1983 Chicago mayoral election

1983 Chicago mayoral election
← 1979 April 12, 1983 1987 →
Turnout82.07% Increase 21.7 pp
 
Nominee Harold Washington Bernard Epton
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 668,176 619,926
Percentage 51.72% 47.99%
Washington:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Epton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
     No votes
Mayor before election

Jane Byrne
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Harold Washington
Democratic

Elections in Illinois
Federal government
U.S. Presidential elections
U.S. Senate elections
U.S. House elections
State government
General elections
Gubernatorial elections
Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections
Attorney General elections
Secretary of State elections
Comptroller elections
Senate elections
House of Representatives elections
Judicial elections
Ballot measures and referendums
Chicago
General elections
Mayoral elections
Aldermanic elections
Chicago Board of Education elections
Cook County
County elections
Rockford
Mayoral elections
  • 2021
This article is part of a series about
Harold Washington
Transit projects
Related

The Chicago mayoral election of 1983 began with the primary on February 22, 1983, which was followed by the general on April 12, 1983. The election saw the election of Chicago's first African-American mayor, Harold Washington.

Incumbent Mayor Jane Byrne, who had served since April 16, 1979, faced a primary challenge from Cook County State's Attorney Richard M. Daley and from U.S. Congressman Harold Washington. Washington defeated Byrne and Daley in the Democratic primary in February 1983, winning by nearly 3 points.

In the general election, Washington faced Republican nominee Bernard Epton. Though Epton's candidacy was initially thought to be a longshot, backlash to Washington among white voters propelled his candidacy. This led to a higlhy competitive general election race. In a high-turnout election, Washington won with a 3.7% lead over Epton.

Turnout

[edit]

The election saw high turnout, both during the primaries and the general election.

Primary elections

[edit]

During the city's Democratic and Republican primaries (held on February 22)[1] 77.49% of registered voters voted.[2][3] This was a very high turnout for Chicago mayoral primaries.[4]

1,235,324 ballots were returned by voters in the city's primary elections (1,217,965 in the Democratic primary, 14,641 ballots in the Republican primary, and 2,718 in for third-party's primaries). Most ballots were cast in-person at precinct polling places on election day, though 22,483 ballots were cast absentee and 1,822 were cast at nursing homes.[3] Not all of these ballots cast votes in the mayoral primaries, however.

General election

[edit]

General election turnout was 82.07%.[5]

1,334,303 ballots were returned by voters in the general election. Most ballots were cast in-person at precinct polling places on election day, though 25,427 were absentee ballots and 1,822 were cast at nursing homes.[3] Not all of these ballots cast votes in the mayoral race, however.

Democratic primary

[edit]

Candidates

[edit]

Campaign

[edit]
Washington holds a press conference at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on December 13, 1982.

Since winning an upset victory in the 1979 Democratic primary and a landslide victory in that year's general election, Jane Byrne had had a tumultuous term as mayor.[6] A three-way race emerged between Byrne, congressman Harold Washington, and Cook County State's Attorney Richard M. Daley (the son of former mayor Richard J. Daley). Byrne secured support for her re-nomination from 33 of the city's aldermen.[6] Two months ahead of the primary, the city's Democratic Party organization endorsed her.[7] Of the candidates, Byrne's campaign had the most funds. She raised more than $3 million.[6] She had spent much of her funds very early in the campaign, spending on early television commercials in an effort to overhaul her image. Her advertisements sought to portray her as a steady and serious leader that had straightened out the city government after taking office amid chaos.[6] While Byrne had previously, in 1979, presented herself as a protegee of former mayor Richard J. Daley, she now blamed him for many of the city's financial shortcomings.[6]

