Alderman Lewis Reed garnered the early, formal support of his colleagues in the Aldermanic Black Caucus, but as push has come to shove, it is fascinating to see who actually is doing any pushing and shoving for him. As this staged shot shows, the vast majority of black elected officials – and many who are not black – have gotten behind Reed’s spirited campaign, in the hopes that he will bring change beyond the stasis and mediocrity associated with the “business as usual,” “take the paycheck and take the rest of the week off” tenure of incumbent Jim Shrewsbury.
The American has been calling the individual aldermen and was surprised to find a couple of black aldermen trying to hide behind their ward committeepeople, saying the ward endorses candidates, not the alderman. Alderman Greg Carter at first tried this dodge, before being coaxed into talking about all the support he and his ward organization have been doing behind the scenes for Reed. Alderman Terry Kennedy, perhaps believing Shrewsbury’s own hype on his much-overstated support for civilian review of the police, could not be persuaded to part with a word about the race or Reed, though his 18th Ward committeewoman Ernestine Hall and committeeman Jesse Todd have since endorsed Reed.
Alderman Freeman Bosley Sr., a Reed supporter, says many aldermen may go soft on their support for Reed out of fear of payback from the incumbent – should he retain his seat, Shrewsbury would be in a position to make legislative life difficult for the colleagues who had opposed him. Throwing caution most forcefully to the wind and working hardest for Reed among the black aldermen are Ald. April Ford Griffin, Dionne Flowers, Charles “Quincy” Troupe, O.L. Shelton and Bosley.
They know what some of their colleagues need to be reminded: that a Reed victory would place two African Americans on the all-powerful Board of Estimate and Apportionment and bring aboard a strong advocate for greater inclusion for African Americans in public-subsidized projects.