As is increasingly common these days, the answer could be found on Facebook.
It was late Tuesday night and I was cruising around FB to check out people’s thoughts about the election results.
One race that had intrigued me was the contest between eventual winner
and her opponent
to represent the newly formed 21
st
District that stretches from the city’s Southwest Side to Southwestern suburban communities like Stickney, Lyons, Bedford Park and Cicero.
Predicted to be a close race, the contest was also billed as evidence and part of the political maturation and potentially increased clout of the area’s Latino community.
It lived up to its advance notice more in the former than the latter.
Lozano
drew 180 more votes than Tabares
in Chicago, but Tabares’
in the suburban part of the district ultimately provided the difference in her narrow victory.
The result did not surprise former 12
th
Ward Green Party Candidate
Writing on Facebook, he said, “I predicted this race and how the outcome was going to be! Rudy is well know in the city because of his father but the gabachos in the burbs are like Rudy who? I know she was going to dominate in the burbs! I’m surprised it was closer than it was!”
The race pitted Tabares, a former journalist and a relative political neophyte who received the backing of
, the city’s longest-serving alderman and one of the last direct ties to the
of the Richard J. Daley era, against Lozano, son of the
whose name he bears.
The political machine against the progressive faction of the community, in other words, some said.
Bocanegra disagreed, instead that the race “was more more like old school machine vs. the so called progressive southwest side machine! Look who supported who on sideds!
We at Hoy had already done just that.
While the fundraising totals were almost identical, the major donors’ identities revealed the candidates’ sources of support and orientation to the community.
Four out of five of Lozano’s top donors were unions.
Their donations accounted for close to one third percent of his more than $127,000.
He also received substantial financial support from
another self-styled ‘independent’ or ‘progressive’ voice who went down to defeat Tuesday in his quest for higher office-he lost a decisive contest for Cook County Clerk to incumbent
and from Cook County Commissioner
.
For her part, Tabares received more than $14,000 from
., the construction company owned by the brother of
United Neighborhood Organization
Senior VP Miguel d’Escoto. Business interests like the Illinois Chamber of Commerce also were some of her other top donors.
The candidates’ endorsement pages on their web sites tell a similar story.
featured a picture of him, his right arm aloft, with Garcia. The list of endorsers sits under the image of both suit-wearing, mustachioed men.
The first nine entries are unions like the Teamsters, UFCW and teachers’ unions.
While Lozano did earn the backing of aldermen, county commissioner and state representatives and senators, he only got two endorsements from town officials outside of Chicago.
Tabares, on the other hand, posted a dozen pictures of her with officials in the Southwest suburbs, the majority of whom like Cicero President Larry Dominick, Stickney Mayor Daniel O’Reilly and Riverside Mayor President Michael Gorman were at the town level.
In the end, Tabares prevailed, although with a turnout level that should give pause to anyone heralding the community’s greater clout.
Bocanegra had his own theory about the general lack of enthusiasm in saying why he didn’t support either candidate: Instead of running a positive campaign and empower Latinos. They both looked like pro politicians with negative campaigning! The voter turn out was low because not one candidate brought out excitement to the voter to take their five minutes from their day to vote!
Tabares moves on to the general election in November, where at this point she is unopposed.
The questions about voter participation and community power will remain, though.
The dialogue will continue in the community and on Facebook.
