Rahm'sTrackers: the best viral video of the campaign so far
Gery Chico's campaign released a fun web video poking fun at Rahm's campaign trackers
and trying to pivot that into a larger story of transparency. Apparently, it is fine to have staffers film your every move
on the trail. It is not fine to lie about it.
Mayors and the politics of their childrens' schools
An interesting battle, that may have some legs with the press, is the (currently hypothetical)
question of whether Rahm's kids will attend public school. It's a well-worn campaign tactic that touches two key nerves:
1) Does the candidate believe in the quality of the city's public schools?
There is no better who of faith in the school system than to choose them for your own children.
2) The unique privilege of the city's upper class to choose instead to send their children to private schools. Francis Parker, for example, would cost up to $30K per child per year. For Rahm's 3 children, the cost would be about $75K/year. Clearly, not many voters could afford that option.
All that said, most mayors have opted to send their children to
private school. Here's a quick rundown:
Where do Rahm's
kids attend school now? Sun Times reporter Michael Sneed reports that, in DC, two currently attend the prestigious Maret School, and one attends a private Jewish school.
Where did Mayor Daley's attend school? Two of his children were
largely out of school by the time he began in office, but younger children Elizabeth and Patrick attended Catholic grammar
and high schools in the city. Both Richard M. Daley and his father Richard J. Daley are alums of Chicago's Catholic De La
Salle High School.
What about other large-city mayors? -Mike Bloomberg (New York City): Bloomberg's children were nearly out of school by the time he became mayor,
but youngest daugther Georgina attended private Spence School for high school. -Antonio Villaraigosa (Los Angeles): Natalia and Antonio Jr. both attended
Catholic schools. -Adrian Fenty (Washington, DC): Started in private school, but moved to public school in 2009. -And, of course, the Obama children attend private Sidwell Friends, as
did Chelsea Clinton.
So, the lesson is that while mayors generally talk a lot about improving their public schools,
their children rarely attend them.
Rahm snubbed by high school's hall of fame committee for... Donald Rumsfeld
A fun story out today, completely unrelated to the mayoral race, that Rahm Emanuel's
high school alma mater has selected their inaugural Hall of Fame class and left off one Rahm Israel Emanuel (class of 1977). Instead, among those selected were Donald Rumsfeld (class of 1950) and Rainn Wilson (class of 1984).
New Trier High School, a public high school of about 4,000 students in the North Shore upper-class town of Winnetka,
has an alumni list that would rival a top-tier university. It even has its own Wikipedia entry.
Consider this: a theoretical student council president's race could have pitted Rahm against current
IL senator Mark Kirk, with ads directed by award-winning director Mark Romanek ('77) and a critical school newspaper endorsement
written by WSJ editorial board member Stephen Moore ('78). In the end, the candidate that handed out treats at lunch courtesy
of renowned chef Charlie Trotter ('77) probably would have swung the election.
None of those will be inducted
in the HOF this time around.
Yeah, it's a competitive group. It's also a target for controversy. Mayoral candidate
James Meeks made headlines in 2008 for busing a group of Chicago students up to New Trier to highlight spending inequality. One wonders if this
type of class comparison will sneak into the race.
Meeks continues to stake out conversative positioning via civil unions legislation
As I've written previously, State Sen. James Meeks is an intriguing candidate for his
unique ability to create an unorthodox coalition. He is a pastor at the sizable Salem Baptist Church, he is an African-American,
and he is fairly conservative.
In keeping with that, Meeks was the only candidate to oppose the civil unions legislation
for gays and lesbians that passed in the State House and Senate over the last 24 hours. In fact, as a state senator, Meeks
was the only to candidate to cast a vote at all on this issue.
While he did not speak on the floor, he said this
after the vote (via Dave McKinney at the Sun Times): "I believe this was a bill about marriage, and I believe this is a sea change in the state of Illinois. I believe
a bill this big and with this much magnitude probably should have been placed on a ballot for a referendum. I believe in the
sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. That was the impetus for my vote.”
Rahm's campaign uses Republicans as fundraising bogeyman
Latest email from the campaign entitled "Rahm Under Attack" below, presumably
playing to the more nationally-focused among their email database:
We expected that some of our opponents may
run negative ads against us, but the first ad didn't come from another candidate in the race: it came from the national
Republican Party.
They're calling Rahm 'Obama's Embarrassment'
and raising money to attack him.
We need to fight back. Help take
a stand today by donating $25, $50, or $100 today!
The Party
of George W. Bush doesn't have any ideas to move the City of Chicago forward. They are just out to attack Rahm's character
and attempt to attack President Obama in the process.
Can
you help us continue to talk about the issues facing our city instead of petty politics by donating $25, $50, or $100 right
now?
We'll continue doing our part by focusing on the issues at hand: safe streets, strong schools, and
stable city finances, but we're counting on you to help us defend ourselves against these Republican attacks.
Thank you,
Scott Fairchild Campaign Manager, Chicago for Rahm
P.S. Need
more evidence? The GOP said, "If Rahm Emanuel is not elected Mayor of Chicago, it will be the ultimate humiliation to
both he and the White House that has supported him. Defeating Emanuel means embarrassing Obama." Please contribute any
amount you can to help us fight back.
