A report from Lake Effect News
In a way, James Cappleman has never stopped campaigning for 46th Ward alderman. His last defeat was seemingly a blip on the Doppler radar as he dusted himself off and hit the campaign trail the day after losing to Alderman Helen Shiller in 2007.
On Saturday, Cappleman formally announced his candidacy in a pointed campaign speech that took aim at an embattled incumbent who has yet to announce her re-election plans and three declared challengers, and others possibly standing in the wings.
Cappleman chose the Sunnyside Mall to launch his 2011 campaign, a promenade known both for its community gardens and as one of Uptown’s most notorious open-air drug markets.
In a campaign speech that lasted all of seven minutes, Cappleman spoke of how the garden beckoned to him and life partner, Richard Thale, when searching for a new home on the North Side 12 years ago.
“I remember very clearly … it’s was a hot summer day,” Cappleman said, “there were a number of children playing in the area. We sensed immediately this felt like home.”
Cappleman hammered on the themes from his 2007 campaign, citing the current ward leadership’s lack of communication and accountability.
“The unresolved questions that we have about this garden are really no different than the unresolved questions we have about development in this ward and the unresolved concerns we have about public safety,” Cappleman said. “Like this garden, people want to know who will be there for them in their time of need. We deserve better.”
While Cappleman has never held public office, he touted his achievements as a community activist, working with Attorney General Lisa Madigan after discovering that a law forbidding registered child sex offenders from living within 500 feet of schools, playgrounds and childcare centers wasn’t being enforced in the 46th Ward.
He also spoke of the many task forces he has served on addressing public safety issues for State Sen. Heather Steans (7th District) and State Rep. Greg Harris (13th District). Steans sent her chief of staff and former campaign manager to assist with Cappleman’s campaign kickoff on Saturday.
Taking aim at the other declared challengers in the 46th Ward aldermanic race, Cappleman said he was the only candidate who was prepared to get down to work, “on day one.”
“While others in the race are on a steep learning curve and are just now beginning to talk to people, “ Cappleman said, “for the past ten years I have been working to make this ward a better place for everyone, and I did this long before I ever thought of running for public office.”
Cappleman claimed to have a detailed plan for improving the ward, from addressing public safety issues and creating an open door policy for the alderman’s office, including evening and weekend ward service hours, to requiring broader input on development.
“Imagine that,” he said to laughter. “I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.”
Cappleman faces three other challengers, including Ward Streets and Sanitation Superintendent Don Nowotny, Chicago police officer Michael Carroll, and Gerald Farinas, a Lakeview social worker and former political consultant to the 2004 Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes.
Last week, Buena Park attorney Molly Phelan, who engineered Fix Wilson Yard’s lawsuit against the City of Chicago and developer Peter Holsten for alleged breaches of the state’s TIF laws in the creation of the Wilson Yard TIF District, filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections for the formation of a political campaign committee, Friends of Molly Phelan. Phelan has also been said to be considering a run for 46th Ward alderman.
Along with Nowotny and Farinas, Cappleman is one of three openly gay candidates running for 46th Ward alderman.
Residents attending Cappleman’s campaign kickoff, and, later, an evening fundraiser, saw a more battle-hardened candidate than the novice from four years ago, after enduring whispers that the votes he garnered in 2007 were merely votes against Shiller. He’s hired professional campaign manager Lauren Peters, who ran Jim Madigan’s tough, aggressive race against Steans in the Democratic primary for the Illinois 7th Senate District.
Cappleman was the sole aldermanic challenger in 2007, handpicked by a committee of community and business leaders that wanted to avoid a runoff against Shiller, who has served on the City Council since 1987.
Both adored and reviled throughout the ward, Shiller has taken knocks from some residents who have seemingly declared war on the alderman for her affordable housing policies and being soft on crime. Shiller has yet to announce if she will seek re-election.
Until then, Cappleman is zeroing on Shiller’s support base, which he claims is shrinking. He also says that he learned a lot from his 2007 run.
“I learned not to take for granted that I would get huge support from the GLBT community that they would vote in droves for a gay candidate,” he said. “Money is always a factor. It certainly helps but it’s not one of the primary variables that’s going to get someone elected. I was outspent four to one and I still almost won. Time was a variable. I started in September and that was way too late.”
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