JEFFERSON PARK — Chicago Police Lt. John Garrido snagged the top spot on the ballot in the Feb. 24 aldermanic election to represent the 45th Ward on the Chicago City Council, according to elections officials.
Election experts said the top spot means extra votes from less-informed voters, which could boost Garrido, who lost to Ald. John Arena (45th) by 30 votes in 2011.
Arena, who is one of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's most frequent critics, will be second on the ballot, followed by Michelle Baert, who publishes a website and Facebook page filled with listings for family-friendly activities as the 45th Ward Mom, in the third spot.
Garrido, Arena and Baert filed simultaneously at 9 a.m. Nov. 17, the first day election officials accepted petitions signed by at least 473 registered 45th Ward voters. That meant election officials conducted a lottery — using pill bottles — to determine who would get the coveted top spot.
Michael S. Diaz, who works as an attorney for the state of Illinois in the department that regulates banks, filed last, and will be in the final spot on the ballot — another spot that election observers say can mean extra votes from undecided voters.
No objections were filed by 5 p.m. Wednesday to any of the petitions filed by Garrido, Arena, Baert or Diaz, which means the field is set for the election.
In races where no candidate earns 50 percent of the votes cast, a runoff between the top two candidates will take place April 7.
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