Bridging the Urban Divide

Written by: William Maggos on Feb 23, 2007 8:48 AM EST

Hello all.  My name is William Maggos, and I am the host of the Loop DFA group in Downtown Chicago.  We draw from the surrounding areas, as our focus was to be a group for folks who work in Downtown Chicago but may live elsewhere.  We were very active in the Cegelis primary, but we are now wrapped up in the local elections in Chicago, specifically alderman races.  While many of our members are involved in different races in the parts of Chicago where they actually live, one of our members actually decided to run for alderman of the ward we meet in.  So the group pledged its support to David.

David Askew is running for 2nd Ward Alderman.  He is the typical DFA candidate, clearly the best choice but lacking the money or connections of his opponents.  Too honest in a political environment dominated by special interest groups and media soundbites.  He demonstrates the predicaments many of our candidates face and exactly why we are needed, and need to be stronger in the struggling urban areas of our big cities.

Chicago is Democratic but not very democratic.  The wards are drawn to maintain the fact that politicians choose their voters and not the other way around.  The old way of government jobs being dependent on political work is slowly giving way to campaign cash for contracts.  This all points to a great opportunity for some DFA-style campaigns to make real change, but it aint gonna be easy.  Physical threats are still to be expected, and you might even have the banner stolen off the candidate's house as soon as the sun goes down!

That brings us back to this race.  The 2nd ward is a microcosm of the city overall, as it is composed of a booming downtown area with a more affluent white population and areas south and west which look nearly forgotten where residents are generally poor and minority.  For too long, innercity poverty has gotten lip service but based on results, enough effort has obviously not been made.  Local politicians have somehow accepted this state of affairs.  In my view, this is exactly why DFA needs to be involved in local races in the forgotten areas of our large cities.  While I commend the groups that address various issues, I feel that it is DFA's focus on candidates that can best make longlasting change.  We need to elect candidates that can understand the needs of an area in a comprehensive way, and that do not rely on the support of different interest groups to get elected.  This will allow them the flexibility to do what needs doing independent of political relationships that so seem to dominate urban politics.  But you also need someone who has proven their connection to an area as the issues are so difficult and the pressure very intense for such local positions.  David made his home in a struggling neighborhood on the western part of the ward, choosing to invest in the area both his money and time.  He joined community policing and helped to end much of the criminal activity on his block.  This is an example of his character, and what I feel is integral to the candidates DFA supports.

David's life has always been about public service over personal gain, as he joined the Navy after law school and then walked away from a better salary at a big firm to work in the state's Attorney General's office as a civil rights lawyer.  But these life choices are what put David and other DFA candidates like him at a disadvantage when running for office.  You are usually at an economic disadvantage to folks who worked in the private sector, and true citizen candidates  who just get fed up one day and decide to run for office lack the connections of those who have chosen to play the political games or just have some personal connection.  But these are often the candidates that we really want to represent us, people who have demonstrated the public service spirit deeply and the average Jane whose reason to run is the same we all feel at some time or another.  But if they are going to win, they need us as volunteers to help.

This has been the tale of David's campaign, a crowded field filled with candidates with lots of money or personal political connection. And as a bunch of volunteers, we are getting the word out by canvassing and phone calls.  He impresses at every forum and wherever he goes, but how many people have attended one of those?  And then like many DFA candidates, you face the electability issue.  In this race, its presented as, "I really want to get the incumbent out, and while I like David best, he just doesn't have the money to win.  Your candidate can't win, so just go with the lesser evil."  As Dean supporters, we've seen where that has gotten us.

But the campaign has gotten lucky here.  We've swept the major newspapers in Chicago, with both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times endorsing David Askew as the best candidate in a crowded field of six candidates.  To get both is quite a statement, and we hope it begins to blunt the electability concerns.  It is a great way to lead off a phone call to a voter.

So there's a little window into this race, and our attempt to make a blue city better represent the Democratic wing of our party.  Wish us luck this Tuesday!

Tags:
Location: Chicago, IL