It Looks Like Chuy Garcia is Running Again for Chicago

Mayor in 2019
By Carlos Ballesteros
After weeks of speculation, Cook County Commissioner Jesus Chuy Garcia
seems poised for another mayoral run in 2019.

At 2:26 PM, Garcias official Facebook page posted the following: 2 years
ago we shook Chicago with your support. Where will you be in 2 years? The
post included a link to a USA Today story detailing how Garcia forced
incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel into Chicagos first mayoral run-off election
in 2015 despite beginning his campaign three months ahead of Election Day
and being outspent 12-to-1 in the primary.

Garcia could not be reached for comment at this time.

The 2015 run-off election launched Garcia into the national spotlight. His
campaign was celebrated as a victory for working people in Chicago and was
endorsed by major progressive organizations and figureheads, including Sen.
Bernie Sanders. (Garcia later returned the favor by becoming a campaign
surrogate for Sanders in Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Arizona.)
Garcia ultimately lost to Mayor 1% by 73,609 votes, a small margin
considering that Emanuel had the support of the citys political and economic
elite, an endorsement from President Barack Obama, and a war coffer of
more than $23.6 million.

Since his defeat, however, Garcia has positioned himself as the Emanuels
worst critic and as a champion of Chicagos neighborhoods. Todays Facebook
post comes four weeks after Garcia lambasted Emanuel in an interview with
the Chicago Sun-Times in which the former community organizer argued that
the mayor wears the jacket for the 60 percent surge in homicides and
shootings for not honoring his promise to hire 1,100 more police officers.
Garcia also criticized Emanuel for enacting $1.2 billion in tax increases since
the election, seemingly covering up the killing of Laquan McDonald, and the
next round of massive Chicago Public Schools budget cuts. Garcia has also
used his political clout to promulgate progressive allies in Chicagos city
council and the Illinois state senate. Most notably, he was a critical
component in establishing the multiracial coalition that elected Theresa Mah,
the first Asian American in the Illinois General Assembly.

In that same interview, Garcia stated that, if he were to run again, he would
make his announcement sometime this summer and would seek to raise
between $10-$20 million. But todays Facebook post leaves little room for
doubt. By 5:00 PM CST, hundreds of supporters had liked and shared the post
using the hashtag #Chuy2019.
Garcia, an immigrant hailing from Durango, Mexico, has routinely criticized
President Donald J. Trumps proposed policy initiatives. On Inauguration Day,
he spoke to a crowd of hundreds protesting at Daley Plaza, and was seen
greeting supporters at last weeks Day Without Immigrants march and rally.
In July 2016, Garcia led a protest at a Trump fundraiser held in Chicago. We
do not welcome Donald Trump to Chicago, he said at the time. We dont
welcome him because of the hateful and divisive rhetoric that he represents.
To elect him president of this country would be disastrous. It would be a
setback for Chicago, and Chicago cannot afford to go back.

With the McDonald case behind him and a promise to protect the citys
immigrants from Trumps deportation machine, Emanuel currently enjoys
relatively stable political footing, making it that much harder for Garcia to
mount a successful run. But as pointed out by John Nichols of The Nation,
Garcias first mayoral run was more successful than Harold Washingtons,
one of Chicagos most prominent progressive political figures who, in 1983,
became the citys first African-American mayor. The coalition that backed
Garciais young and dynamic, writes Nichols. With Trump as president and
the city politically galvanized in search of a progressive resistance, Garcia
stands a good chance at upending the corporate Democratic establishment
in Chicago.