CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Nov. 27, 2008 – 1:07 a.m.
Chicago Race for Emanuel’s House Seat Could Draw a Democratic Crowd Who’s In So Far
By Emma Dumain, CQ Staff
Residents of Illinois’ 5th Congressional District were still celebrating fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama ’s election as president when they learned their seemingly endless campaign season would be extended by several months.
Obama’s first major personnel announcement was his choice of 5th District Rep. Rahm Emanuel , a hometown political ally and established star within national Democratic Party ranks, to be his White House chief of staff. That means there will be a special election, likely to be held in April, to fill the soon-to-be-vacated seat, to which Emanuel was easily elected for a fourth time on Nov. 4.
It is a virtual given that Emanuel’s seat will be filled by a fellow Democrat. Chicago is one of the nation’s leading Democratic strongholds, and the 5th District, which takes up most of the city’s north side, is no exception. Obama — whose meteoric rise in national politics began with his 2004 election to the U.S. Senate — almost certainly exceeded the hefty 67 percent of the 5th District’s votes that Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry took in his 2004 challenge to President Bush.
Emanuel received 74 percent of the vote in winning re-election this year, the third consecutive time he easily topped 70 percent.
But which Democrat, out of a very long list of potential candidates, will succeed Emanuel is anybody’s guess. When one party dominates a district, as the Democrats do in Illinois 5, the prospect of longterm political job security typically whets the interest of many would-be Congress members. And nearly two dozen local officials emerged as possible contenders for the upcoming special election mere days after Emanuel’s announcement.
The Long List
“If this was a horse race, the handicapper would throw up his arms and say, ‘I quit,’ because there are just too many possible entrants,” said Paul Green, a professor of public policy at Chicago’s Roosevelt University and a longtime commentator on local politics.
Some local Democrats say that the 5th District’s connections to the incoming Obama administration make the seat a special prize. State Rep. John Fritchey, one of the potential candidates, observed, “It’s an interesting dynamic. On the one hand, Emanuel’s successor will be the most junior member of Congress. On the other hand, [he or she] will be from one of the highest profiled districts in the country, and from the home state of the president.”
The district also has a remarkable history as a political springboard. Democrat Dan Rostenkowski, who represented much of the current 5th District from 1959 to 1995, had a long tenure as chairman of the prominent House Ways and Means Committee until a political corruption scandal led to his stunning 1994 upset by Republican Michael Patrick Flanagan. The seat was reclaimed for the Democrats in 1996 by Rod R. Blagojevich , who held it for six years before winning his first of two terms as governor of Illinois.
Emanuel, formerly a high-ranking aide to President Bill Clinton, won the 2002 election to succeed Blagojevich and rocketed into the House Democratic leadership, running the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the party’s successful 2006 campaign to take control of the House and then serving as the fourth-ranking leader — chairman of the House Democratic Caucus — for the past two years.
The timing of the special election also makes it a “free ride” for most in the 5th District’s huge pool of Democratic officeholders. “Basically, it’s a situation that allows people to be eligible to actually run for Congress without having to give up their existing seats,” noted Margaret Laurino, who represents the 39th Ward on the Chicago city council and currently is “exploring” the option of a House candidacy.
Still, Green cautions that “talk is cheap” when it comes to the crowd of Democrats considering whether to bid for the seat. “Right now, people are just talking about running,” Green said. We’ll see who actually has the political and economic [know-how] to ultimately compete.”
Some in the potential field already are culling themselves. Among them is Deborah Mell, who would draw attention as the daughter of longtime Chicago Alderman Richard Mell, as the sister-in-law of Gov. Blagojevich, and as an openly gay candidate. Mell publicly expressed her intentions to run for the 5th District seat just one day after Obama announced Emanuel’s appointment — and just days after she herself was elected to an open seat in the state House. Now, she appears to have set this plan aside.
Chicago Race for Emanuel’s House Seat Could Draw a Democratic Crowd Who’s In So Far
Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, who appeared to be giving the House race some thought, has also since stepped aside.
For now, all the maybe candidates have some time to test the waters. Emanuel has not given official notice of his resignation from the House. Once he does, Blagojevich must schedule the elections to be held within 115 days. There is strong speculation that he will tie the special election schedule to coincide with primary and general election dates already set for next year’s local elections: Feb. 24 for the primary — which almost certainly will be the decisive race in the 5th District — and April 7 for the general election.
Fritchey, for one, said he will have the luxury of visiting Washington to seek out the advice of Democrats in the nation’s capital. He emphasized the importance of taking the time “to really understand the job” and find out “what life would be like, and what I could realistically expect to get done as a congressman.”
So far, only three candidates have emerged as official contenders: state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley and 47th Ward Alderman Gene Schulter.
Quigley, who recently filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to establish a fundraising committee, sees himself as a “reformer” in keeping with the spirit of “change” Obama is bringing to Washington. “In Chicago, when you try to rock the boat, it’s not easy,” Quigley said, “but I’m the best at doing just that, moving for change.” He contended that “the other candidates have not demonstrated a willingness to think outside the box, to reinvent government and make it more efficient.”
