A bevy of candidates from the 46th Ward gathered at the Inter-American School on Waveland for an aldermanic forum sponsored by the Lake View Citizen's Council. Political strategist and analyst Thom Serafin moderated the event, and lobbied questions to the 11 candidates on a myriad of issues.
More than 100 people attended the forum on a cold and snowy night to hear what the candidates had to say. Before they answered questions each candidate—Diane Shapiro, Emily Stewart, Scott Baskin, Andy Lam, James Cappleman, Don Nowotny, Michael Carroll, Befekadu Retta, March Kaplan, Molly Phelan and Caitlin McIntyre—had one minute to introduce himself/herself and state his/her vision for the future.
In a city council district that has many LGBT constituents it is important to note that three of the candidates who are looking to replace Helen Shiller ( who has decided against another term in the City Council ) are openly gay: Cappleman, Nowotny and Stewart. ( See their interviews in this issue. ) However, none of the questions dealt with LGBT issues or social issues in general. The focus instead rested on crime and safety, economics and jobs, TIFs ( tax-increment financing districts ) , the size of government, privatization and ethics.
The first question delved into the area of police and staffing in the ward. Serafin asked, "What is your position on the proposed plan to redeploy police from this district to other areas of the city?" There was an agreement that this is not the solution to the problem, with candidates feeling that increasing the number of police officers on the street is the key to preventing rival gangs from creating violence as well as increasing economic development by warding off crime in the area. Stewart and Kaplan expressed their concern about financing this endeavor but did not rule it out. The majority of candidates said that the police chief should come from within the department and that current Superintendent Jody Weis should be fired.
The next topic involved jobs and the economy, with revitalization of empty storefronts being the top priority to bring money into the ward. Baskin brought up the new Target, which has grown in revenue exponentially since opening in the ward. Others expressed doubts about whether there has been enough local hiring at that Target to help people who live in the ward make a living.
Regarding TIF districts, which led to the redevelopment of Wilson Yard, all the candidates stated that they should be fully disclosed and transparent but Shapiro ( who is a GOP candidate ) said they should be abolished and the money that has already been collected should be returned to the taxpayers. Baskin said that they should go back to their original intent and the 23-year lifespan of each TIF should be abolished. Stewart remarked that much of the TIF money has been diverted to other projects when it should have gone to fund the public schools. Retta and Kaplan also mentioned the need for TIF money to go to the schools. Kaplan also said that some of the money should go to low-income housing and citizen advisory boards should be convened to make decisions on TIF spending. McIntyre expressed concern that there has been a lack of investment in the ward and other blighted areas of the city which is why TIF's were created in the first place.
Then, Serafin asked candidates about the sizes of their aldermanic office and what their office hours will be if they are elected. All the candidates said that their offices would be open more than the normal weekday hours. "Coffees with Caitlin" was what McIntyre proposed; she said she would meet people at a coffee shop and hear them out about the issues that matter to them. Cappleman talked about having monthly forums to hear from many of his constituents if elected while Baskin said he would use technology such as twitter to let the voters know about the issues. Building on the technology theme, Stewart said she would have an interactive website to track what is happening in the ward to be more accountable to ward residents.
When the topic of privatization was brought up, every candidate was against the parking meters being privatized; however, when it came to the Taste of Chicago, Stewart said she was for privatization whereas everyone else was against the idea. In the area of ethics, again the candidates all agreed that more transparency is needed in City Hall, with Cappleman and Nowotny speaking out against pay-to-play politics. Retta called on all aldermen to suspend all side business dealings and consulting work while in office. Lam said that no family members should be hired by any city official and Phelan said that if a city official is convicted of an offense, that person should be removed from the city payroll.
Serafin then ended the question portion of the evening and called on all the candidates to make their closing remarks. Their candidates highlighted their own strengths, with most directing the attendees to their campaign websites. After the forum ended, the candidates and their campaign staffers stationed themselves at the doorways to hand out their campaign literature and postcards as people exited the building.
This race is almost certain to result in a runoff election following the Feb. 22 vote if none of the candidates receives more than 50 percent plus one of the vote. Then the voters will have to decide between the top two vote-getters on April 5.
