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Amy Crawford on 46th Ward Runoff vs. Ald. Cappleman: 'We're Going To Win'

By Mina Bloom | February 26, 2015 5:45am
 Amy Crawford (from l.) and James Cappleman are back to campaigning in preparation for a runoff April 7.
Amy Crawford (from l.) and James Cappleman are back to campaigning in preparation for a runoff April 7.
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DNAinfo/Mina Bloom

UPTOWN — It's back to campaigning for incumbent Ald. James Cappleman (46th) and challenger Amy Crawford.

After both candidates and a third challenger all failed to secure a majority vote Tuesday evening, Crawford and James Cappleman will square off in a runoff election April 7. Cappleman won 46.8 percent of the vote, while Crawford garnered 37.7 percent.

"I think we're going to win in April," Crawford told a group of her supporters at Uptown Lounge, 1136 W. Lawrence Ave., Tuesday evening. "But that means we're going to continue to work really hard for six more weeks."

She added, jokingly: "On the plus side, the weather's gotta get warmer." 

Mina Bloom says a runoff wasn't a total surprise to many:

Reached by phone Wednesday, she said she wasn't surprised by the runoff and had planned for all possibilities.

To secure a win, Crawford said her campaign "needs to do the same things" it has been doing, which includes reaching out to voters, knocking on doors and raising money.

"Everything that you can think of to do ... that's what we need to be doing," she said, adding that she will be "working hard full-time" until the runoff election.

When asked how her team was able to force a runoff, Crawford said, "It's been a lot of footwork, pounding the pavement and finding the voters wherever they are, which is tough in this densely populated ward."

Meanwhile, Cappleman is hoping for a second term in office. In a statement, he focused on "coming in first," saying he was both "excited and humbled by the overwhelming support from residents and volunteers"

Cappleman said while he "believes [Crawford] has the best intentions, talking points alone aren't real solutions."

"The 46th Ward needs a leader with a vision and I have shown our community what I can do with real solutions and real results," Cappleman said. "I believe that they will re-elect me for another four years."

In the 2011 municipal election, Cappleman received 55 percent of the votes in a runoff against Molly Phelan, a real estate and tax attorney. Prior to Cappleman, Helen Shiller presided over the ward for 24 years.

"We still have a little way to go," Cappleman said in a statement. "But I know the residents of the 46th ward want to continue our progress of reducing crime and increasing economic development." 

According to Cappleman, his leadership has led to a drop in crime throughout the ward and an average of one new business per month. 

But Crawford said violent crime and a lack of economic development are the exact issues that remain "nagging problems" in the ward.

"Voters saw me as someone who could get more done than our current alderman," she said.

Before Crawford decided to run for office, she was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis law firm, where she represented plaintiffs in Illinois' marriage equality lawsuits.

She's also a new mom. A little over a year ago, Crawford and her partner, Anita, adopted their now 13-month-old son, Lincoln. 

"We like staying busy. We've been fortunate to have really supportive friends and family. My wife, Anita, has been great."

Becoming a parent made Crawford more focused on issues facing the neighborhood such as violent crime, she said.

"You obviously look at violent crime differently as a new parent than you might as a single person," Crawford said.

If elected, Crawford said she will bring a "shared vision to Uptown and Lakeview that emphasizes inclusion and diversity and balance while also working on safety and economic development," she said.

She told DNAinfo Chicago that her first task as alderman would be to build the right team to address the concerns of 46th Ward residents, including her staff and various committees.

"Now we're harnessing the goodwill and energy of the folks across the ward to figure out how we're going to get this going into high gear," she said.

Cappleman said he "can't wait to share more of my vision for our community," including what he calls "big plans" in store for Uptown's entertainment district.

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