02-19-2009, 07:36 AM
Waukegan, North Chicago mayors face electoral tests
Challengers seek to unseat Democratic incumbents in primary
By Susan Kuczka | Tribune reporter
February 19, 2009
In political battles as intense as the economic woes facing two blue-collar towns, incumbent mayors in Waukegan and North Chicago face primary election challenges next week that will test the muscle of the Lake County Democratic Partyâif only as a warm-up for the April vote.
In Waukegan, party officials are behind Mayor Richard Hyde's re-election bid as the city continues to try to reinvent itself amid the nation's economic downturn.
At Democratic headquarters in Waukegan, staff greet callers with "Hyde for mayor"âsignaling their support for a mayor who has headed City Hall since 2002.
And in North Chicago, Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. has racked up endorsements from most of the party's big-name Democrats, including state Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), party chairman.
But in both Waukegan and North Chicago, challengers are counting on residents to vote for change in Tuesday's primary.
Had leaders made good on promises to rejuvenate their cities' economic bases, their communities would be in a stronger position to weather the downturn, challengers contend.
"We have been talking about development on the lakefront since I was 1 year old, and all we've done is talk about it," said Sam Cunningham, 42, an alderman since 1999 who is trying to become Waukegan's first African-American mayor.
"This city is running in the wrong direction," said Jose L. Guzman, 52, a community activist running for mayor, whose son, Jose A. Guzman, is running for alderman.
Hyde, 81, is confident that he'll win the primary based on his efforts to lure new business to town. He points to a Wal-Mart store at the newly developed Fountain Square as one of many projects he has pushed to rev up the city's economic engine.
A former wrestling and football coach at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, Hyde said he's not worried about what his challengers say.
"They like to bash us as much as they can," he said. "It doesn't bug me at all."
The winner of Waukegan's Democratic primary also will face a contest for mayor in the April 7 general election. Lake County Board member Robert Sabonjian Jr., whose father was Waukegan's mayor for 24 years, is running as an independent, and Republican businessman Greg Flesher also will be on the ballot. Flesher is unopposed in the GOP primary.
Sabonjian said he bolted the Democratic Party to appeal to residents fed up with a perception that the city has been run like an "insiders' club" favoring those with strong political ties.
In North Chicago, the Democratic primary should settle the mayor's race. No GOP candidates filed.
Rockingham's two challengers are former Mayor Jerry Johnson and political newcomer Carlos Carcamo. Besides gearing up for the primary election, Carcamo, 53, a city Streets Department employee, also is preparing for a March 11 trial on a battery charge stemming from an altercation last month with a business associate. He said he acted in self-defense.
Carcamo said he had supported many of the Democratic candidates in previous elections, but he thinks he is more capable of doing a better job than the community's current or former mayors.
Johnson, 58, a businessman who served as mayor from 1997 to 2001, said he doesn't need the party's support as he seeks to return to City Hall in a community that adjoins the Navy's basic training center at Naval Station Great Lakes.
Johnson said he's focused on his proposals for building a strong economic base, while also addressing crime, wasteful spending and taxes.
Rockingham, 54, counters that the installation of four surveillance cameras have helped police keep crime down at the same time the city works to increase business growth by cleaning up a former 40-acre brownfield that's now ready for development. Given a second term, Rockingham said he's confident he'll be able to find businesses to fill it.
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kuczka@tribune.com">skuczka@tribune.com</a><!-- e -->
Challengers seek to unseat Democratic incumbents in primary
By Susan Kuczka | Tribune reporter
February 19, 2009
In political battles as intense as the economic woes facing two blue-collar towns, incumbent mayors in Waukegan and North Chicago face primary election challenges next week that will test the muscle of the Lake County Democratic Partyâif only as a warm-up for the April vote.
In Waukegan, party officials are behind Mayor Richard Hyde's re-election bid as the city continues to try to reinvent itself amid the nation's economic downturn.
At Democratic headquarters in Waukegan, staff greet callers with "Hyde for mayor"âsignaling their support for a mayor who has headed City Hall since 2002.
And in North Chicago, Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. has racked up endorsements from most of the party's big-name Democrats, including state Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), party chairman.
But in both Waukegan and North Chicago, challengers are counting on residents to vote for change in Tuesday's primary.
Had leaders made good on promises to rejuvenate their cities' economic bases, their communities would be in a stronger position to weather the downturn, challengers contend.
"We have been talking about development on the lakefront since I was 1 year old, and all we've done is talk about it," said Sam Cunningham, 42, an alderman since 1999 who is trying to become Waukegan's first African-American mayor.
"This city is running in the wrong direction," said Jose L. Guzman, 52, a community activist running for mayor, whose son, Jose A. Guzman, is running for alderman.
Hyde, 81, is confident that he'll win the primary based on his efforts to lure new business to town. He points to a Wal-Mart store at the newly developed Fountain Square as one of many projects he has pushed to rev up the city's economic engine.
A former wrestling and football coach at Warren Township High School in Gurnee, Hyde said he's not worried about what his challengers say.
"They like to bash us as much as they can," he said. "It doesn't bug me at all."
The winner of Waukegan's Democratic primary also will face a contest for mayor in the April 7 general election. Lake County Board member Robert Sabonjian Jr., whose father was Waukegan's mayor for 24 years, is running as an independent, and Republican businessman Greg Flesher also will be on the ballot. Flesher is unopposed in the GOP primary.
Sabonjian said he bolted the Democratic Party to appeal to residents fed up with a perception that the city has been run like an "insiders' club" favoring those with strong political ties.
In North Chicago, the Democratic primary should settle the mayor's race. No GOP candidates filed.
Rockingham's two challengers are former Mayor Jerry Johnson and political newcomer Carlos Carcamo. Besides gearing up for the primary election, Carcamo, 53, a city Streets Department employee, also is preparing for a March 11 trial on a battery charge stemming from an altercation last month with a business associate. He said he acted in self-defense.
Carcamo said he had supported many of the Democratic candidates in previous elections, but he thinks he is more capable of doing a better job than the community's current or former mayors.
Johnson, 58, a businessman who served as mayor from 1997 to 2001, said he doesn't need the party's support as he seeks to return to City Hall in a community that adjoins the Navy's basic training center at Naval Station Great Lakes.
Johnson said he's focused on his proposals for building a strong economic base, while also addressing crime, wasteful spending and taxes.
Rockingham, 54, counters that the installation of four surveillance cameras have helped police keep crime down at the same time the city works to increase business growth by cleaning up a former 40-acre brownfield that's now ready for development. Given a second term, Rockingham said he's confident he'll be able to find businesses to fill it.
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kuczka@tribune.com">skuczka@tribune.com</a><!-- e -->