing centers of power, I'm not sure that I want one of those centers to be in Jesse Jackson's office (or SEIU's). And in a strong Mayoral system with aldermen instead of councilmen, I expect that a good alderman will focus on neighborhood needs. There's a lot to be done in the 50th Ward, there's a lot that has been neglected in the past few years.

We should "expect more for our ward." What you have to decide on Tuesday is who will be able to DO more for our ward. Consider this an open thread about what needs to be done in the ward in the next four years and who is best to be able to accomplish your goals for the ward. Try to keep it positive.