NewsUSAChicago chooses between progressive and moderate for mayor

Chicago chooses between progressive and moderate for mayor

Voters in Chicago will choose a new mayor on Tuesday between two candidates with contrasting views on issues including crime, taxes, schools and investing in surveillance who are vying to lead the heavily Democratic city, the third-largest in the United States. Joined.

The election pits former Chicago Schools CEO Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat backed by the city’s police union and major business groups, against progressive Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer backed by the Teachers Union. from Chicago.

Both men finished ahead of incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a February election that made her the first incumbent in 40 years to seek re-election in the city and lose.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pauses during her concession speech as her wife, Amy Eshleman, applauds during an election night party for the mayoral election on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The top two vote-getters in the all-Democratic but officially nonpartisan election advanced to Tuesday’s runoff because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

The race has focused on the rise in violent crime during the COVID-19 pandemic and rising property taxes, but it could also have implications for Democrats nationally ahead of other elections, including races for the mayor in cities like Philadelphia and Houston.

For progressives and the more moderate wing of the party alike, the Chicago race is seen as a test of organizational power and messaging, especially on issues prominent in big cities such as crime and alignment with the unions charged with making obey the law.

Vallas has repeatedly attacked Johnson for past comments in support of defunding the police, which Johnson says he would not do as mayor. Still, Vallas, who wants to hire hundreds more police officers, says the biggest quality that divides candidates is experience.

The former Chicago budget director, who took charge of troubled schools in Chicago and elsewhere, says his experience will be critical for a city emerging from the pandemic with police and economic crises.

“This is not the time for on-the-job training,” Vallas said. “This is not the time for someone who doesn’t have details and can’t really answer questions substantively.”

Johnson, in turn, has argued that Vallas, who has run for office multiple times as a Democrat, is too right-wing to lead Chicago. He noted that some of his top donors have also supported Republicans, including Donald Trump, and that the controversial police union boss has defended the January 6 insurgents.

During a rally late last week with Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent and progressive flag-bearer from Vermont, he described his opponent as part of the far right and other “greedy profiteers.”

Source: VOA Español

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Posts

Read More
More