“Leading requires telling people the truth,” Rahm Emanuel declared at one point during the final mayoral debate, held last week.
Even if you think Emanuel is our best bet—and maybe he is—he’ll be a better mayor, and Chicago will be a healthier city, if he’s forced to consider following his own advice.
Emanuel was among those who lined up firmly behind Daley. Now he says he’s bringing Chicago back from those dark days. “We have made steady progress,” he said at his reelection kickoff. “Our future depends on moving forward together.”
The mayor has also touted his leadership in raising Chicago’s minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2019. But that only happened after his approval ratings plunged and activists and aldermen pushed him for months. If anything it’s an argument for a runoff, because it shows that under pressure from voters Emanuel often listens.
Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, a county commissioner, has been a progressive political leader for three decades, and Alderman Robert Fioretti has emerged as a leading opposition voice in the City Council. Each understands politics and government. Each is also on a bigger stage for the first time and needs to provide more specific plans for leading the city through its challenges.
