CHICAGO — The race for the 2nd Ward aldermanic seat just got a little more entertaining.
In a YouTube video released last month, musician and composer Jon Steinmeier — using his hip-hop persona, Steinomite — endorses longtime friend and 2nd Ward candidate Steve Niketopoulos.
The tongue-in-cheek video — Niketopoulos is "like 8 feet tall, saves kitty cats every day for a year, [and] has regular meetings with Batman," Steinmeier boasts — is dubbed "Alderman With The Plan."
"Steve approached me in the fall and asked whether Steinomite would be willing to make a video to endorse his campaign, and I agreed because Steve is awesome," Steinmeier said.
On a more serious note, "Alderman With The Plan" touts Niketopoulos, a media producer and Local School Council rep, as active in community issues.
"It also mixes things in there that I thought were silly and funny," Steinmeier said.
The goal was to have fun and try to reach a younger audience, he said.
"He's already doin' the work ... word. Full time in the 2nd Ward ... ward up!" the song says.
Since it was uploaded, "Alderman With The Plan" has been viewed more than 600 times.
Niketopoulos has enjoyed the feedback he's received for the video.
"I'm happy with how it came out," he said, adding that now more people know how to pronounce his name (it's "Nick-a-top-o-lis" by the way).
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Niketopoulos can recite some of the lyrics.
"If the moment comes around and someone asks me to rap the lyrics, I'm always willing to do it," Niketopoulos said as he launched into a brief rap.
"So fly with the fliers, so insightful with the website, gathers information like a census, relentless," Niketopoulos rapped before letting out a laugh.
"The whole point of the video is showing all the work I've been doing for some time in the 2nd Ward — volunteering, being a neighborhood president, and being part of school council. More importantly, the video shows that a regular person can run for alderman. You don't have to be groomed for it, you just need to be involved," Niketopoulos said.
There is no incumbent in the race because Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd), who will no longer live in the ward after the city's new ward map boundaries take effect, is running for mayor instead.
The new 2nd Ward, which looks like a horseshoe as it cuts through portions of the lakefront, covers parts of the Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park and Bucktown, specifically on North Avenue from the Milwaukee, Damen and North avenues intersection west to Leavitt Street.
Niketopoulos is running against Cornell Wilson, Alyx Pattison, Stacey Pfingsten, Brian Hopkins and Bita Buenrostro.
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