Jarrett not running, will endorse someone with ‘track record’
WASHINGTON — Former Obama White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett — and earlier in her career, a City Hall top official in three administrations — told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday she will not be jumping in the race for mayor but she will be making an endorsement, setting her up as a potentially influential player.
Even with Jarrett sidelining herself, the field has changed daily since Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s surprise announcement on Tuesday that he will not seek another term.
“I will endorse and actively support a candidate for mayor with a proven track record of bold and effective leadership who I believe is prepared to unify and expand opportunity for all in the greatest city in the world at this critical time,” she told the Sun-Times in a statement.
Jarrett’s endorsement could help narrow the crowded field and give the contender a much better chance of either winning the February primary outright or coming in number two, forcing a runoff next April.
That’s because Jarrett figures in a series of interrelated networks of connected Chicagoans who helped launch the political career of former President Barack Obama: donors, business honchos, labor leaders, influential females and African Americans.
Meanwhile on Friday, Secretary of State Jesse White, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and City Clerk Anna Valencia — who many speculated might throw their hats in the ring for the mayor’s race — indicated they were not interested.