U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a veteran Chicago politician, struck populist tones as he declared his candidacy for mayor today, saying he will bridge the gap between wealthy and struggling communities.
"Notwithstanding the economic climate, we the people, we the grassroots, everyday people, we the policeman, we the postman, we the clerks. . . can exercise our God-given rights to participate, be involved and make decisions about ourselves and our city," Davis said at a rally held in a ballroom of the Hotel Allegro downtown.
The announcement felt a little like a church service. Davis started with an invocation, and some of his 200 supporters gathered in the ballroom engaged in a call and response as Davis and others spoke.
While Davis offered few policy details, he said he would create jobs and economic development opportunities and attempt to "save our children from lifetimes of drug use, abuse, (and) incarceration."
"I know that everyone in our city is concerned about balancing the budget and finding ways to keep our city solvent," he said. "I don't pretend at the moment to have the answers to all of our financial problems. . . but I can assure you that we have a team of researchers and experts looking at the issues and preparing recommendations."
Davis starts his campaign with the backing of a coalition of African-American leaders that recently named him as its “consensus candidate” for mayor--a decree not acknowledged by at least two other big-name black candidates for mayor.
This is Davis' second mayoral campaign. In 1991, he lost by a better than 2-to-1 margin to Mayor Richard Daley.
Davis' announcement came after former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel formally kicked off his campaign Saturday. State Sen. James T. Meeks is scheduled to do the same tonight at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Also prepping mayoral bids are former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun and former Chicago Board of Education President Gery Chico.
Candidates for mayor and alderman can begin filing their petition signatures to get on the February ballot on Monday morning at the Chicago Board of Elections.
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