The other day I got a press release about Tenth Ward alderman Susan Sadlowski Garza‘s August 15 gubernatorial forum, which all the major Democratic candidates will attend.
Asked why she’s not running, Garza generally says something along the lines of “Give me a break. I like my job.”
Desperately seeking a take-no-prisoners progressive tactician who understands how Springfield really works? Then get to know Stacy Davis Gates, the political and legislative director of the Chicago Teachers Union.
- The state Democratic Party has a lousy farm system. It does a poor job of finding and cultivating strong candidates.
To that let me add a couple of observations. When I ask women who hold elected office why they’re not running for governor, generally I get one of two explanations: family or qualifications.
Consider the cases of Rahm and Rauner. In 2011, Rahm found himself eminently qualified to run Chicago, even though he knew next to nothing about it, having spent most of his career in Washington, D.C. It’s not surprising that soon after getting elected he thought it was a good idea to close mental health clinics in high-crime areas where people were traumatized from ducking gunfire.
