CITY HALL — Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza presided over her last City Council meeting Wednesday, and tearfully said goodbye to the aldermen and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
But before thanking her staff, posing for pictures and chowing down on celebratory cake — both vanilla and chocolate, naturally — state Comptroller-elect Mendoza said she would leave the city clerk's office in the capable hands of Deputy City Clerk Carina Sanchez, who is in the running to replace her boss.
Mendoza said it was "bittersweet" to leave City Hall after serving as clerk for five years and was most proud to have "transformed" the city sticker program to make it easier for residents and more profitable for the city.
Sanchez has been part of that progress and would ensure that it continues, Mendoza said.
During her remarks, Mendoza singled out Emanuel, and thanked him for "terrorizing me for five years," prompting stilted laughter from the aldermen.
"You all know how I feel," Mendoza replied.
Emanuel said he would miss Mendoza's "energy and enthusiasm for serving the people of Chicago."
Several times since Mendoza unseated Republican state Comptroller Leslie Munger, Emanuel has praised Mendoza as the embodiment of the best Chicago has to offer the state and the country and a demonstration of values embodied by the motto of the United States of America: out of many, one.
"The people of Chicago are proud to claim you as our own," Emanuel said.
It it up to Emanuel to pick a replacement to serve out the rest of Mendoza's term, which ends in 2019.
The City Council's Latino Caucus urged Emanuel to pick one of four aldermen to replace Mendoza: Ald. George Cardenas (12th), Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30st) and Ald. Danny Solis (25th).
Solis later took his name out of the running.
The $133,545-a-year position has been held by a Latino politician since former Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed former state Sen. Miguel Del Valle in 2006.
Emanuel has indicated he plans to appoint a Latino to finish Mendoza's term. The appointment must be confirmed by the council, as would any replacement for an alderman.
The Sun-Times reported that in addition to Sanchez and the three aldermen, Emanuel is also considering Anna Valencia, director of the mayor's Office of Legislative Counsel and Government Affairs; Maria Guerra Lapacek, commissioner of the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; and Clarisol Duque, Chicago chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
Other candidates on the mayor's short list include Democratic state Sen. Iris Martinez and Chicago Park District Board President Jesse Ruiz, sources said.
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