Rahm Emanuel's mayoral re-election will test his ability as a candidate to connect with minority voters, The New York Times reports.
In particular, Emanuel, the front-runner, has some concern about how he will fare with black Chicago residents, who number 2.7 million and mark about one-third of Windy City voters,
the Times said.
While Emanuel enjoyed a friendly connection with those voters via his relationship with President Barack Obama, a South Side resident, his first term has seen him make tough decisions like closing neighborhood schools, as well as handling an ongoing culture of violence that has seen more than 500 deaths in those areas, the Times said.
One voter there described his role as serving "two Chicagos."
"It all seems to be just for the people who have money, not for the middle-income or the lower-income," nursing educator Mary Anderson, a resident of the Chatham neighborhood, told the Times, noting she had not made up her mind on whether Emanuel would get her vote in his second mayoral bid.
Her areas of the city, she said, have been forgotten in favor of those with more wealth.
"Nothing has happened in those communities that are desolate right now," Anderson told the Times."[Emanuel] talks about a lot of plans. But who's at the table? It's still two Chicagos."
In spite of minority voter concerns, Emanuel has gained about three percentage points in the most recent
Chicago Tribune poll, putting him at 45 percent. He must earn 50 plus 1 percent to avoid a runoff, the paper said, noting he was closing in on that figure.
His closest challenger is Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who is at 20 percent,
WLS TV said.
Garcia told the station he
remained hopeful and urged a coalition of black and Latino voters to propel him past Emanuel as he spoke to WVON radio.
"The fates of both communities depends on our abilities to get to know each other, to build trust and relationships and then to coalesce in a political manner," Garcia told WVON.
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