Thursday, March 24, 2011

"Fierce And Increasingly Nasty"

That's how the Sun-Times describes the 46th Ward aldermanic race in an article today

With the counting all done, five votes separated the two finalists in the race for the 46th Ward in the February election, and some 60 percent of voters didn’t vote for either of them.  Not surprising, then, that the scramble for support before the April 5 run-off in this economically and ethnically diverse ward, which encompasses parts of Uptown, Andersonville and Lakeview, has become fierce and increasingly nasty.

11 comments:

  1. Not much of anything new in that article for anyone following the race.


    Now two of the commenters there are nasty. One is our old buddy the four lettered super troll and the other is a bit homophobic.

    I imagine he hangs out in bathrooms with GOP Senators and has wide stance issues.

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  2. I'm pretty amazed how many Phelan brochures I have received at my house. It is seems that her campaign has deeper pockets than Cappelman.

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  3. I just hope people realize the high road James has taken is probably indicative of what type of Alderman he will be.

    And the actions of the other campaign will probably be indicative of how they will approach the issues of the ward.

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  4. This talking point hasn't been sitting well with me lately.

    “There’s a misconception among a portion of the people who live in the 46th Ward that affordable housing equals crime,” said Phelan, who said she wants to maintain the affordable housing stock in the ward, but not increase it.

    If there is any misconception about affordable housing and crime in the ward, Ms. Phelan already had a very visible way to address it. Its disingenuous to have been the leader of an organization that, while not explicitly equating the two, allowed the housing to be spoken about in terms of "towers" "warehousing" and "Cabrini-Green" while also providing the community with a police study that expressed the difficulties securing high rise buildings.

    Anyone with a cursory understanding of the history of Cabrini-Green/the CHA would have concluded back then that the comparison between the two projects was inappropriate and potentially hurtful to the members of our community who live in subsidized housing. All language drawing such parallels should have been taken out of their materials if they truly wanted to avoid fostering any misconceptions in the community.

    Personally, I can't reconcile the facile approach to these issues with what appears to be (today) a more nuanced appreciation. Its ok if someone grows in their understanding over time but if that is the case then I think there is a little public contrition in order---not directing attention to unnamed sectors of the community.

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  5. More affordable housing, Per James. The exact reason I'm voting for Molly

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  6. if its run well... what's the problem w/ it indiana girl??

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  7. Ummmmmm actually Indiana, James said more affordable housing was needed in the city but should not, repeat...not be concentrated in one neighborhood. (Shiller's plan)

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  8. What's wrong with affordable housing????

    Nothing if you are one of the bondholders. AWESOME Deal. I want in.

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  9. I think this speaks volumes:

    “Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and State Sen. Heather Steans endorsed me ... specifically because they’re very concerned about the amount of outside money from special interest groups, many of them clients from Ms. Phelan’s dad’s law firm,” Cappleman charged during a recent sit-down the with Sun-Times editorial Board.

    ...Steans told the Sun-Times last week she endorsed Cappleman for his work in the 46th Ward, but said she knows nothing about the source of Phelan’s money. Schakowsky didn’t return a call seeking comment.


    It speaks volumes about Cappleman's truthfulness that even his own supporters refuse to back up his charges.

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  10. This race is becoming about as petty as the comments on UU over the last few days. I would say that my comments were extremely petty but for some reason they never showed up on the site. Let's be fair UU and leave the internet censorship to China.

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