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Joe Moreno Narrowly Wins 1st Ward Race, But Top Challenger Won't Concede

By Alisa Hauser | February 24, 2015 10:00pm | Updated on February 25, 2015 1:39am
 Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) greets a former West Town resident Pete Frisbie at the debates Thursday.
Ald. Joe Moreno (1st) greets a former West Town resident Pete Frisbie at the debates Thursday.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

WICKER PARK — Ald. Joe Moreno won re-election Tuesday night, narrowly defeating three challengers by earning almost 51 percent of the vote.

Coming in second to Moreno's 50.9 percent was Anne Shaw, with 24.9 percent of the vote, followed by Ronda Locke, with 20.5 percent and Andrew Hamilton, with 3.8 percent.

Moreno had 4,129 votes out of 8,112 cast.

CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE ELECTION RESULTS HERE

Moreno, who was first appointed to the City Council in 2010, kept most reporters out of his victory party at the Concord, 2050 N. Milwaukee Ave. and was unavailable for immediate comment.

"I awake tomorrow as your alderman for another 4 years. I am honored and humbled to represent the 1st Ward for another term. Thank you to all of our supporters," Moreno said in a Facebook status update late Tuesday.

Shaw said she was not ready to concede to Moreno, saying he barely bested the 50-percent-plus-one vote threshold to avoid a runoff.

"We are going to wait and see what all of the absentee ballots are and we are talking 73 votes that he won by, so it's not over. It's too close to call," Shaw said.

Shaw, with supporters at Innjoy:

Sam Park, who lives in Logan Square, was among a group of Shaw supporters that congregated at Innjoy, 2051 W. Division St. to watch the results.

"That is unfortunate .I am disappointed. She would have been an independent voice in Chicago politics and the first Asian-American female alderman," Park said. 

During the campaign, Moreno was attacked for taking campaign contributions from developers seeking to invest in the rapidly improving ward. But Moreno said those same developers contributed money for local projects such as snow removal.

On Wednesday, Locke thanked her campaign supporters in a Facebook update. 

"Everyone brought their own talents, perspectives and energy and I am incredibly humbled and grateful. Considering there are roughly only 75 votes that could put incumbent in a runoff and lots of voting shenanigans, not sure we have heard the end of this," Locke said.

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