As alderman of Chicago's 44th Ward, Tom Tunney has plenty on his plate. However, he is apparently ready to tackle even more.
Tunney has set his sights on being a delegate for Sen. Barack Obama. 'Actually, I've been involved from early on with the Obama campaign as a lesbian and gay advisor, and they asked me if I'd be a delegate for them,' Tunney told Windy City Times. 'My position has been to support Barack's presidential bid and to help him as much as I can regarding [ LGBT-related ] issues. I think that Barack has captured the spirit of the American people for change. I'd love to see the [ Democratic ] party come together, and hopefully it'll be around the Obama campaign.'
He compared being involved with the Obama campaign to being part of former President Bill Clinton's presidential run in 1992. 'A large contingent in Chicago has already signed on with Obama. In 1992, the Chicago connection was very strong for President Clinton; he used his Southern roots to captivate the African-American aldermen of the city.'
In addition, the only openly gay member of the city council will be on next year's ballot to retain his position of ward committeeman. ( Several aldermen do double duty as committeemen. ) 'I'm taking responsibility for the ward and the committeeman's role, and former Committeeman Hansen is retiring; he felt that it was the right time to change leadership on that level,' he said. 'I think that people feel that I'm [ connected ] to the 44th Ward on a day-in, day-out basis. We need somebody who keeps the organization of the ward in play.
'It's an honor for me to be on the central committee,' Tunney added. 'I think you'll see some leadership changes in terms of policies and rules that's coming to the central committee. Some of the actions by the central committee over the past several elections have been questioned by the voters at large, and I hope that we can empower the community so that [ its ] voice can be heard through the committeemen.'
The primary is set for Feb. 5, 2008.