Up and Coming: Emanuel elected mayor of Chicago

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Emanuel elected mayor of Chicago

Mr Emanuel considerably outspent his opponents

Chicago voters are heading to the polls to choose a new mayor in the most competitive city hall election in more than two decades.

Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman and White House chief of staff, led in pre-election polling.

But a strong showing by one of several other hopefuls could force a run-off between the top two candidates.

The candidates are vying to replace Mayor Richard Daley, who has been in office since 1989 and is stepping down.

"I think Daley's done a lot of good things, but at the same time I just feel like the city right now, it's kind of like a good old boy's club," Mark Arnold, 23, told the Associated Press.

Katie Klabusich, 31, told the Chicago Tribune newspaper she had previously backed Mr Daley, "but sometimes that was for lack of option. The choice today was about who was most equipped."

Gery Chico waves after voting on Tuesday

Mayoral candidate Gery Chico has said he aims to force a run-off election with Mr Emanuel

Pre-election polls showed Mr Emanuel well ahead of his challenges, who included former Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, City Clerk Miguel del Valle and longtime city official Gery Chico.

Analysts say the major question of the election is whether Mr Emanuel can win 50% of the vote plus one in order to win the race outright on Tuesday, or whether one of his opponents can force a run-off election.

Mr Chico told a told a local TV station on Monday he had geared his campaign toward coming in second behind Mr Emanuel and competing strongly in a potential run-off poll in April.

Whoever wins, the new mayor will be a first: Mr Emanuel would be the first Jewish mayor, Ms Braun the first black woman and either Mr del Valle or Mr Chico the first Hispanic mayor.

Mr Emanuel, who left the White House in October and returned to Chicago to run for mayor, considerably outspent his opponents but had to spend considerable time re-introducing himself to voters after years in Washington, analysts say.

He survived a challenge to his residency last month after opponents charged his time in Washington serving as President Barack Obama's chief of staff disqualified him from running for Chicago mayor.

The next mayor will replace Richard Daley, who was first elected in 1989. His father, also named Richard Daley, was mayor from 1955 until his death in 1976.

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