Daley's own son Richard M. Daley capitalized off a desire which many Chicagoans held (despite Byrne's criticisms) to return to what they perceived to have been comparatively stable years which the city had experienced under Richard J. Daley's leadership.[6] Newspapers had speculated about a Daley candidacy since the start of the Byrne administration. Byrne recognized the threat posed by the younger Daley and sought to contain him. In the 1980 Cook County State's Attorney election, Byrne backed Ed Burke in the Democratic primary and later Republican Bernard Carey in the general election, both of whom were defeated by Daley.[8] However, the younger Daley struggled with a perception that he was a lightweight compared to his father.[6] There was also a perception at the time that the younger Daley held an inferior intellect to those of his opponents.[6] When Daley officially launched his campaign in September 1982, polls showed him ahead of or tied with Byrne.[9] A voting bloc which was sought after were the independent-leaning Democrats often called "lakefront liberals".[6] They had backed Byrne in the 1979 primary, but were hesitant to back her again.[6]

Washington had been the favorite among much of Chicago's African American Community, and a movement to draft Harold was led by former journalist, and community activist Lu Palmer.[10] A poll by the Chicago Black United Communities (CBUC) found Washington to be the favorite among 10 prospective black candidates.[11] Washington initially did not accept any overtures to run. On July 26, 1982, at an event intended to nominate Harold for mayor, he said in a speech that the campaign was about "the plan, not the man".[12][13] Moreover, Washington wanted a guarantee that a prospective campaign would have adequate resources and specifically wanted an increase in black voter registration.[14] In the aftermath of this, activists registered more than 100,000 new voters, and with Daley and Byrne fighting each other, there was a credible path for Washington. On November 10, 1982, Washington announced in Hyde Park he would run for mayor.[15]

Much of the city's white electorate was split between Byrne and Daley.[16][17] The fact that neither Byrne nor Daley were able to consolidate the white electorate around their candidacy provided Washington an opportunity to win a plurality of the overall vote.[16] While Washington was anticipated to do well among African-American voters, he would not have been able to capture the nomination on African-American support alone.[6] Because Washington's campaign had issues with lower name recognition at first, Byrne and Daley opted to not make any racially charged attacks on Washington in the hopes of winning over black voters.[18] Chairman Edward Vrdolyak was alleged to have encouraged voters to back Byrne, warning that a vote for Daley was a vote for Washington. Vrdolyak said "It’s a racial thing. Don’t kid yourself. I’m calling on you to save your city, to save your precinct. We’re fighting to keep the city the way it is." Washington condemned the remarks and Byrne was dismissive of making race an issue.[19]

In the closing days of the campaign, Byrne was on the defense, particularly from attacks being lodged by Daley.[20] Daley, meanwhile, was struggling to convince voters that he was no longer in third place.[20] Washington entered the television ad campaign later than the other candidates, only having barely $1 million to spend on his campaign.[21] Byrne spent a total of $10 million on her campaign,[21] $5 million more than her 1979 campaign. Daley won the endorsements of both of the city's major newspapers,[22] the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times[23]

Endorsements

[edit]
Jane Byrne

Federal officials

State officials

Local officials

Newspapers and publications

Richard M. Daley

Executive officials

Federal officials

State officials

Newspapers and publications

Harold Washington

Federal officials

State officials

Individuals

Results

[edit]
Result map by ward

The election was held on Tuesday, February 22, 1983.[6] 1.2 million Chicagoans went to polls to cast their ballot, noted then as the largest turnout since 25 years earlier in 1958.[21] Turnout was 77.5%.[5] Washington received 36.3% of the citywide vote[21] and roughly 80% of the African-American vote.[21][35] Mayor Byrne had 33.6% of the citywide vote and Daley came in third place with 29.7%. The election saw a record-setting 69% of registered African-American voter turnout.[21] Author Paul Green would later say that Daley was not adequately prepared to run in 1983, lacking an efficient political organization, significant political experience, and lacking an understanding of the issues and demographics of the city.[36]

1983 Chicago Democratic Party Mayoral Primary
Candidate Votes % +/-
Harold Washington 424,324 36.3% N/A
Jane Byrne (incumbent) 393,500 33.6% -17.4%
Richard M. Daley 346,835 29.7% N/A
Frank R. Ranallo 2,367 0.2% N/A
William Markowski 1,412 0.1% N/A
Sheila Jones 1,285 0.1% N/A
Majority 30,824 2.6% +0.6%
Total 1,169,723 100% N/A

