Garcia forces runoff in Chicago election
<p>Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel visits with residents of Hancock House, a senior living complex in Chicago, Wednesday, a day after failing to win a majority in the mayoral election.</p>
<p>Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia makes his way through supporters after speaking at an election night event at Alhambra Palace Restaurant in Chicago on Tuesday.</p>
CHICAGO - If Jesus "Chuy" Garcia is going to have a shot at upsetting Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in an April runoff, he'll need to quickly solidify a coalition of minorities, union members and progressives reminiscent of one that buoyed his mentor, Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor.
Emanuel enjoys big advantages in money and experience, having raised millions more than Garcia, a Cook County commissioner who jumped into the race just three months ago. The ex-congressman and White House chief of staff also has the backing of his former boss, President Barack Obama, who recorded ads for Emanuel and stumped for him during a stop in Chicago last week.
But a beaming Garcia remained optimistic Wednesday, a day after voters not only denied Emanuel an easy second term but put several established Chicago politicians on the ropes, including a grandson of former Mayor Richard J. Daley. He said the election was a message from working people who believe Emanuel puts the interests of business and the wealthy before them.
"It's very clear there's something going on in Chicago that says that we need to go in a different direction," said Garcia, who spent the morning thanking voters at a downtown commuter train stop and doing a flurry of interviews from the campaign office.
One countertop displayed a caricature of Garcia in a Superman costume and the caption, "Si se puede." The expression is commonly used by pro-labor and immigrant rights groups, and an English translation, "Yes we can," was the slogan of Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
"Working class folk who stepped up in this campaign feel that Chicago needs to be responsive to the neighborhoods and toward ordinary people and we delivered. It may be the retooling of a Democratic coalition, maybe with a small 'd.'"
Garcia, born in Mexico and largely raised in Chicago, billed himself as the "neighborhood guy."
While the city's minority populations have grown and changed, Garcia's approach harkened comparisons to Washington's three decades ago, which relied on coalescing black and Latino support. The difference now is that voters, particularly younger ones, are more willing to cross racial boundaries to support a candidate.
"There is a much more diverse multicultural youth base ... this is what their life experience is," said Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum. "They resonate with the candidate."
Emanuel needed to win a majority of the vote in the five-candidate field to avoid an April 7 runoff, but fell far short, getting only about 45 percent.