Chicago Sun-Times

TALIAFERRO IN RUNOFF; LA SPATA WINS 2ND TERM

- BY MITCHELL ARMENTROUT, STAFF REPORTER marmentrou­t@suntimes.com | @mitchtrout

It’ll be a race to the runoff for West Side Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) — and a sigh of relief for Logan Square Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st).

The official final results including all eligible mail-in ballots counted by the Chicago Board of Election Commission­ers on Wednesday put Taliaferro 25 votes shy of the majority he needed to win a third term in the City Council outright after the Feb. 28 election.

That places Taliaferro among six incumbent alderperso­ns forced into runoff contests on April 4, in addition to races for eight other open Council seats and the mayoral showdown between Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas.

La Spata found himself just barely on the safe side of the 50% bubble, securing a second term with only 14 votes above the majority required to spare him a runoff. The far-left Council freshman ended up with 50.1% of the 1st Ward vote compared with 23.4% for his closest challenger, attorney Sam Royko, son of the legendary Chicago news columnist Mike Royko.

“It’s exhilarati­ng, and it’s a relief,” La Spata said. “I was proud of where we were on election day, but then to have thousands of mail-in ballots come in overwhelmi­ngly in my favor — I’m really proud of the affirmatio­n the community has given me.”

Sam Royko commended La Spata on a “hard-fought race,” saying it was “a reminder that every vote matters.”

That’s certainly the case in the

29th Ward, where Taliaferro, an ally of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, had cruised to reelection in 2019.

Now, he faces another round, against community organizer CB Johnson. Since Feb. 28, Taliaferro, the chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, had been narrowly avoiding a runoff until officials reported 112 ballots for write-in candidates over the weekend. Those ballots widened the vote pool enough to sink Taliaferro below the 50% mark; he ended up just shy of 49.8%, compared with 39.8% for Johnson.

Election Board spokesman Max Bever said his agency hasn’t been able to find another example in the city of write-in ballots being a deciding factor in forcing an incumbent to a runoff.

A campaign spokespers­on for Johnson, who is backed by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, called it “the best example of democracy in action.”

“More than 50% of voters in the 29th Ward have advised the city that they are not happy with the current alderman,” spokespers­on Tumia Romero said. “We plan to convince the others that CB Johnson is the best candidate, who will be responsive to their needs, be active in the community and be a full-time alderman.”

It’s the second disappoint­ing showing for Taliaferro at the polls since last summer, when he came up short in the Democratic primary for a Circuit Court judge seat. “I’m encouraged and confident that we will prevail in the runoff,” said Taliaferro, a former police sergeant. “Public safety is the voters’ No. 1 priority, and I have the experience to lead.”

A handful of other Council members have been gearing up for runoffs since the February election, including Ald. Gilbert Villegas, who is up against teacher Lori Torres Whitt, and Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th), who is facing attorney Megan Mathias.

Three Council members appointed by Lightfoot to fill vacancies over the past year will also have to defend their seats: Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) against Chicago Police Officer Anthony Ciaravino; Ald. Monique Scott (24th) against business owner Creative Scott; and Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) against Sheffield Neighborho­od Associatio­n president Brian Comer.

Runoffs are also in the offing for eight wards without incumbents.

On the South Side, state Rep. Lamont Robinson faces Prentice Butler in the 4th; Desmon Yancy is squaring off against Tina Hone in the 5th; William Hall is vying against Richard Wooten in the 6th; Police Officer Peter Chico is competing with Ana Guajardo in the 10th; and Ronnie Mosley is running against Cornell Dantzler in the 21st.

In the Northwest Side’s 30th Ward, Jessica Gutiérrez and Ruth Cruz are running. And on the North Side, Angela Clay and Kim Walz are squaring off in the 46th, and Leni Manaa-Hoppenwort­h and Joe Dunne are vying for the 48th.

As for the final mayoral results, Vallas led with 32.9% of the vote, compared with 21.6% for Johnson, 16.8% for Lightfoot and about 13.7% for U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

Citywide voter turnout ended up at 35.9%, a slight increase from 35.5% in 2019.

Early voting for the runoff starts Monday.

 ?? ?? Ald. Chris Taliaferro
Ald. Chris Taliaferro
 ?? ?? Ald. Daniel La Spata
Ald. Daniel La Spata
 ?? ?? CB Johnson
CB Johnson

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