Republican primary

[edit]

Former state Representative Bernard Epton won the Republican nomination.[6] Epton had reluctantly run after being urged by party leaders.[37] Governor James Thompson had even personally called Epton, offering for his gubernatorial campaign staff to help out on a prospective Epton mayoral candidacy.[38] Epton was the only established figure who agreed to seek the nomination, and had all but formally secured the nomination at party meetings in November.[39] Chicago had not elected a Republican mayor in 56 years (since the 1927 Chicago mayoral election).[6] At the time, Chicago had no Republican aldermen on its City Council.[6] While Chicago was regarded as overwhelmingly Democratic, it was hoped by many Republicans that if Washington were nominated by the Democrats, many white voters would vote for the Republican nominee.[6] Epton stated, "Chicago has been regarded for too long as a Democratic stronghold. It's about time we change that image."[6] Epton was ultimately unopposed on the Republican primary ballot[40] after candidates Ralph G. Medly,[41] William Arthur Murray,[42] and Raymond Wardingley[43] saw their names removed from the ballot due to issues with their petitions. Wardingly had been a candidate in the previous election's primary. During the primary, Epton raised $41,000, of which almost entirely came from self-donations or donations from family.[44]

Independent candidate

[edit]

Ed Warren ran as an independent candidate.

General election

[edit]

Campaigning

[edit]

After Washington's primary victory, a backlash began to emerge among white voters. In the days after, Republican Party headquarters were filled with volunteers.[45][46] A week afterward, Epton's rallies were attended by people wearing bags with "Unknown Democrats for Epton" written on them.[47] Moreover, Democratic Aldermen were reticent to support Washington. The first Alderman to endorse Epton was Aloysius Majerczyk.[48] Majerczyk said his constituents "are giving me a message of racial pride. . . . They’re afraid of scattered-site housing. They’re concerned about the stability of our neighborhoods."[49] Other white aldermen followed, implicitly or explicitly.[48] Edward Vrdolyak, chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, offered only tepid support for Washington, and allegedly maintained contact with the Epton campaign.[50]

In spite of this, Epton promised to not make race an issue.[51] He vowed not to make personal attacks and spoke highly of Washington, whom he had served in the state legislature with.[52] James Fletcher, who ran James R. Thompson's first successful gubernatorial campaign, became Epton's general election campaign manager. High-profile figures such as Republican Senator Paul Laxalt (chairman of the RNC) campaigned for Epton.[53]

On March 17, Byrne announced she was running as a write-in candidate, claiming of Epton and Washington ''neither of them represents the best interest of Chicago; neither of them has a program for Chicago.''[1] Epton believed that Byrne's candidacy would hurt his candidacy and help Washington.[1] Washington was critical of her campaign, though privately saw the campaign as helpful for his candidacy. Byrne's candidacy was met with resistance from Democratic aldermen, and Ted Kennedy personally visited with Byrne to convince her to drop the campaign. After being booed at a Southside nursing home, Byrne withdrew after only a week.[54] In addition to a lack of support, Byrne had hoped to avoid a court battle with the Chicago Board of Elections over the simplification of write-in procedures.[55]

As the race went on, it became increasingly competitive, with some newspapers characterizing it as a "tossup".[56] Epton was polling double what a Republican typically polled in Chicago mayoral races.[57] The race also grew very bitter, as the last weeks of the campaign saw various attacks from Epton's campaign. Epton made frequent reference to Washington's past legal troubles, including a failure to pay his taxes and a brief suspension of his law license.[58] Epton's ads used the slogan "Epton- Before it's too late", which capitalized on the fears of white voters.[59] Washington's campaign, meanwhile, took advantage of claims that Epton had been institutionalized multiple times for depression and attacked Epton's slogan for its racially tinged messaging.[60][61]

