The three candidates vying for the 46th Ward's city council seat—incumbent Ald. James Cappleman, lawyer Amy Crawford and activist Denice Davis—faced off in a debate over the neighborhood's issues in a debate at People's Church, 941 W. Lawrence Ave., on Feb. 8.
Cappleman said that development had flourished under his watch—pointing to the renovation of the Wilson Ave L-station as an example—and said that crime in the neighborhood was going down. Davis invoked her experience as chief of staff to Cappleman's predecessor, Helen Shiller, and said that she'd be the best choice for residents to reliably access services and communication with the alderman's office. Crawford, for her part, said that Cappleman and Davis both had "polarizing voices," and that she would be the best choice to take the ward into a new direction, especially with regards to development and crime prevention.
Candidates were allowed to ask their opponents one question. Cappleman first asked Davis what she would have done differently when she worked for Shiller. Davis refused to play into the question, however, and did not list any regrets. Instead, she said that, "We would continue in the vein that [Shiller] did, in terms of listening to the people in the ward."
Cappleman than asked Crawford what work she had previously done to promote public safety in the ward. She said that she mostly had been "listening to my neighbor's worry. … I realized that the next alderman really needed to be engaged on this issue."
Davis then took Cappleman to task for his role in the Wilson Avenue renovation, insisting that the project had been in the works for two years prior to his taking office. He answered that he committed wholeheartedly to the project when he took over, and emphasized that point in a conversation with Mayor Emanuel in one of their early conversations. He discussed that conversation a second time when Crawford questioned how voters could trust him not to just "rubber-stamp" the mayor's initiatives since Emanuel's Political Action Committee had backed Cappleman.
Cappleman said he told Emanuel, "There are three things that are important to me: one—whatever is discussed, it must approach me with a sense of fairness; two, I must understand the negative repercussions of whatever is discussed … and three, I want to make sure it is based on evidence-based best practices. …My sense is that when I voted for something, I was able to negotiate well. The mayor knew I negotiated well.
Crawford conversely asked Davis how she would be able to engage the Emanuel administration when her critical remarks risked alienating the mayor.
"I think he's already alienated himself," Davis answered. "He closed down 50 schools across the city of Chicago. We don't have an elected schoolboard. … I think he's done a pretty good job of doing that to himself."
Davis also asked Crawford about her activist and advocacy credentials, saying that her children attended Christopher House, which Crawford said she's worked with, and added that she had never seen her there.
"I worked with Christopher House back in 1999 and did so until about 2001," Crawford answered. "I'm friends with the executive director and she is a supporter of my campaign. I'm really proud of the work that I've done there, and I've been on the board of the North Side Credit Union since 2009. … I'm also a volunteer at Howard Brown Health Center. I help raise funds for a number of years and have been active in LGBT civil rights cases."
The candidates were asked about their campaign financing. Cappleman, who has been criticized for taking contributions from developers, insisted that 60 percent of his donations have come from residents and small businesses.
"They know that I have their back," he said. "That's the role of a public servant, and that's been my commitment. However, I do fiercely believe we need campaign reform. …I will not accept any campaign donations from any developer requesting an up-zone. I will not tolerate pay-to-play politics, not in this ward."
Davis said that she had looked at both Cappleman and Crawford's financial reports and said that Cappleman's was "smothered with developers" and that Crawford's was "smothered with corporate [interests]. I, on the other hand, truly don't have any money. The great thing about it is that I have built so many relationships around the 46th Ward within the past 25-30 years that people believed in me, so they're volunteering their services for me."
Crawford said that her contributions came from close acquaintances who believed in her vision, noting, "I've never ran for office before, so I can't call on developers to give me money. … I deeply, deeply think we need finance reform, so we can conduct the process with integrity and no more pay-to-play."
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