Tuesday’s mayoral election in Chicago proved to be a watershed for Brandon Johnson, a virtually unknown Cook County Commissioner,who kept his head down and did his work, and in the space of a few short months, became one of two candidates in a runoff election between he and former Chicago Police Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas, in a race that had increasing violence and crime as the top issue, but also, despite a razor thin win brought Johnson out of the shadows to not only emerge victorious, but also as the progressive leader of a new era that has surpassed the old guard pols of yesterday dominated by the Irish American ascendancy, notably led by the Daley’s, both father Richard J, and son Richard M.
Election Day provided a steady share of morning rainstorms that might have kept some voters at home and the final tally of voters came to 35 percent, which as ABC 7 reported, that figure was only a third of registered voters. In that report some interviewed, who did not vote, said they were “just too busy”, or “I just didn’t no particular reason. . ..”
In that same report the Chicago Board of Elections says once all mail in ballots are counted, that figure could rise to 37, or 38 percent. But, what might have led to a Johnson win was the increased voting among 18 to 24 year old voters, and spokesperson Max Bever said, “They added 5,000 votes. That is a big percentage point jump compared to the February election.”
Despite the low turnout in some predominantly Black and Latino wards, with historically low turnouts, the Johnson victory, as an old saying goes: a win is still a win. And, while Johnson cannot claim a mandate, the paradigm shift is one that portends a greater trend across the nation, as evidenced by support from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, whose endorsements gave a national focus to the campaign.
It also shores up new wins on the aldermanic level, both with incumbents such as Marian Hadden of the 49th Ward, as well as Alderwoman elect of Ward 48, Leni Manaa Hoppenworth, who beat old school rival Joe Dunne, by 600 votes despite Dunne’s refusal to concede waiting for mail in and absentee ballots, but with the removal of his campaign signs in the ward, that might provide a concession of its own.
For Democrats across the country, this win also shows that progressive candidates can win, despite some of the more conservative tropes about those candidates being soft on crime, or wanting to defund the police, both of which were used against Johnson.
The new mayor will subsequently face a far more progressive city council, than before and as Manaa Hoppenworth told listeners in a candidate forum, and to Block Club Chicago, “she’s excited to work with amore progressive City Council and to work on providing more affordable housing and mental health support to Chicagoans.”
In that vein we spoke with Saqib Bhatti, the co executive director of Action Center on Race and the Economy, in a telephone interview, following up on his remarks from a press statement where he noted, “we believe that the people of Chicago have spoken loudly and clearly in this election, voting for a candidate who supports unions, higher taxes on corporations, and a vision of public safety that is not solely dependent on law enforcement.”
Bhatti said that key to the Johnson victory was “because he really had a worldview [of the city] that “you win by listening to people, and that what we saw was the fighting back against the neo liberals by those in the Black and brown communities.”
Asked about the national outlook for Democratic candidates he said, “It shows you don’t have to run to the right of your opponent, but listen to what people are telling you. The future for Democrats is to open those spaces to win because of our values.”
Bhatti emphasized that part of that winning formula was “the strong GOTV [get out the vote] operation led by United Working Families , and with each election cycle we are learning more and more."
For the effect on the incoming city council, he said, “today as progressives, we can open up space to the left and moderate that effect to increase room for progressive policies, with the help of Brandon on the fifth floor, and consolidate in partnering with ways to respond to constituents, and listen to the people, and not on special interests or developers.”
The beginning of a new day for Chicago.
Updated with a correction on 4.8.23 at 12:38 p.m. CDT
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