On March 27, an incident occurred at St. Pascal's Catholic Church on the northwest side where Washington and former Vice President Walter Mondale were accosted by protestors.[62] The incident received national attention, including a cover story in Newsweek titled "Chicago's Ugly Election", and similar stories appeared in other outlets as well.[63] Subsequently, Washington's team made advertisements using footage of the protestors to highlight to white liberals the level of racism behind the opposition to Washington.[64] In the last days of the campaign, a flier circulated accusing Washington of being a child molester. Washington delivered a speech in response criticizing Epton's character, which earned applause and cheers from a predominantly white audience.[65]

The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times both endorsed Washington.[23]

Endorsements

[edit]
Bernard Epton

Federal officials

State officials

Local officials

Harold Washington

Federal officials

State officials

Newspapers and publications

Results

[edit]

The election saw a massive voter turnout, with more than 82 percent of eligible voters casting ballots.[5] This race had one of the highest turnouts in Chicago history.[72]

Mayor of Chicago 1983[73] (general election)
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Harold Washington 668,176 51.72
Republican Bernard Epton 619,926 47.99
Independent Ed Warren 3,756 0.29
Turnout 1,291,858

Results by ward

[edit]

Washington's coalition of voters consisted of the city's African American population with the additional support of "lakefront liberals" and the city's Latino community. Therefore, he performed best in heavily black wards, as well as lakeshore wards and heavily Latino wards.[74] In black wards, turnout was no lower than 73% and Washington garnered around 97% of the black vote.[75]

Epton carried a plurality of the vote in 28 of the city's 50 wards, while Washington carried a plurality of the vote in 22 wards.[76][74]

Ward[76] Harold Washington
(Democratic Party)		 Bernard Epton
(Republican Party)		 Ed Warren
(Socialist Workers Party)		 Total
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes
1 13,026 62.4% 7,777 37.3% 65 0.3% 20,868
2 22,738 97.4% 558 2.4% 42 0.2% 23,338
3 24,470 99.1% 178 0.7% 48 0.2% 24,696
4 24,420 92.3% 1,981 7.5% 70 0.3% 26,471
5 24,729 90.8% 2,455 9.0% 45 0.2% 27,229
6 34,727 99.2% 240 0.7% 43 0.1% 35,010
7 17,293 81.9% 3,771 17.9% 45 0.2% 21,109
8 31,095 98.5% 457 1.4% 28 0.1% 31,580
9 23,979 93.9% 1,518 5.9% 29 0.1% 25,526
10 10,103 33.9% 19,609 65.8% 94 0.3% 29,806
11 7,186 25.8% 20,515 73.8% 98 0.4% 27,799
12 3,836 15.4% 21,042 84.2% 99 0.4% 24,977
13 1,457 4.0% 34,856 95.7% 100 0.3% 36,413
14 3,864 16.1% 20,095 83.5% 94 0.4% 24,053
15 15,949 60.3% 10,451 39.5% 62 0.2% 26,462
16 25,646 98.9% 221 0.9% 56 0.2% 25,923
17 29,233 99.1% 205 0.7% 53 0.2% 29,491
18 14,889 43.7% 19,081 56.0% 79 0.2% 34,049
19 7,045 20.0% 28,072 79.7% 105 0.3% 35,222
20 25,701 99.0% 220 0.8% 40 0.2% 25,961
21 32,967 99.1% 275 0.8% 32 0.1% 33,274
22 4,674 51.9% 4,279 47.5% 46 0.5% 8,999
23 1,373 4.1% 32,399 95.6% 101 0.3% 33,873
24 24,259 99.2% 129 0.5% 63 0.3% 24,451
25 5,925 49.1% 6,099 50.5% 51 0.4% 12,075
26 7,449 45.5% 8,823 53.9% 96 0.6% 16,368
27 20,706 92.7% 1,577 7.1% 58 0.3% 22,341
28 22,335 98.6% 224 1.0% 103 0.5% 22,662
29 19,882 92.7% 1,530 7.1% 43 0.2% 21,455
30 3,033 12.6% 20,947 87.1% 72 0.3% 24,052
31 9,856 60.4% 6,396 39.2% 77 0.5% 16,329
32 8,266 43.8% 10,515 55.7% 98 0.5% 18,879
33 6,909 37.7% 11,296 61.7% 101 0.6% 18,306
34 29,354 98.8% 336 1.1% 32 0.1% 29,722
35 3,412 15.4% 18,647 84.2% 85 0.4% 22,144
36 1,647 4.9% 31,944 94.8% 95 0.3% 33,686
37 17,549 76.8% 5,251 23.0% 57 0.2% 22,857
38 1,881 5.7% 30,939 94.0% 100 0.3% 32,920
39 3,127 12.3% 22,159 87.3% 92 0.4% 25,378
40 3,772 17.1% 18,202 82.5% 91 0.4% 22,065
41 2,380 6.8% 32,725 93.0% 75 0.2% 35,180
42 12,496 45.5% 14,891 54.2% 67 0.2% 27,454
43 11,006 35.8% 19,618 63.9% 93 0.3% 30,717
44 10,613 39.2% 16,372 60.4% 105 0.4% 27,090
45 2,376 6.9% 31,737 92.8% 91 0.3% 34,204
46 10,251 46.8% 11,542 52.7% 108 0.5% 21,901
47 4,515 18.0% 20,397 81.5% 125 0.5% 25,037
48 9,433 43.3% 12,269 56.3% 88 0.4% 21,790
49 9,719 42.9% 12,815 56.6% 109 0.5% 22,643
50 5,001 18.2% 22,368 81.4% 103 0.4% 27,472
Totals 667,552 51.7% 620,003 48.0% 3,752 0.3% 1,291,307

