An open letter to Alderman Tom Tunney
Dear Alderman Tunney,
My brother Scott Waguespack is in the runoff election on April 17 for 32nd Ward Alderman. In his Feb. 15 interview with Windy City Times, Scott stated that he supports gay marriage and would be a strong advocate for the GLBT community in the Chicago City Council. Scott and the rest of my family have always treated me and my four straight siblings equally.
Scott's opponent, Ted Matlak, told Chicago Free Press that he supports civil unions for the LGBT community. But his campaign has taken on anti-gay undertones, and used anti-gay epithets and gay-marriage scare tactics.
On the day of the primary election, Andrew Szorc, superintendent of the 32nd Ward, was outside the polling place at Holstein Park telling voters not to vote for 'the guy with the faggot brother.' He also used the words 'fag' and 'queer.' When my brother arrived at this polling place, Szorc told him that he should have 'stepped on a land mine and died,' referring to time my brother spent in war-torn Kosovo assisting in rebuilding the region.
Calls have been made to 32nd Ward residents warning them of Scott Waguespack's 'secret gay agenda.' This is similar to what was done in Matlak's 1999 campaign when rumors spread that his opponent was a feminist lesbian.
As Scott's brother and campaign treasurer, I have a definite bias in this race and, as a gay man, I have certainly seen and been subjected to much worse. But using hate speech to gain even one vote is deplorable.
Alderman Tunney, to quote you from your Feb. 22 Gay Chicago Magazine profile, 'we bring more to the table than our sexuality.' But we do not leave it behind for political gain. Your $10,000 donation from Citizens for Tunney to Matlak 2007 Campaign and your door-to-door campaigning in the 32nd Ward directly support a campaign that is spreading hatred of the LGBT community.
You should publicly denounce these tactics, demand the return of your campaign donation and stop aiding a campaign that, at heart, is anti-gay.
Sincerely,
Sylvestre Waguespack
Treasurer, Citizens for Waguespack
Vote for Vi
On April 17, the voters of the 43rd Ward will be called upon to make a choice for Alderman for the next four years. Current Alderman Vi Daley has been in office for eight years. During her tenure, our schools have become better places for children to learn. Our streets have become safer. Our neighborhoods are growing while respecting the character and history so important to our corner of Chicago. And we need to keep her as alderman because we have some important challenges in our future.
One of Vi's current projects is forming a Clark Street partnership to fill our storefronts with good tenants and to make Clark Street the successful business district it can be.
With Children's Memorial Hospital and Finkl Steel moving, we have an historic opportunity that will shape the look and feel of this ward for many years to come. When Columbus Hospital closed down, Vi worked tirelessly and met with the entire community before successfully fostering an agreement that benefited everyone in the community. This was no easy task but she finally hammered out an agreement that everyone found acceptable. And she'll work the same way to ensure this new challenge is met with the same commitment to balance and the neighborhood.
Most recently, she worked to make our streets safer by pushing through the City Council an ordinance significantly increasing the penalties for drivers who either fail to stop or do a rolling stop at stop signs.
On the other hand, demonstrative of challenger Michele Smith's ethics, her campaign became embroiled last week in a 'votes for drinks' scandal. At best, this represented bad judgment on the part of Michele and her campaign. At worst, this may be demonstrative of the commission of a criminal felony. Michele should have responded to the scandal by publicly apologizing and firing the campaign staffers involved in this sleazy matter. Sadly, this is not the course of action she chose.
On April 17, though, the voters DO have a choice. They can vote to reject sleazy politics and join Roger and me in voting to re-elect Vi Daley as alderman of the 43rd Ward.
Michael Bauer
Chicago
An innocent man?
Dear Editor,
I am writing to urge gays and lesbians in the 32nd Ward to vote for Scott Waguespack for alderman and to correct some allegations made by his opponent, Ted Matlak, and a Berwyn Republican alderman. The Berwyn Republican alderman and Matlak's campaign have alleged that Scott was fired from his job as Berwyn city administrator and that Scott is under investigation by the City of Berwyn. Those allegations are false.
Here are the facts: Scott Waguespack was not fired from his job as city administrator. He is on leave of absence from the City of Berwyn because he is running for 32nd Ward alderman. The Berwyn City Council zeroed out the line item for his salary in the budget because they were not expecting him to return to his job. Scott is not now and has never been under investigation for anything, except in the mind of this Berwyn Republican alderman.
I hope gays and lesbians who live in the 32nd Ward vote for Scott. Scott did a good job as city administrator and I think he will make a great alderman.
Ted Korbos
Berwyn