May 1, 2024
COMPTROLLER MENDOZA THINKS A LATINA SHOULD BE ILLINOIS' NEXT GOVERNOR -- MEANING HERSELF

“GREAT” is Susana Mendoza’s favorite 5-letter word.

The Illinois Comptroller, first elected in 2016, says she is doing a great job in her current job, has proven herself to be a great vote-getter in past contests. And she insists that a Latina candidate could be a good choice for governor if and when JB Pritzker (D) – whom she calls a “great governor” – moves on (as in retirement) or moves up (as in running for president in 2028) or treasury secretary in Biden-Harris II.

Mendoza said that Illinois is ready for a Latina governor in the future. And why not, right? But she made it clear she is not running and is concentrating on doing her comptroller job.

“I’m not interested” in running for Secretary of State, she said. That post is occupied by Alexi Giannoulias (D), who likely wants to be governor. Likewise for attorney general Kwame Raoul. “They’re both doing a GREAT job, as is our governor.”

See, everything is great.

In the labyrinthine swamp of Democratic identity politics, especially in Chicago and Cook County, the past general presumption was that a woman beats two men and that a woman of color  beats a White man or a Latino man. Since Democratic primaries are dominated by progressives, and increasingly by Woke/Leftists, with women over 55 percent of the voters, the pathway is to motivate and turn out one’s base while isolating opponents as extremists. In other words, one Far Leftist can now plausibly defeat two mainstream progressives.

But for the sake of fun, let’s handicap a prospective Mendoza/Giannoulias/Raoul race in 2026, based on the likelihood that America remains in political, cultural and economic turmoil – and may have Trump as president. That would inflame the Left and create a path for the Leftmost Democrat to win 2026 primaries. That won’t be Giannoulias, who scored an impressive 457,221-303,671 2022 win over Chicago’s city clerk Anna Valencia, who ran to Giannoulias’s Left on an identity platform; she lost 52-35 percent.

She was also hobbled by a scandal involving contracts to her husband. Giannoulas was state treasurer 2006-2010 and lost for senator in 2010. He comes from a wealthy Greek banking family and spent all of 2021 lining-up trade unions and Downstate county chairmen.

But the great equalizer is Big Money. It renders all presumptions predicated on race and gender moot. D-2’s filed with the IBOE for 2024’s 1st quarter and 2023’s 4th quarter showed Giannoulias with $1,892,147 on-hand with $320,822 raised in the last 3 months. He spent about $2.5 million to win in 2022 and is still carrying un-repaid loans from his family of $2.8 million. As the SOS processes such mundane but people-friendly matters as driver’s licenses, license plates business incorporations, Giannulias get wide name exposure. That made Jesse White invulnerable for 24 years. But he is age 48 and doesn’t was to spend a lifetime as secretary of state.

Raoul was a South Lakefronter who won Barack Obama’s state senate seat in 2004. He utilized identity politics to ascend to the AG’s post being vacated by Lisa Madigan. Since a Black politician occupied the Secretary of State for 24 years with White, Black politicians demanded AG as compensate. Raoul fund-raising has been less robust than Alexi’s, but he had $958,677 on-hand ad raised $93,243 in the 1st quarter.

Mendoza is the Latina among the six statewide officeholders, which number among them four men and two Black leaders (Raoul and lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton). Mendoza, age 51, is an ex-state rep from Mexican-majority Little Village, was elected the first female city clerk in 2011, and resides in Portage Park in the 38th Ward. Mendoza’s ascent hit a rough patch in 2019 when she ran for mayor amid great expectations. She got a not-so-great 50,373 votes in a turnout of 560,101, finishing fifth in a 14-candidate field won by Lori Lightfoot.

Mendoza’s D-2’s had her on-hand at $644,126 with $760,921 raised since June 30. Those are respectable numbers, especially considering that she is basically Illinois’ CFO, issuing paychecks and paying vendors, plus maintaining public accounts. Not a glamorous task. She touts the fact that the bill backlog has been paid down, the state credit rating boosted and there is more transparency.

The state’s 2020 Hispanic population was pegged at 18 percent but its political base is eroding. The 2024 Clerk of Circuit Court contest is illustrative. Incumbent Iris Martinez (D) won in 2020 and had 4 years to expand her base and create a record but got crushed for re-nomination after getting dumped by the party. Slated was Mariyana Spyropoulos, an MWRD commissioner and Greek heiress who inherited close to $400 million from her father’s estate.

Spyropoulos buried her 329,635-176,195, carrying 44 of 50 Chicago wards, losing only in the 10th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 22nd and 31st, all Latino wards. Along the Lakefront and outlying White wards she averaged under 35 percent, under 40 percent in the Black wards, and just 39.2 in her home 33rd Ward. Leftists decisively rejected her. Martinez won just one township of 30 – Cicero. She lost liberal Evanston and Oak Park by 3-1 and the North Shore and Black suburbs 2-1.

One reason for the blow-out was money: Spyropoulos self-funded $1.8 million and spent $1.4 with major media buys, and Martinez $177,805. Another is the cultural divide; between South Side Mexicans, who are conservative but likely don’t vote and North Side Leftist Puerto Ricans, who do vote and embrace the likes of Brandon Johnson. That was evident in the defeats of Jesse Reyes for Supreme Court in 2024, Garcia in 2023 and 2015, Mendoza in 2019, Berrios in 2016 and Alvarez in 2016.

But it’s just speculation until Pritzker, who is worth $4 billion, makes a decision. He’s 59 years old so unless he really wants to move higher he can stay governor as long as he wants. On Oct. 2 of 2023 he deposited $12 million in his campaign fund. He has $7,680,301 on-hand. Another $40 million is in the 2024-25 pipeline, so he has some plans.

Tactically, the governor must decide if he wants to run for president as a governor, or step aside to campaign full-time. Three 2028 competitors are term-limited as governors in 2026 – Gavin Newsom (CA) and Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Ron DeSantis (FL).

Does he have the hunger? He can easily afford to spend $500 million. He wins in 2026 if he runs. I would predict that he does.

DISSING WEST SUBURBAN DEMOCRATS: It was “democracy in action’’ on April 26 as Cook County’s 80 committeepersons (CCDP) provoked a seismic shift in suburban political power. Black politicians from the west suburbs were disrespected while those from the heavily Black south suburbs emerged dominant.

The tussle was caused by the April 7 death of beloved County Clerk Karen Yarbrough (D), who resided in Proviso Township (Maywood). Among those seeking the appointment were county commissioners Monica Gordon and Donna Miller, state senator Napoleon Harris, and MWRD commissioner Yumeka Brown, all from far south suburbs; plus Evanston clerk Stephanie Mendoza and northwest suburban county commissioner Kevin Morrison.

Chosen on the first ballot was Gordon, the Bloom Twp. committeeperson. The Clerk office handles suburban elections and issues birth, death and marriage certificates. Not controversial stuff generating publicity or campaign cash. But Gordon is on the political ladder and when CCB president Toni Preckwinkle retires in 2030 it will be Gordon vs. Spyropoulos for the job.

Read more Analysis & Opinion from Russ Stewart at Russstewart.com

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