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Sheppard, Nathaniel (March 17, 1983). "Mayor Byrne Sets Write-in Campaign for Chicago Vote". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  2. ^ Washington, Laura (February 20, 2023). "Early voter turnout in Chicago elections is high. Will the interest persist?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago Percentage of Voters Casting Ballots at Elections (1942 - Present)" (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Franklin, Tim (February 23, 1983). "Voter turnout of 80 percent dwarfs record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Election Live Blog: Low voter turnout continues into evening". Chicago Sun-Times. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Chicago's mayoral primary Feb 1983". www.lib.niu.edu.
  7. ^ Rivlin, Gary; Pokemper, Marc (2013). Fire on the Prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago Politics, and the Roots of the Obama Presidency. Temple University Press. ISBN 9781439904916. JSTOR j.ctt14bt943.
  8. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. From the outset of the Byrne mayoralty, the newspapers had been predicting an eventual showdown between the boss's son, who seemed destined in many minds to exercise his birthright and reclaim city hall for the Bridgeport faithful, and the female mayor, an interloper whose following had become fragmented and brittle... The mayor accordingly did all she could to isolate the young Daley, to drive him out of the Democratic organization and into political oblivion. When Daley had announced his intention to run for state's attorney in 1980, a move widely perceived as preparatory to seeking the mayoralty in 1983, Byrne recruited Fourteenth Ward alderman Edward M. Burke to run against him in the primary. Burke lost decisively, and, even with the mayor openly backing the Republican candidate, Bernard Carey, Daley won the general election handily. From that moment forward, Chicagoans looked to the 1983 mayoral election as the inevitable clash between the two powerful politicians for control of the Democratic machine's valuable remains.
  9. ^ "Ludington Daily News". news.google.com – via Google News Archive Search.
  10. ^ Nolan, Peter (2011). Campaign! The 1983 Election that Rocked Chicago (1st ed.). Northfield, Illinois: Amika Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-9708416-8-1. From the very beginning, Harold Washington was the overwhelming choice of Chicago's African American community to be its standard bearer in the race for mayor. Lu Palmer, a former Daily News reporter and community activist had organized a coalition of black community organizations and begun a draft Washington movement in July.
  11. ^ Travis, Dempsey J. (2017). Harold, the people's mayor : the biography of Harold Washington (2nd ed.). Chicago: Bolden. p. 127. ISBN 9781572842373. U.S. Rep. Harold Washington was the favorite to run for mayor of Chicago in the 1983 election. This was determined by a citywide survey conducted by the Chicago Black United Communities (CBUC) between May 1 and June 15, 1982. Lu Palmer, founder of CBUC, was one of the 10 individuals on the survey list.
  12. ^ Travis, Dempsey J. (2017). Harold, the people's mayor : the biography of Harold Washington (2nd ed.). Chicago: Bolden. p. 127. ISBN 9781572842373. Our keynote speaker at the plebiscite meeting, which was at the Bethel A.M.E. Church on July 26, was Congressman Harold Washington. And, of course, he was the runaway winner in votes, like 10 to one. Harold's speech disturbed me because he kept harping on the theme that it is the 'plan and not the man.' I looked at some of the other organizers of the meeting and frowned. I did not know what
  13. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-4399-0491-6. In the summer of 1982, two thousand people showed up at a south side church for a daylong event that Lu Palmer had billed as a "black plebiscite." The idea was to invite anyone who was anyone in black movement politics and, at this gathering of the clan, crown Harold Washington as their choice for mayor... All that remained was the formality of Washington humbly accepting their nomination. That, at least, was the way Palmer's script read. The crowd treated Washington to a standing ovation as he made his way to the microphone. But instead of declaring his candidacy, he started talking about how it was "the plan, not the man." Don't get too hung up on any one candidate, Washington urged the crowd
