Ald. Timothy Evans, his mayoral campaign low on cash and faced with a splintered black electorate, roused his troops Sunday evening during a rally that was part political convention and part religious revival.
The estimated 2,500 supporters who packed the Bismarck Hotel`s gilded pavilion chanted, clapped and danced to the rhetoric of speakers and the rhythms of a jazz band.
With one month left before the April 4 primary, Evans` cash-strapped campaign must stir up enthusiasm, without resorting to the race issue, and raise at least $1 million, aides have said.
It also must bring on board the bitter and wounded supporters of Mayor Eugene Sawyer, many of whom blame the 4th Ward alderman for the mayor`s defeat in the Democratic primary.
On Sunday, a ”grass-roots” group of Sawyer supporters, none of them prominent politicians, announced that they would mount a write-in campaign for the mayor, who is on vacation in Puerto Rico.
”The mayor has been informed, and he did not say do it, but he didn`t say don`t do it,” said Russ Miller, the group`s chairman. ”This is not a movement to lash out at anyone. We don`t think Evans was a spoiler and we`re not out to get him, but to elect Sawyer as mayor.”
Reynard Rochon, Sawyer`s campaign manager, said Sunday that he had not been informed of the effort.
”I knew something was going on in regards to a write-in campaign, but I have not had conversation with the group and I don`t know if the mayor did or not,” Rochon said.
Even if Sawyer cannot be persuaded to run a write-in campaign, his supporters can hurt Evans by sitting out the general election. During the rally, Evans tried to persuade them to join in his campaign.
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”I know that in this city there is still some pain,” Evans said.
”People feeling that way don`t always act as reasonably as we would like them to act. But I know that time heals the wounds and when that time comes on April 4 we will be together again.”
Ald. William Henry (24th), a staunch Sawyer supporter who has endorsed Evans, was greeted by more boos than cheers when he was introduced. He is not optimistic that the breach can be mended.
”Anything that takes some votes away will hurt (Evans),” Henry said before the rally. ”All the indications to me is it`ll continue. We have to mount a strong campiagn to remove the hatred and ill feelings. It`s going to be really, really tough.”
It also will be tough for Evans to raise the $1 million he needs to fund his campaign.
During Sunday`s rally, shopping bags and small plastic buckets were passed around for donations. And checks, mostly for small amounts, were brought to the stage as the band broke into gospel music. One 8-year-old boy donated a jar filled with 500 pennies. T-shirts, hats and buttons also were sold.
”We`re going to need 100,000 people to give this campaign a minimum of $10 each,” said David Reed, Evans` chief fundraiser. ”That`s a small price to pay for freedom, and we got to pay.”
For now, Evans is counting on the enthusiasm stirred up during the rally, where groups waved ward banners and gave Evans a three-minute ovation. The speakers, who included controversial Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3d), sidestepped the race issue.
And when U.S. Rep. Gus Savage, who was not a scheduled speaker, was invited to the podium, Evans was visibly nervous. He seemed to hold his breath when Savage said, ”Dumb Dumb Daley represents racism in Chicago” and declared that the ”dreaded `R` word” must be used.
”Racism is a major factor, a mayor issue in this campaign for mayor,”
Savage said. ”I know Gene Sawyer, and I agree with whites that he`s truly a nice guy. So I voted for him. Why didn`t they?”
The theme of the rally, printed in bold blue letters on a giant banner, was ”In the best Chicago, the people make the difference.”
Outside the pavilion, campaign workers collected signatures from potential volunteers and gave information on where citizens can register to vote before Tuesday`s deadline. Others handed out literature and buttons.
”This is a street campaign, get your campaign buttons, `cause we`re taking over the streets,” said Oscar Worrill, an Evans precinct worker. ”The last election was controlled by media and money. This campaign is going to be controlled by the people.”