Results of Chicago elections: The 'old boys' are back again

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SOCIALIST ACTION MAY 1989 Jesse and CHICAGO—The recent elections here have captured national attention. Many Black political activists see the election as a grave defeat, given that it is the first time in some years that a white politician has won in a major city that formerly had a Black mayor. What is involved in this situation?

On March 4, Richard Daley, a Democrat, was elected mayor with 574,619 votes (56 percent). Black "independent" Tim Evans received 412,864 (40 percent), and Republican Ed Vrdolyak 36,095 (3.5 percent).

Each candidate ran a distinctive campaign. Vrdolyak stressed the social agenda of the far right: against busing and the gay-rights ordinance. In particular, he associated himself with the anti-abortion rights movement. He called for legislation banning abortion clinics within 2000 feet of school entrances (are there many?). He also told people to withdraw their money from a bank that owned the building where a clinic operated.

Vrdolyak called for a boycott of the many businesses that financially support the Art Institute, due to an exhibition of a montage that included an American flag taped to the floor beneath a notebook. (People would have to step on the flag to look at the notebook.)

Vrdolyak's campaign was a resounding failure. As a longtime racist, it must have been particularly galling for Vrdolyak to have Big winner: Richard Daley come in at the bottom-beaten even by Tim Evans-in his own 10th ward bastion.

Evans' "independent" campaign Tim Evans campaigned as an independent on the Harold Washington Party ticket. (For the background to this campaign, see the article "Little Enthusiasm for Major Rivals in Chicago Elections" in the March Socialist Action).

Evans was supported by many who saw him as "the continuator of Harold Washington's legacy," a campaigner for Black rights, and a supporter of progressive social causes.

A number of points have to be made about the Evans campaign. One, there was nothing radical about his program. He frequently described himself as a "fiscal conservative."

Two, while Evans certainly gathered strong support in the Black community, it was nowhere as strong as Harold Washington's. A number of commentators have attributed Evans' defeat to the relatively low voter turnout in the Black wards.

Three, Evans' break from the Democratic Party was a very limited tactical break. His supporters have made this clear.

Jesse Jackson said, "The legitimacy of Evans' standing in the Democratic Party must be affirmed. There are two Democratic candidates in this election" (Chicago SunTimes, March 30, 1989). In other speeches, Jackson compared Evans' campaigning outside the Democrats to Hubert Humphrey and the Minnesota Farmer Labor Party.

In a major supportive article, Scott Marshall, the central leader of the Communist Party here, described different views concerning Evans' candidacy: "Then there are many, like the candidate himself, who see the Harold Washington Party as only a tactic to get around some immediate problems in the Democratic Party locally." (Peoples Daily World, March 23, 1989)

The day after the election, Vince Demuzio, Illinois State Chairman of the Democratic Party, called for Evans and his supporters to let bygones be bygones and to rejoin the party.

Daley builds a new machine Democratic candidate Richard Daley won an easy victory. His campaign represented the needs and desires of the ruling class of this city. This class wants stability, an end to "Beirut on the Lake," in order to secure international and domestic investment.

In order to ensure this social stability, Daley painted an image of conciliation. This could very clearly be seen in his victory speech on election night, in which he held out the olive branch to his political opponents.

The capitalist class poo8 therefore, gave Daley an extraordinary amount of money-over $6.1 million. This was one of the most talked-about aspects of the campaign. The money came in huge contributions; 30 percent of it came from only 1 percent of the contributors in sums of over $24,000. (All statistics are as of March 30, 1989.)

A significant chunk of Daley's money came from real-estate interests, enthusiastic to cash in on the boom in the downtown Loop area.

These business contributors believe that significant contributions will get them an "in," an inside track, with the new Daley administration. They are certainly right about this.

A new "machine" is therefore being built. It will combine two aspects. One is the army of canvassers and precinct workers that the Daley forces can still mobilize, particularly in the southwest and northwest sides. The other is an "old boys network" of real estate and financial influence linking big business with City Hall. Daley's ability to lead these two forces is his service to the ruling class.

What kind of "balance sheet?"

The Black movement now faces a strategic impasse. There is a big sense of demoralization amongst Black political activists. Prominent community leader Lu Palmer doubts that Daley can even be defeated in 1991, the date of the next election. There is a sense that "a Black city has been lost."

Many Black activists, such as influential radical teacher Bob Stark, see the key task as drawing a balance sheet of what went wrong. What conclusions will be formed from the balance sheet? The central theme emerging is that the major problem was "disunity." It is maintained that the Evans forces should have united with forces of Mayor Sawyer, who represented the mainstream Democratic Party.

Already Jackson has said, "We know we can run without each other, but we can't win without each other." He added that "hurt and fracture in the Harold Washington coalition" was the main reason for Daley's victory. (Chicago Sun-Times, April 7, 1989).

But the problem facing the Black movement is the whole strategy of attempting to gain control of the Democratic Party, not the lack of unity among the candidates. Instead of concentrating on electoral maneuvers in the run-up to the 1991 election, the Black movement should go into the streets now, pressing its own demands.

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Robert Kusel-SIPA Dahort