Rahm Emanuel wins Chicago mayoral vote

[WestVirginiaRebel]

CNN:

Chicago (CNN) -- Rahm Emanuel, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, won the Chicago mayoral election over five other challengers Tuesday, topping the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff vote, CNN projects.

With almost 75% of the vote counted, Emanuel had almost 55% of the vote, far outdistancing his rivals.

Former Chicago School Board head Gery Chico was in second place with 25%, while City Clerk Miguel del Valle had 9% and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun had more than 8%. The other two candidates both had less than 2%.

Speaking to supporters Tuesday night, a buoyant Emanuel praised outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley, saying it would be "a tough act to follow," then spoke to problems facing the nation's third-largest city, which is dealing with an unexpected $654 million city deficit, possible reforms to the city's pension system and rising crime.

"What makes this victory most gratifying is that it was built on votes from every corner of this city," he said, touching on an overall theme of unity. "It's easy to find differences, but we can never allow them to become divisions."

Saying his administration will be dependent "on the plural pronoun, 'we,'" Emanuel said, "We know that we face serious new challenges, and overcoming them will not be easy."
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Don't worry, Chicago-it's strictly business...

[righteousmomma]

BIG SURPRISE!!

 

(NOT)

[Ghost]

when we kick O-BUM-a out, maybe he can be Chicago's dog catcher

[AceRimmer]

I wonder what the breakdown on voter support for Rahmbo was? White, Black, Latino, Dead?

[righteousmomma]

Have to say that I can't stand Rahm but out of the field of candidates he was by far the only half way qualified one. Braun, for one, is a total nut case, head job.

I don't know as much about 2 others but the Hispanic guy sounded reasonable just cannot imagine him (with his background) running a city like Chicago.

 

BTW, pretty pitiful when more than half the city did not even go and vote and with 6 candidates nary a Republican.

 

 

"Emanuel amassed 55.2 percent with 99.5 percent of city precincts counted, above the 50 percent-plus benchmark he needed to win outright to avoid an April runoff. Gery Chico had 24 percent, with Miguel del Valle at 9.3 percent and Carol Moseley Braun at 9 percent. Two lesser-known candidates, Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins and William "Dock" Walls, received 2.5 percent combined.

 

Emanuel won 40 of the city's 50 wards, getting more than 70 percent of the vote in the heavily populated lakefront wards. (RM says code for white yuppies and Jewish vote) Emanuel also won with more than 50 percent of the vote in wards with large African-American populations (probably middle to upper middle class areas in South Chicago), racking up margins of at least 2-to-1 over the major black candidate, Braun.

 

Chico won the remaining 10 city wards. They were primarily Latino-heavy wards on the Southwest Side, where he was raised, and the West Side. Chico, Daley's former chief of staff, also won the 19th and 41st wards, both with large populations of police and firefighters, whose unions endorsed him. Still, Chico's vote advantage over Emanuel in those wards was not significant.

Turnout was 41 percent, nearly 10 points lower than election officials predicted."

[SrWoodchuck]

Totally agree, Righteousmomma!

 

Glad that Moosely Braun wasn't close. Think Rahm will attempt some type of bail-out, abetted by Obama?

[Pepper]

“Each country gets the leader it deserves"

 

Huxley's comment applies to cities as well. What I want to know is who'd we tick off to get Zero?

[Sanguine]

“Each country gets the leader it deserves"

 

Huxley's comment applies to cities as well. What I want to know is who'd we tick off to get Zero?

 

Great question.

[Sabre86]

The election was decided long ago and was never in doubt.