Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is once again the subject of a tsunami of criticism after she suggested at a campaign rally that the city’s Black residents should either vote for her, or not vote at all in the upcoming municipal election.
Lightfoot made the comments while speaking at a rally at Greenwood Oasis Church in the city’s Grand Crossing neighborhood.
“Any vote coming out of the South Side for somebody not named Lightfoot is a vote for Chuy García or Paul Vallas,” the mayor said. “If you want them controlling your faith and your destiny, then stay home. Then don’t vote.”
García called the comments “disqualifying.”
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“This is disqualifying rhetoric for anyone hoping to lead a Chicago that is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic city,” he said. “We need unity, not division.”
Willie Wilson says that the comments were divisive, and that Chicagoans deserve a candidate that will seek to unite the population.
“Mayor Lightfoot’s comments are delusional, divisive, dangerous and disappointing,” Wilson said in a statement. “Our city deserves a mayor that does not use race to divide us. We have been divided for too long. The mayor should be encouraging all people to go out and vote!”
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Wilson said that the comments could be a form of “voter suppression,” and urged all candidates to condemn Lightfoot’s remarks.
Ja’Mal Green also condemned the comments.
“Comments like these are an affront to democratic process, where each person’s voice is heard at the ballot box,” he said in a statement. “Lori’s desperation is showing, as reality sets in and her campaign crumbles. The people of Chicago are too smart to be played by her rhetoric of fear.”
Brandon Johnson accused Lightfoot of caring more about power than about encouraging Chicagoans to participate in the democratic process.
“Lori Lightfoot telling residents not to vote unless they vote for her shows that she cares more about maintaining power for herself than empowering communities or getting things done for the people of the city,” he said in a statement. “But Chicagoans deserve real leadership and solutions for a better, safer and stronger city.”
Lightfoot’s campaign issued a statement following the controversy, saying that she “urges every Chicagoan” to vote in the Feb. 28 election.
“The stakes of this election are high, and Chicagoans should take action to make sure we keep moving forward on the economic progress she’s led on the South and West sides, raising the minimum wage to $15 and investments in public safety and affordable housing,” the campaign said.
Lightfoot is fighting hard to at least make a runoff in the mayoral election, which is increasingly likely in the nine-person field. The top two vote-getters on Feb. 28 will advance to a runoff that would take place on April 4, unless one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
