Chico calls Mendoza ‘unfit’ for mayor’s job — she stays ‘focused on . . . future’
Mayoral candidate Gery Chico on Monday took the gloves off and pummeled the only other Hispanic candidate in the race: state Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
Chico charged that Mendoza proved herself “unfit for the job or the responsibilities that come with being the mayor of Chicago” because she “can’t even decide which job she wants” and proved it again by being evasive and duplicitous.
In a statement released by his campaign just as Mendoza was filing her nominating petitions, Chico pointed to Mendoza’s refusal to say whether she would remove or retain Police Supt. Eddie Johnson.
The Invisible Institute posed the question to all of the candidates in a story posted last week that focused on “Johnson’s refusal to discipline officers who improperly used deadly force and often promoted those officers.”
“Susana has played political games by refusing to come clean with voters about running for mayor, and now that she’s openly running for mayor she refuses to come clean with voters on where she stands on important issues. She can’t be trusted to be the strong leader Chicagoans can count on,” Chico said.
Chico further argued that Mendoza “again misled the public” by claiming she cast the “deciding vote” in the General Assembly on abolishing the death penalty in Illinois.
In a story in Monday’s Chicago SunTimes, the Better Government Association pointed out the contradiction.
“She has claimed she was the final vote on abolishing it. This was not true on the final vote, and the news article called her comments on this critical issue ‘mostly false,’ “Chico said.
After filing her nominating petitions, Mendoza was asked again to take a stand on retaining or firing Eddie Johnson.
She avoided the question — again.
“We haven’t crossed that bridge yet. First, I have to get elected,” she said.
“I’m gonna surround myself [with] the best and the brightest minds in every office that I have any say over. It’s important as the mayor of Chicago, just like I have as comptroller and like I did before as city clerk, to try to find the best people to help you implement your vision for the city. Who those people are, I’m not sure yet. But, we’ll be working on that as the days move forward.”
Mendoza was asked about overstating the role she played in abolishing the death penalty in Illinois in her haste to prove “Electric Suzy,” the tough-on-crime nickname she earned in Springfield, no longer applies.
“Those folks can say all the negative stuff they want. I’m focused on the future,” Mendoza said.