Daley says he will not run for re-election

[AngryAmish]

Source: tribune web site

Mayor Richard Daley says he will not run for re-election in 2011.

"The truth is I have been thinking about this for the past several months," Daley said at a City Hall news conference. "In the end this is a personal decision, no more, no less."

Daley spoke for less than five minutes and took no questions.

Read more: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/09/daley-says-he-will-not-run-for-re-election.html

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holy fucking shit!

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

1. that denies me the pleasure of voting against him

I am not surprised.

Neither he nor his wife are in good health.

His political health is poor, too.

Take the money and run away, Richie.


Edit to add: On second thought, I'm a little surprised.

When I read last week that he wants to give renters more protection when developers convert apartment buildings to condos, and give condo buyers more protection with a new disclosure form that spells out the building's condition and the condo association's financial status, I thought Well, he wants to be reelected, but too little too late.

[elleng]

4. Who's next?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

14. I figured he would go out on a stretcher like his old man.

It's either his health or his potential status as an un-convicted person.

Even with poor political health, I can't see anyone beating him even now if he stayed and ran. Can you?

[zipplewrath]

2. Well, Rahm's gone

Wasn't this the job he said he wanted, and would leave the White House to take? No time like the present. Might help us in the fall elections too.

[Pirate Smile]

3. Yep.

[Pavulon]

5. That goes over like inviting strippers to dance at a church fellowship..

that guy is so corrupt and disgusting he should be no where NEAR the white house. He is also insane, really.

[AngryAmish]

6. Rahm is not Irish

on edit, Rahm is strictly an underling, not a real power broker. What sway does Rahm have with the ward committeemen? None.

Now the question stands: who does Mike Madigan or Jeremiah Joyce want to be mayor. That is why I think Dart. But we will see.

on further edit:

Jesse Jackson Jr. would have run until the snitchng debacle and trying to buy the Senate seat. So he is out. I'm trying to figure out the black candidates will be. Sandy Jackson? Rev. Meeks? Doc Walls again?

[mopinko]

18. i think they owe cheryl jackson (no relation to jesse).

she made the ticket safe for alexi.

i bet david hoffman runs. squeeky clean, but snooze city to listen to.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Yeaaaaaaa

[prolesunited]

8. Question is, who is going to get it?

Sometimes the evil you know is better than the evil you don't. Remember Jane Byrne?

[AngryAmish]

9. Although he wasn't Irish, Harold Washington did a lot of good

He paved all the alleys. He also spread services fairly across the city, ending white flight and allowing gentrification.

[chimpymustgo]

11. Harold Washington was the best mayor! I used to love his news conferences. So smart and witty.

And he'd take on the evil, racist Council members with GUSTO.

[Lightning Count]

25. Allowing gentrification?

Never saw that as a good thing.

[AngryAmish]

27. If all you want is a bombed out inner city, then gentrification is bad

If you want a city that collects a lot of taxes and has jobs, then gentrification is ok.

[Lightning Count]

28. Also helps to eliminate the dark-skinned people.

Out of sight, out of mind I guess.

[AngryAmish]

29. Because dark skinned people hate Starbucks....

[apnu]

26. +1 for Harold.

I met him, and will always remember that. He had the singular quality of focusing on you in such a way that his whole being was focused on whatever you were saying to him. I felt he was really listening to me and interested in what I had to say. Granted I was 12 at the time and was talking about an after school sports program, but damn if he didn't make me feel like my opinion counted, he made me feel like I was on his level not that he was stooping down from on high to visit the unwashed masses.

He also taught me the most important lesson of my life in that moment I had meeting him. That color doesn't matter. Though I'm white and he's black, in our conversation I distinctly felt the absence of race. And I thought, later, "damn, that's how the world should be." I've never lost that dream.

Harold was very special.

[AngryAmish]

10. Tom Dart

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. David Orr will most likely throw his hat in the ring.

One of my "peeps" just informed me Orr is seriously thinking about it.

[AngryAmish]

17. Wasn't he already mayor?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

20. Yes. For a short period after Wahington's death.

[mopinko]

22. he was interim mayor when harold died.

just until they appointed sawyer.

[mopinko]

19. he'd be good.

if he starts issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, you will know why.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

23. He would LOVE to issue licenses to gay people but he feels he has to follow the law as it stands.

I have some gay friends in his office.

[mopinko]

31. yeah, i know.

he lives down the street from me, used to be my alderman, and is my fellow 49th ward board member. he is a good guy. and he is a real competent manager as well. not sure he would really catch fire, but who knows. it is on fire, now.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

21. Tom Dart is so great that I'm terrified to find out otherwise

I agree about Washington, he was great and the Council sucked, but in the general miasma of the Reagan era it was hard for me to follow just who made just what suck.

[apnu]

12. Well the silly season for Chicago is officially open.

Given our history of mayoral fun, this will be a very silly time indeed.

[frazzled]

13. Don't you know it

It's going to be an absolute circus.

It was time for Daley to go -- before he sold off any more of the city's assets. One thing I'll give Daley, though: he brought arts to the people in a big way, for free (in Grant Park, Millennium Park, the Cultural Center, and various festivals around town). It's one thing I'll be looking for in a new mayoral candidate: commitment to Chicago's important public arts programs.

Okay, suit up ladies and gentlemen. It's going to be a food fight.

[mopinko]

16. millenium park.

i don't care how much it cost, or how much arm twisting and sideways legalities it took. it is a piece of sheer beauty, and an asset to the city. hell, the world.
he did a lot of other great things, really. i am rather fond of him. always did have a soft spot for rascals.

[apnu]

24. Yeah it was time for him to go.

I'll always admire him for his cycling initiatives. Though they were tied to the 2016 bid, we have many great paths and lanes in the city now and tons of bike racks. That's good, I see hundreds of commuters on my bike commute route to work every day. That's a good thing. Plus his green projects have been good too, though constructing all those parkways on the streets was a pain in the ass, they do look nice now they are done. And the rooftop gardens, they're cool too. He does deserve the nickname of Daley the Planter.

Having said that, its time for him to go. The nutty privatization schemes and the city's debt are really bad. And I'm sick of him playing the victim to this debt nonsense. He's served for 20 years and somehow the crushing debt of the city isn't his fault? He's gotta be kidding. Oh yeah, I'd love to know where all the money went for the Skyway, meters and garages leases. Weren't we supposed to live off the interest in Shangri-la?

Good Bye Daley, hope the door hits you on the ass when you leave.

[mopinko]

32. the debt isn't his fault. the real estate bubble burst.

that's what happened to the city. sales tax, hotel tax, mc pier taxes, parking, all that shit crashed. it would have been nice to see a rainy day coming. but we are not in trouble because of anything daley did. we are in a serious recession.

[prolesunited]

30. Yep, he may have made sure his cronies got the contracts

but the people definitely got something out of it as well. I really appreciated his "City in Bloom" efforts. The parks and parkways have looked beautiful in recent years.