  14. ^ Nolan, Peter (2011). Campaign! The 1983 Election that Rocked Chicago (1st ed.). Northfield, Illinois: Amika Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-9708416-8-1. Washington had been reluctant all the way. He wanted assurances of full support from the community, a healthy campaign war chest and a black voter registration drive.
  15. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. By 1982 a number of factors had coalesced to improve the prospects of an African American running for mayor. Washington had challenged black activists to register 50,000 new voters, seemingly a very ambitious goal, and they had responded by recruiting more than twice that number... The opportunity appeared even better in early November when Richard M. Daley, the eldest son of the late mayor, announced his candidacy... On November 10, eight days after his reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives, Washington announced his candidacy for mayor in a press conference witnessed by a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Hyde Park Hilton Hotel.
  16. ^ a b Rudin, Ken (February 21, 2007). "Chicago's Long-Running Daley Show" – via NPR.
  17. ^ "How Harold Washington, Against the Odds, Became the First Black Mayor of Chicago | History News Network". historynewsnetwork.org.
  18. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. Because both Daley and Byrne hoped to attract some black votes, they refrained from leveling the kind of harsh criticisms against Washington that might have appeared racially insensitive... This decision made a great deal of sense to the political experts in the Daley and Byrne camps, for Washington's campaign appeared to be spinning its wheels. His long-shot candidacy inevitably suffered from a number of serious liabilities common to all reformers but heightened for minority candidates. Widely known on the South Side but lacking the kind of name recognition throughout Chicago enjoyed by Daley and Byrne, Washington faced an uphill battle introducing himself and his platform to the metropolis's disparate voters
  19. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency. Urban life, landscape, and policy (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, Pa: Temple Univ. Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-4399-0493-0. Then, on the weekend before the primary, Ed Vrdolyak addressed an assembly of around two hundred precinct captains on the northwest side. Unbeknownst to Vrdolyak, a pair of Trib reporters had sneaked into the meeting to hear from this man who, as party chairman, was essentially Byrne's campaign manager. "A vote for Daley is a vote for Washington," Vrdolyak told the captains. "It's a two-person race. It would be the worst day in the history of Chicago if our candidate, the only viable candidate, was not elected." And in case anyone missed it, he punched the point home with these words: "It's a racial thing. Don't kid yourself. I'm calling on you to save your city, to save your precinct. We're fighting to keep the city the way it is." News of Vrdolyak's pep talk prompted Byrne to scrap her schedule and make several impromptu appearances in the black community. At first she offered a lame attempt at humor. "I've been coughing so hard and have such a cold that I don't even know what he's been saying," she said. Later in the day she had her talking point. She declared herself "annoyed with anybody who makes race an issue"—Vrdolyak or Washington. Reporters caught up with Washington at Daley Plaza. "Here at the last moment," Washington said of Vrdolyak, "afraid that he will not be able to reign over this city and use this mayor as a puppet, he's gotten excited and resorted to the last defense of demagogues and scoundrels. He's raised the race banner."