Schulter cited the nation’s economic downturn as his chief area of concern as he begins to campaign. He also sees an edge in his local links to Emanuel.
“Rahm is a resident of my ward, and I helped him get elected here the first time...I have a real close relationship with him,” Schulter said. “I’ve had conversations with him since he decided to take on the job with Barack, and I told him I was very interested in running for his seat, so we shared some ideas and whatnot.”
Schulter said he has not yet asked Emanuel for a former endorsement, though he is quoted in the Chicago Journal as saying he plans to broach the subject.
Meanwhile, Feigenholtz is the first candidate to launch an official House campaign Web site, and said she raised more than $100,000 in donations in one week alone. Like Quigley and Schulter, she is emphasizing an issue receiving national attention: health care. “I believe that I can, first and foremost, be a player in the health care debate, which I believe will happen immediately in Congress,” she said.
Feigenholtz also contends that her years in the state legislature give her a relevant background for a transition to Congress. “I believe that aldermen do wonderful work,” she said, referring to the political backgrounds of several possible candidates, “but I think I have a more appropriate skill set as a 14-year veteran legislator.”
One of the aldermen considering the race is Patrick O’Connor, who represents the 40th Ward. But O’Connor says he would only actively seek it if he receives an endorsement from longtime Chicago Democratic Mayor Richard M. Daley.
An endorsement of any one candidate by Daley would seem an unlikely prospect, given how many of his allies may be competing in the race. But Green said that given Chicago’s history of bare-knuckle politics, the Democratic contest won’t be pretty if Daley doesn’t intercede to pick a favorite.
“Unless the mayor steps in and endorses someone, it’s going to be a bloodbath,” he said. “We’re talking about Chicago here.”
Chicago Race for Emanuel’s House Seat Could Draw a Democratic Crowd Who’s In So Far
Also mulling the pros and cons of the contest are two past congressional hopefuls, Nancy Kaszak and Manny Flores.
Kaszak, a former state representative, would be making a third try for the 5th District seat. She lost the 1996 Democratic primary to Blagojevich, and the 2002 nominating contest to Emanuel.
Flores, a second-term Democratic alderman from Chicago’s 1st Ward, briefly entered the 2008 race for the seat in the neighboring 4th District seat after Democratic Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez announced in early 2007 that he would not seek re-election. Flores withdrew his candidacy after Gutierrez changed his mind and launched a successful campaign for a ninth House term. But his brief flirtation with House politics left Flores with something none of the other possible contenders has: He left open the federal campaign committee he had created for the 4th District, which has a nest egg of roughly $300,000 in contributions sitting in its treasury.
Other names mentioned in recent weeks includes those of John Borovicka, a former House chief of staff to Emanuel; Hyatt Hotel heir J.B. Pritzker, who originally supported New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination but whose sister, Penny Pritzker, chaired the national finance committee for Obama’s campaign; and two more aldermen, Tom Allen and Tom Tunney.
Officials with the Republican Party of Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, say they are in the process of vetting their own possible candidates for the Emanuel seat. But the district’s strongly partisan track record makes a serious GOP challenge unlikely.
“What Republican Party? There is no Republican Party,” Green said with a laugh. “The Republicans have no chance in this district; whoever they pick to run is irrelevent. A Democrat’s going to win this.”
Comments
Mike Quigley running for congress is a horrible joke to play on the voters of the 5th district. As evidenced by his lack of actual accomplishments, Quigley has done nothing with his commissioner's seat except get his name in the media. To paraphrase Quigley's new campaign tagline: "Others talk change. Quigley delivers [press releases and white papers]." He is an ineffectual self-promoter whose proposals go nowhere. This has less to do with their merit and more to do with his inflated ego and antagonistic-cum-double-dealing-operating-style. As former Sheriff Michael Sheahan once said, "the only thing Quigley is good at running is his mouth." The last thing Chicago or Illinois needs is to send another egomaniac backbencher to Congress.
I hope Alderman Tom Allen decides to make this race interesting he will be great Congressman preferred over all you have mentioned.
Michael, gotta disagree with you. Granted, Tom Allen is good on union issues, but aldermen aren't exactly groomed for Congressional seats. I happen to like my alderman -- she does a great job, but let's get real. Aldermen fix potholes, broken streetlights and they distribute temporary parking stickers -- that's about it. We have two wars, a deepening recession and a health care system on the verge of collapse. We need someone with the intellectual capacity and legislative record to lead our district. I say lets send Sara Feigenholtz or Tammy Duckworth to Congress (though I believe Duckworth's candidacy is/was just a rumor). They've served on the State level and they have broad experience on issues like health care and veterans affairs, both of which are huge national issues. But a Daley loyalist (Pat O'Connor, cough cough) will probably get it. Gotta love Chicago.
The Chicago Political Machine is alive and well! Give it to Sara Feigenholtz – she knows the legislative process and can get things done!
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