Mayor Richard M. Daley announced today he wouldn’t lend his endorsement to any candidates running in the Feb. 2 primary. Sorry, Pat Quinn. Sorry, Todd Stroger.
According to the Tribune, Daley said he’s too busy –presumably dedicating ‘L’ stops – to worry about elections, and that his endorsement might hurt a candidate:
"If I do endorse, you'll say 'Boss Daley does this,' you guys will spin that," Daley told reporters after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated CTA Brown Line station on Fullerton Avenue in Lincoln Park. "In this day and age it's completely different, it's a completely different environment in politics, I'll be very frank. Endorsements don't mean as much as they used to mean in the past."
But those vying for office might disagree with him.
Today at a Columbia College forum broadcast on WCPT-AM, Stroger reiterated his disappointment that Daley and major unions have thus far declined to endorse him, saying his management of the county and its budget deserved their backing.
“What could they not be sure about? They have treated me in a totally different fashion,” he complained. “You would never find anyone else being treated this way.”
It’s a blow for Stroger, whose family has had close ties to the Daleys for decades. But this snub may very well end the alliance.
Preckwinkle, who sought the mayor’s endorsement as well, played down his decision.
“I think it’s been pretty rare that the mayor has endorsed candidates directly, especially in a primary that the Democratic Party took no position,” she says.
Preckwinkle says she’s encouraged by polling numbers that put her in second place, despite never having campaign countywide before. She says she has reached out to individuals and organizations since she declared for the race about a year ago.
“I think that direct contact will make all the difference on Feb. 2,” she says.
John Davis, spokesman for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terry O’Brien, says Daley’s decision helps O’Brien’s campaign.
“Just as we see those unions who decided to stay on the sidelines, that’s fine. It’s a plus for us,” Davis says. “We just want to run on our own, on our merits. That’s what the mayor is saying: ‘Let them run on their own merits.’”
The campaigns for Stroger and Clerk of Courts Dorothy Brown did not return calls for comment.