  20. ^ a b "Washington's victory Apr 1983". www.lib.niu.edu.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Klose, Kevin (February 24, 1983). "Upset in Chicago". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ Green, Paul M.; Holli, Melvin G. (January 10, 2013). The Mayors: The Chicago Political Tradition, fourth edition. SIU Press. p. 225. ISBN 9780809331994. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Sun-Times endorses Washington for mayor – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  24. ^ "The Telegraph". news.google.com – via Google News Archive Search.
  25. ^ Joravsky, Ben (July 22, 2014). "Political veteran Robert Shaw sees no reason why he can't become mayor". Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  26. ^ Joravsky, Ben (October 31, 2002). "By Any Means Necessary". Chicago Reader. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  27. ^ a b "Stevenson endorses Daley in hot mayoral race". Daily Republican-Register. Associated Press. February 8, 1983. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  28. ^ "Political notes". Chicago Tribune. February 14, 1983. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  29. ^ Clymer, Adam (February 22, 1983). "Mondale Begins His '84 Campaign". The New York Times.
  30. ^ "Looping Chicagoland". Chicago Tribune. February 3, 1983. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  31. ^ Wiedrich, Bob (February 10, 1983). "'Cabal' Can't buy off Adlai". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  32. ^ Fujinaga, Yasumasa (2014). "Black Power at the Polls: The Harold Washington Campaign of 1983 and the Demise of the Democratic Machine in Chicago" (PDF). The Japanese Journal of American Studies (25). Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  33. ^ a b Bremer, Shelby (December 28, 2018). "4 Candidates for Chicago Mayor Removed From Ballot". NBC Chicago. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  34. ^ Axelrod, David; Anderson, Monroe (February 5, 1983). "Daley, Washington endorsed". Chicago Tribune. p. 25. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  35. ^ "The Lewiston Daily Sun" – via Google News Archive Search.
  36. ^ Green, Paul Michael; Holli, Melvin G., eds. (2005). The Mayors: the Chicago political tradition (3rd ed.). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-8093-2612-9. OCLC 56096602. For the purpose of this chapter, it is important to point out that as a politician and government official, State's Attorney Daley was simply not ready to take on both Byrne and Congressman Harold Washington at the same time. RMD was obviously not comfortable running in 1983. Why? First, his political operation was not smooth (an uneven mixing of several of his father's old loyalists and a few of RMD's younger allies); second, his governmental track record was minimal, especially to take on an incumbent mayor and a longtime (though relatively unknown) political sharpshooter like Harold Washington; third and most important, RMD's campaign, both its policies and tactics, aimed inward, not outward. His campaign did not reflect the city's changing demographics or the types of issues that affected its citizens. As one old pro told me, "1983 was the ultimate 'pissing match' and Rich Daley's Bridgeport-based campaign could not overcome Byrne's citywide money and incumbency or Washington's racial appeal and rhetoric."
  37. ^ "Republican Grasp on Chicago: 9 Jobs". The New York Times. December 5, 1982.
  38. ^ "Chicago Republicans Slate Candidate for Mayoral Race". Southern Illinoisan. December 1, 1982. p. 5. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  39. ^ "In His Lonely Race for Mayor of Chicago, Bernard Epton Finds the G.O.P. on the Wrong Side of the Tracks". Peoplemag.
  40. ^ Myers, Linnet (February 24, 1983). "Epton to appeal to 'disenchanted Democrats'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "State of Illinois, County of Cook, Case No. 82-EB-CW-2" (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. January 7, 1983.
  42. ^ "State of Illinois, County of Cook, Case No. 82-EB-CW-3" (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. January 7, 1983.
  43. ^ "State of Illinois, County of Cook, Case No. 82-EB-CW-1" (PDF). Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. January 7, 1983.
