A federal judge Monday ordered March 18 special elections for aldermen and ward committeemen in seven Chicago wards where boundaries have been changed to increase the voting strength of blacks and Hispanics.
Political observers noted that the special elections could, but not necessarily would, change the Chicago City Council power struggle. For the last three years, 21 aldermen loyal to Mayor Harold Washington have been pitted against 29 aldermen led by Ald. Edward Vrdolyak (10th).
Although spokesmen for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners have complained of a lack of time to set up the special elections, Judge Charles Norgle, who approved the boundary changes Friday, said the elections would cause little inconvenience because they will be held on the same day as the 1986 Illinois primary election. The election board said it would try to set up an expedited timetable by Tuesday.
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Norgle chose to set the elections for March 18, rather than wait until the next regularly scheduled aldermanic elections in February, 1987, when the mayoral election also will be held. Explaining his decision, he said:
”Aware of the singular importance of the right to vote in a republic and the deleterious consequences to a democracy that arise whenever racial discrimination is permitted to dilute and distort the voting strength of any group, we choose to act today.”
The wards covered in the federal court order are the 22d, 25th and 26th, which received substantial Hispanic majorities in the remapping; the 15th, 18th and 37th, where black voting strength has been increased; and the 31st, which lost Hispanic voting strength but remains predominantly Hispanic.
All seven wards are represented by aldermen in the majority bloc known as the ”Vrdolyak 29.” The council has 33 white aldermen, 16 blacks and 1 Hispanic.
A shift of power in just four of the seven wards affected by the special election would create a 25-25 split, giving Washington the tie-breaking vote and swinging council power to the Washington administration for the first time since he became mayor in the spring of 1983.
But regular Vrdolyak forces already have begun grooming potential aldermanic candidates in the wards, and political observers have noted that the aldermanic issue may not be decided in the March 18 election.
Thomas Leach, an election board spokesman, said Monday that under state law, aldermen must receive 50 percent of the vote plus one vote to be elected in a special election. If a candidate does not receive a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face each other in a runoff election, usually held six weeks after a special election.
That would mean the runoff probably would be held in the first week of May, and if Washington forces become a majority, the mayor would be able to enjoy the advantage only for less than a year until he faces voters in his re- election bid.
In the ward committeeman races, the top vote-getter wins the contest, even without a majority of the votes, under state law.
In City Hall, Washington declined to claim victory in the court ruling and said any predictions that he would gain control of the council were
”premature.”
”It`s a good day for Chicago,” Washington said shortly after Norgle`s order was announced. ”For the first time in its history, the constituents of parts of the city will now have a chance to elect their choice.”
Vrdolyak, whose forces originally opposed the remap and later the call for early special elections, issued a statement Monday calling the ruling ”a welcome development” and said he would not appeal it.
”These elections will give all of us that opportunity to find out from a cross section of people if they agree with Harold Washington`s definition of fairness,” Vrdolyak said.
”Since there are no independent voices in the mayor`s bloc, these elections will give the voters the power to turn over the total control of city government with all that implies or to ensure a series of checks and balances on the executive branch by an independent city council,” he said.
One political observer noted that a shift in the council to Washington with less than a year remaining in his term might be welcomed by his political opponents because it would eliminate one of the mayor`s main campaign issues: that he has been stymied by a recalcitrant council dominated by his foes.
The observer also noted that with less than a year to exercise that council power, Washington might be unable to accomplish much. It also was pointed out that members of the ”Vrdolyak 29” still hold control over the council`s many committees that they wrested away in the early weeks of the Washington administration, and much of the council power rests in the committee system.
The likelihood of runoff elections, generally necessitated when several candidates split the vote several ways in the first election and deny a majority to any one candidate, appeared great Monday when several people announced their candidacies just moments after the court order was handed down.
The wards affected and the general political climate of them are as follows:
— In the 15th Ward on the South Side, the new map changed an already black-majority ward into an almost all-black ward, threatening the career of Ald. Frank Brady, who has managed to stave off political challenges when more than one black candidate opposed him. With the greatly increased black vote total, however, it is unlikely that Brady can hold his post.
— In the adjoining 18th Ward, Ald. Robert Kellam must seek re-election from a black electorate increased to slightly more than 50 percent. Kellam is a loyal member of a strong Democratic organization in the ward, however, and the white voters in the ward traditionally have turned out more than the black voters.
— In the 22d Ward, Ald. Frank Stemberk has managed to win re-election campaigns even though his constituency was heavily Hispanic. Under the new ward map, the 22d goes to 71.7 percent Hispanic from 57 percent. Democratic Party officials rewarded Stemberk with slating for the Cook County Board after he accepted the remap boundaries. So far, the leading candidate to replace him is Jesus Garcia, the Democratic ward committeeman and a deputy commissioner in the city Water Department.
— In the 25th Ward, the council`s dean, Ald. Vito Marzullo, already has signaled his intentions not to seek re-election, and a brisk race already is shaping up. State Rep. Juan Soliz (D., Chicago), a onetime Washington supporter who switched to the regular Democratic organization, has said he seriously is considering running for Marzullo`s post. Also, Juan Velasquez, deputy commissioner for streets and sanitation and a Washington supporter, also has indicated his interest in the post.
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— In the 26th Ward, the number of Hispanics of voting age would rise to 58.1 percent from 55.9 percent, and the remap has moved the home of Ald. Michael Nardulli out of his ward. But Nardulli also was slated by the Democratic Party for a County Board seat, and several Hispanic candidates are expected to seek his spot. One of them is Luis Gutierrez, an assistant general superintendent in the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
— In the 37th Ward on the West Side, the black population rises to 77 percent from 63 percent. The Democratic organization there is strong, and it likely will slate a black candidate in an attempt to continue organization control. Likewise, Ald. Frank Damato has been slated for a County Board seat by the Democrats, giving him a chance to continue in public service.
— In the 31st Ward on the North Side, the number of Hispanics of voting age would drop to 52.2 percent from 55.6 percent. The ward already is represented by a Hispanic, Ald. Miguel Santiago, the council`s only Hispanic member and a Vrdolyak loyalist. Santiago is only the second Hispanic alderman in the city`s history, and both have served the regular Democratic organization faithfully. That casts doubts on political observers` statements that new Hispanic aldermen would support Washington.
At a news conference Monday, Washington said he had not yet endorsed any of the many expected candidates in the special elections.
”I have no candidate at this time for any ward,” he said.