Too risky to run

There is immense political pressure on the "electeds" to help keep fellow incumbents in office

11/11/2009 10:00 PM

AMY SUE MERTENS

4 Comments - Add Your Comment

Political jockeying begins each campaign season long before most people know who is running. Petitions are floated for a variety of offices. Many of us sign, indicating that we believe said person should have access to the ballot. It’s all quite democratic. But behind closed doors, deals are being made about who will really run.

Some candidates “pass petitions,” as the process is called, with no intention of really running. They’re in the mix for others reasons. Perhaps they want to keep someone from challenging the incumbent or because they’re angling for political spoils — a job or a bit of political pork in the form of a government grant.

Then there are the incumbents of one office who pass petitions seeking a different elected office. This year, many of our Near West Side legislators decided that they wanted different jobs. Some even passed petitions for more than one office knowing that election rules would force them to eventually pull out of all but one.

State Rep. Annazette Collins, State Sen. Rickey Hendon (who I challenged in 2008) and Ald. Bob Fioretti all wanted to be your 7th District congressman until they didn’t. Ald. Ed Smith wanted to be your 10th District state rep until he didn’t. And 7th District U.S. Congressman Danny Davis wanted to be president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners until he didn’t.

Davis passed petitions for both county board president and for congress, leaving his options open and throwing a wrench into other politicians’ plans. There is immense political pressure on the “electeds” to help keep fellow incumbents in office, so interested pols saw Davis’ potential move to county government creating a rare and coveted open seat (the same dynamic happened in the 5th congressional district when Rahm Emmanuel left the seat to serve as President Obama’s chief of staff).

Unfortunately for those wanting to go to Washington, Davis changed his mind at the last minute. Then the dominos fell. Hendon and Fioretti dropped out. Collins did too, returning to her sandbox, and then Smith backed out of his Springfield run for her old seat.

Rumblings I heard put Smith in the state rep race to keep other potential candidates concerned about his name recognition or clout away. The move, however, notably failed to keep the field small for Collins — there are still seven candidates seeking to challenge her next February.

Elsewhere, State Rep. Art Turner is running for lieutenant governor, along with Sen. Hendon, who passed petitions for that office as well. I like Rep. Turner, and he will have my vote in that race. But what Turner may not want voters to know is that apparently his son, Art Turner, wants to take the state rep office his father is giving up in order to run for lieutenant governor. There is likely the expectation that most of you will vote for his son thinking it’s him, same name and all.

To me, this preservation of, and jockeying for, elected seats by current holders, their families and their cronies fosters disinterest and distrust in the democratic process. The impression it gives is that these seats are already taken or promised.

When Congressman Davis announced Monday that he would not run for Cook County board president he said, “I took the position that it was too risky.” He went on to say he’d hoped to run a campaign of unity, which had some thinking he didn’t want to risk a loss to Todd Stroger, who refused to pull out.

Translation: it was too risky to run and lose the county election. And then hold no office. Having successfully kept some qualified candidates away by passing petitions for both offices, Davis is back to his sure thing.

I think we need new energy in our congressional district, and frankly Davis lost my vote for good when he played with the county board seat like a toy.

Remember this proclivity for self-preservation the next time you’re in the voting booth. This is how the status quo perpetuates.


4 Comments - Add Your Comment



By Pat from Loop
Posted: 01/21/2010 2:40 PM

Turner is running a misleading campaign. The last thing the Dems need is a double-trouble dynasty.


By Rickey from Lawndale
Posted: 11/16/2009 10:13 AM

The first person to comment here incorrectly presumes it is ok to leech public office for private gain. Now THAT is ridiculous. Officials are elected to office to represent and SERVE people, and AmySue's insightful piece is another reminder of the perils of entrenched power. Without term limits, career politicans no longer work for the people...they work for themselves, and to protect jobs that were never intended to be career positions, but rather acts of service to benefit the greater good.


By here 4ever from South Loop
Posted: 11/14/2009 2:32 PM

What's your point, AmySue? Would you leave a job if you were not certain that another one was within reach? That is what the people you mention are doing. How is that any different from how any of us look at potential job changes? I guarantee you one thing: had you defeated Hendon, you would have done everything and anything to hold on to that position. Your column is ridiculous.


By Jim Ascot from West Loop
Posted: 11/12/2009 4:35 PM

You're absolutely right. We need new energy in the 7th District. Unlike Danny Davis, I have been running in this election for months. Voters realize that it's time for a changing of the guard. We should tell career politicians like Danny Davis that we see their actions for what they are -- antidemocratic attempts to clear the field for members of the political machine. It's good to see that people are paying attention. -Jim Ascot, candidate for U.S. Congress in Illinois' 7th District.