'Mayor Emanuel' Is No Sure Thing in Chicago

With Richard Daley stepping aside, U.S. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may enter the race for mayor

By John McCormick and Darrell Preston

(Update adds Daley comments beginning in 13th paragraph)

(Bloomberg) — Even the chief of staff to the first U.S. president from Chicago could face challenges in trying to win the top job in a city where someone named Daley has ruled for 42 of the past 55 years. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's announcement yesterday that he wouldn't seek a seventh term altered the political landscape in Illinois in a shake up that could stretch to Washington.

While White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, 50, has said he is interested in the job, he would enter the race with baggage in Chicago, where he sharpened his political elbows as a Daley confidant and then a congressman. "I don't think there is such a thing as frontrunner," said JPMorgan Chase & Co. Midwest Chairman William Daley, the mayor's brother, a former U.S. commerce secretary and an Emanuel friend.

Other political experts agree that the opening is likely to attract a large number of candidates and that Emanuel, who still owns a home in the city, wouldn't have the field to himself. "He's an opportunist, but he's got his work cut out for him," said John McCarron, an urban affairs writer and adjunct professor at DePaul University in Chicago.

If he runs, Emanuel is likely to face questions about help he received from a Daley patronage army to win a congressional seat in 2002 and conversations he had with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich about who should be picked to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

Radio and television stations in Chicago were abuzz almost immediately after Daley's announcement with speculation about who besides Emanuel might run, with names ranging from aldermen to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to congressmen. Nov. 22 is the last day to file nomination papers for the Feb. 22 election.

'A Good Thing'

"It's a good thing," said Alderman Scott Waguespack, who is contemplating a run for mayor. "It will allow someone to come in with a new vision for how an open city should be run."

One prominent Chicagoan unlikely to join the long list of contenders is presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, who once hired Michelle Obama while serving as a top aide to Daley.

An administration official said he doubted Jarrett would run because she loves her work and the first family too much to leave the White House now.

Daley Confident

Daley told reporters at a City Hall news conference today that he had worked hard enough in the job that he was confident he could win re-election. "I knew I was not going to lose," he said. "Don't say I'm arrogant."

Since his announcement, Daley said he had spoken with Obama, Emanuel, former Vice President Al Gore, Oprah Winfrey, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, and David Axelrod, a senior presidential adviser.

"They all called and just thanked me for 21 years of public service," he said. "We did not get into politics." Daley said he didn't plan to endorse anyone in the race and declined to speculate about Emanuel's possible bid. "I think there will be a lot of candidates," he said. "This is the best job in America."

Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary said members of the administration are aware of Emanuel's long interest in the mayor's job and that "something like that doesn't come around a lot."

Emanuel's Future

He said he didn't know whether Emanuel has discussed his plans with the president. "I have no doubt that he'll take some time to think about what he wants to do with his future," Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One as Obama traveled to a speech in Ohio. "But I think his focus right now is on his job as chief of staff."

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