It was a primary with enough plot twists to make tonight’s “Lost” premiere look pedestrian.
Last-minute lawsuits, ham-fisted propaganda and three very different candidates running on the same platform set the stage for Alderman Toni Preckwinkle to win the Democratic nomination for Cook County Board president.
On the Republican side, former state Sen. Roger Keats convinced voters he was the man to carry their flag.
The hope that filled the 2008 campaign was replaced with residual anger, with Cook County voters concerned about their pocketbooks amid an unsteady economy. They sent incumbent Todd Stroger packing, not buying his sales-tax platform that he claims kept county health care stable.
Nor did they choose Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien or Clerk of Court Dorothy Brown, who like Preckwinkle campaigned as the anti-Stroger, a product of Chicago’s politics-as-usual hierarchy.
Instead Preckwinkle soundly emerged the winner – outlasting her closest opponent O’Brien by about twice as many votes – and will have to convince voters that the Democrats – in power at the County Board since 1969, deserve another shot.
Tuesday’s result was a crushing victory for Preckwinkle, who garnered at least 50 percent of the Cook County vote. Early returns put her far ahead early in the day. O’Brien received 23 percent; Brown had 14 percent and Stroger had 13 percent.
Just days before the election, Stroger’s campaign touted a poll that put him within four percentage points of Preckwinkle. That poll came out only days after a WGN/Tribune poll put him far behind Preckwinkle, who surged ahead of Brown.
Thanking her supporters, Preckwinkle said more work was ahead before the general election in November.
Preckwinkle, often described as humorless, was in good spirits, laughing, smiling and even choking up at one point.
“This is a great night for all of us,” she told supporters at the Merchandise Mart Holiday Inn.
“This victory belongs to the people of Cook County, people who have demanded reform and accountability from their government,” she said.
She promised again to repeal the “Stroger sales tax,” drawing irritated sighs from Stroger backers at the W.
The victory, she said, was more meaningful, given the cynicism of voters, who have seen two aldermen in the courtroom this week, and expect a former governor to stand trial for corruption over the summer.
And with a viable backlash swirling beneath the campaigns, as evidenced in Massachusetts, and the trial of tainted Democrat governor in the summer, the possibility that Keats could win in November exists.
But the future was not a topic of discussion at Stroger’s election night headquarters at the W City Center in the Loop. Instead, a somber group of supporters huddled together, some laughing, others speaking in hushed tones.
Stroger, installed on the 2006 Democratic ballot after his father took ill, could not convince voters that his leadership was worthy of a second term. Voters were frustrated by the sales tax in a bad economy and a perception that the county payroll was stacked with Stroger’s friends and family.
Stroger was kept cloistered in a suite as supporters waited for him to make an announcement. Meanwhile, O’Brien conceded, telling supporters the short campaign season hurt him.
“We got our message out, but the timeframe was short. If we had more time, we’d be celebrating here tonight,” he said.
When Stroger finally emerged, cheers erupted and many supporters cried.
“We ran a very good race,” Stroger said, flanked by his wife and son. “This is a bump in the road. Life goes on.”
“Todd for Mayor!” shouted a supporter, drawing laughs.
But Stroger turned serious, when he said his message of a stable health system, a balanced budget and a trimmed and clean payroll was diluted.
"Sometimes your message doesn't get out. Sometimes people don't see what's at stake," said Stroger, who has complained that the media never gave him a fair shot.
He promised to work with Preckwinkle – should she win in November – offering his expertise of county government.
“For tonight,” he said, “It’s still a party.”
Windy Citizen 