Fioretti,
Dowell oust incumbents in April 17 Aldermanic races
By William S. Bike
"Look
for the union label" is what Bob Fioretti and Pat Dowell could be singing
now that they have won their Aldermanic races. Fioretti defeated longtime
incumbent Madeline Haithcock in the 2nd Ward, and Dowell beat City Council
veteran Dorothy Tillman in the 3rd Ward in the April 17 Aldermanic election.
Unions backed both Fioretti and Dowell because of their opponents' support of Mayor Richard M. Daley's veto of the "Big Box" ordinance last year. Big Box would have required large retailers to provide higher wages and benefits to their workers.
Fioretti easily beat 12-year incumbent Haithcock 6,172 to 3,215, or 65.75% to 34.25%. Haithcock had gotten a reputation of being not as involved with community issues as she should have been, so voters who had cast ballots for a variety of candidates in the February primary coalesced around Fioretti, even though two of the February candidates, David Askew and Larry Doody, endorsed Haithcock in the second round.
In recent years, the ward’s West Loop and South Loop portions had gentrified, creating a new base of voters who trended toward attorney Fioretti and away from Haithcock, whose strength always had been in the ward’s more economically challenged areas.
It was closer for Dowell, a former City planner, who beat 24-year incumbent Tillman 4,513 to 3,847, or 53.98% to 46.02%. Dowell had been backed by Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Alderman Ricardo Munoz of the 22nd Ward, and urban planner Mell Monroe, the third candidate in the February primary.
Tillman had her own heavy hitters backing her in Congressman Danny K. Davis, Congressman Bobby Rush, Congressman Luis Gutierrez, some Nation of Islam leaders, and U.S. Senator Barack Obama. Tillman's defeat is therefore a rare setback for the popular Obama.
Longtime, older, and poorer residents of the two wards tended to back the incumbents, while newer, younger, and more well-to-do residents tended to back the challengers.
Mayor
Richard M. Daley had sent footsoldiers and campaign contributions to both
Haithcock and Tillman, so their defeats were rare setbacks for the Mayor as
well.
After the election, Fioretti and Dowell reflected on why they won.
"The biggest factor was hard work," Fioretti said. "I was out in the neighborhoods every day knocking on doors and meeting residents. That's how I got my message out, and people responded."
"My message of change and new leadership resonated with the voters in the 3rd Ward," Dowell said. "My focus on providing quality constituent services and bringing new economic opportunity to the ward in the form of new retail and new jobs were important concerns to residents."
Both candidates, endorsed by the Gazette, were grateful for the numerous newspaper endorsements they received.
"Newspaper endorsements are significant as a reflection of residents' views," Fioretti said. "I was pleased to have the endorsement of a number of newspapers and honored that they recognized my ability to give the 2nd Ward a voice in City Council."
"I think all the endorsements I received, including the endorsement of the Gazette, were important," Dowell continued. "The voters get their information about a candidate from a number of different sources, and endorsements provided another opportunity for people to learn more about me, my background, and my platform."
