Having already attended five town hall forums in the past two weeks, Chicago mayoral candidate Gery Chico continued his outreach efforts Dec. 19 at the Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theater, where he laid out his LGBT agenda as well as other issues to the voters.
The town hall, moderated by Todd Connor ( Chico's campaign co-chair ) , began with him noting the recent progress in the LGBT community including the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the Senate the previous day as well as the passage of the civil-unions bill in Illinois earlier this month. Connor, while laying out the format for the afternoon, reminded the audience of Chico's accomplishments. Connor also reminded the audience of Chico's support for same-sex marriage over the years, most notably during the 2004 Democratic Primary for state Senate.
Chico came to the podium following Connor's introduction and thanked his supporters and campaign workers ( mentioning Connor and Lauren Carter, who is the LGBT coordinator for his campaign, by name ) before launching into his family background, noting that he is a grandchild of immigrants with his grandfather coming from Mexico in 1929. He talked about his multiethnic background ( a mixture of Mexican, Greek and Lithuanian ) and also said that he is a graduate of Kelly High School in Chicago.
Calling on that background he said he feels at home with any group of people, including the LGBT community. Recalling his support of same-sex marriage in 2004 he said he was taken aback when he was the only Democratic candidate for Illinois Senate who supported full marriage equality. Then he launched into his role in getting domestic-partner benefits for city and Chicago Public School ( CPS ) employees. Regarding the area of bullying, he said that while he was at CPS he spearheaded the curriculum that dealt with bullying issues but added that more work needs to be done. While laying out his past LGBT accomplishments he told the crowd about his press conference a few weeks ago at Lakeview's Ann Sather restaurant, where he announced his LGBT platform and reminded the audience how important LGBT issues and the community are to him and his campaign.
Before taking questions from the crowd of about 50 people he mentioned that his wife, Sunny, was in attendance. Although it was a town hall on LGBT issues the audience asked questions ranging from LGBT issues to the budgetary crisis facing the city. Chico stated that some of the most important issues include crime and public safety, education, jobs and municipal finance.
Then a question was raised about coalition-building within the LGBT community and pulling the city around a common identity. Chico mentioned having a mayor who is a strong advocate who "leads by example and articulates the power of being one city no matter what community you come from and acting on this," hate crimes against LGBT people and the need to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law and having a dedicated LGBT Liaison in the mayor's office.
One question mentioned opponent Rahm Emanuel and what sets him apart from Emanuel. Chico said that experience is the key and he has the longevity working in the city that Emanuel does not. He also challenged Emanuel to come out and debate him on the issues and stop hiding behind campaign ads. What he said was that he "believes in truth and public service" and emphasized his refusal to pander to any audience.
Then the questions moved back to some other LGBT issues. Chico talked about his role in getting the rainbow pylons erected on Halsted Street, his commitment to training the city's police officers about the LGBT community and appointing the next superintendent from within the ranks instead of someone outside of the police force.
Chico pledged to consolidate agencies, pointing out that the city clerk and the city treasurer should be one person, among other jobs that are redundant. He called out the selling of the parking meters to a private company noting that the revenue from that sale has been wasted when asked by an audience member. Then he reminded the audience that he is the only business owner in the race.
As for his governing style, Chico said he would be hands-on as mayor— similar to his style when he worked in city hall, at Chicago Public Schools, the park district and the City Colleges. He then told the story of how he held staff meetings in a van while driving around the city to check on the progress of the projects; he said that this tactic made his employees better workers. This got a laugh from the audience.
The town hall ended with Connor calling on attendees to volunteer with the campaign and directed them to Chico's website, www.gerychicoformayor.com, for more information. Connor then invited everyone to a fundraising social at the Kit Kat Lounge, where Chico would answer more questions.
