BY MEGHAN STREIT
After serving as an advisor for other elected officials for 20 years, Jose Cerda has decided to throw his own hat in the ring as a candidate for city clerk. The Harvard-educated Chicagoan worked in Washington as a domestic policy advisor for President Bill Clinton, but then made his way back to his hometown. Most recently, Cerda served as Mayor Daley's chief of policy, but resigned to launch his own campaign for city clerk.
Windy City Times: The city clerk's office has obviously been plagued with corruption in recent years. If you're elected, how will you restore the integrity to that office?
Jose Cerda: I think new leadership and somebody with a different background and different credentials is part of that. I think our local system has not produced strong city clerks, and that is not a good thing for the city of Chicago. I think the fundamental job of the city clerk is not something that we're doing today. The job of the city clerk, instead of being caught in corruption scandals, is to be on the front lines, fighting corruption. The city clerk keeps records for the city, and should be in a position of shining a bright public light on everything government does, and nobody's doing that job today.
WCT: As far as the nuts and bolts that the Clerk's office handles, what would you want to improve?
JC: I remember wanting to check the ordinances of the city in order to do my job for the mayor—to reference the municipal code—and there is no searchable municipal code on the city's Web site at all. It strikes me that's probably a violation of law. The municipal code for a city should be available to voters on a city Web site.
Another pet project that I have is to make the votes of the aldermen available to the public in an easily searchable format. I worked in Washington for a while. You just put in a topic, it spits out all the bills being considered, and it spits out where they are and who's associated with those bills. Cities like Chicago ought to have that.
The other thing I would do is broadcast city council meetings. Chicago is the third largest city in the country, and you have to physically be there to know what's going on. If cameras can cut crime all across the city, they can cut crime in the city council too—so we should put one there.
WCT: Having worked so closely with Mayor Daley, why do you think he chose not to back you in this race?
JC: I think, one, you have to talk to the mayor about the decisions he makes. He's a complex guy. He didn't pull any punches with me. When I ran, he explained to me that he would probably be supporting someone else, that he had his reasons. But he said, 'If this is something you want to do, if this is where your heart is, then you have to do it.' I know I was a first-time candidate, and I know it's hard to run citywide. But I didn't get to where I am today without doing hard work, and I won't get to where I want to be tomorrow without doing more hard work.
WCT: Switching to a different topic of national concern, what are your thoughts on same-sex marriage?
JC: I think it is a great thing when people love each other, and they want to make a commitment and raise a family. I think it makes our country stronger, and it's something that we should support.
Read the full interview later today here at
www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com .
