Election board says Emanuel can run for Chicago mayor

Associated Press

CHICAGO

Rahm Emanuel forged ahead with his campaign for Chicago mayor Thursday after an elections panel ruled his name can appear on the Feb. 22 ballot, rejecting arguments the former White House chief of staff forfeited his city residency when he went to work for President Barack Obama in Washington.

The decision of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners removed a major obstacle to Emanuel’s ambitions to replace retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley, and Emanuel said it allowed him to “turn the page” and focus on issues more important to voters.

“It reminds ... everybody what the priorities are facing the city, which is about safer streets, strong schools and stable city finances so we can create the economy and business environment so we can produce the type of jobs we need in this city,“ Emanuel said after greeting diners at the landmark Berghoff restaurant downtown.

More than two dozen people had challenged Emanuel’s candidacy, contending he didn’t meet a requirement that he be a resident of Chicago for a year before the election. An attorney for some vowed to immediately appeal the ruling and fight all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court if necessary.

Board hearing officer Joseph Morris ruled early Thursday that evidence showing Emanuel had no intention of terminating his residency in Chicago, left the city only to work for Obama and often told friends he intended to live in Washington for no more than two years.

Morris said Emanuel’s name should be placed on the ballot, and the elections board agreed later in the day.

Emanuel is among a crowded field of candidates, including former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, former school board president Gery Chico and City Clerk Miguel del Valle.

Late Thursday afternoon, State Sen. James Meeks, the pastor of a South Side mega church, said he was dropping out of the race and urged the other African-American candidates — Braun and Davis — to do the same.

Since returning to Chicago in October to run for mayor, Emanuel has enjoyed strong name recognition and already has run several television ads. A recent Chicago Tribune/WGN poll showed Emanuel with the support of 30 percent of those surveyed. Though he was the only candidate with support in the double digits, the poll also showed 30 percent remain undecided.