  44. ^ Rivlin, Gary; PoKempner, Marc (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency. Urban life, landscape, and policy (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, Pa: Temple Univ. Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-4399-0493-0. Epton's campaign was even more ragtag than Washington's. He raised $41,000 during the primary; all but $1,000 came from his own bank account or from family members. His daughter served as campaign manager.
  45. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. The huge number of volunteers pouring into Republican campaign offices offering their services overwhelmed the silent, empty rooms that had resembled mausoleums just days before.
  46. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-4399-0491-6. The day after Washington's primary win, swarms of volunteers were already descending on Republican headquarters. The procession only intensified in the coming days.
  47. ^ Travis, Dempsey (2017). Harold, the people's mayor : the biography of Harold Washington (2nd ed.). Chicago: Agate Bolden. p. 168. ISBN 9781572842373. Just seven days after the primary upset, some of the white citizens who attended an Epton mayoral rally at 3252 S. Halsted St. wore paper bags over their heads, as though they were attempting to hide from the boogey man. The paper bags proclaimed that they were "Unknown Democrats for Epton."
  48. ^ a b Fremon, David K. (1988). Chicago politics, ward by ward. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-253-31344-7. Majerczyk observed (correctly, if the April election returns were any indication) the he would lose few votes in his white ethnic ward by opposing the (black) Democratic mayoral nominee, Harold Washington. He became the first alderman to declare open support for Republican Bernard Epton. Most other white aldermen followed suit, either overtly or covertly.
  49. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4399-0491-6.
  50. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4399-0491-6. The party chairman, Ed Vrdolyak, endorsed Washington, but his support, too, seemed disingenuous. In different circumstances, Vrdolyak would have twisted arms to maintain party unity; instead, the party chairman offered a few perfunctory remarks and left his support at that... Vrdolyak kept in close contact with Epton throughout the campaign—so, at least, a top Epton aide told a writer for Chicago magazine after the election was over.
  51. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. After Washington's primary victory, Epton immediately promised to take the high road during the campaign. He refused to be cast as the Great White Hope and told the Chicago Defender that he would "repudiate any efforts by white racist Democrats" to rally around him as the antiblack candidate.
  52. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. Eschewing the cutthroat politics for which Chicago had become infamous, Epton promised to refrain from personal attacks against his opponent and to devote his time to sober discussions of the issues. During his first campaign appearances, he met those lofty goals. Epton described Washington as articulate and intelligent and spoke highly of their time spent together in the Illinois General Assembly.
  53. ^ a b Malcolm, Andrew H. (February 25, 1983). "Chicago Mayoral Race Gains G.O.P.'s Interest". The New York Times.
  54. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4399-0491-6. Washington said all the right things about Byrne's hurting the Democratic Party, but privately he could not have been more pleased. Two white candidates would again split the city's white vote. Ed Vrdolyak announced that neither the party nor his ward organization would have any part of her write-in effort. Two of her more visible primary supporters, Alderman Vito Marzullo and Park Superintendent Ed Kelly, endorsed Epton. Ted Kennedy endorsed Washington and made a special trip to Chicago to convince Byrne that her write-in candidacy would damage her reputation. But she didn't get out until she was booed at a southwest side nursing home. Her revived candidacy lasted a week.
  55. ^ Sheppard, Nathaniel Jr. (March 24, 1983). "Jane Byrne Ends Her Write-in Bid to Stay in Office". The New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  56. ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" – via Google News Archive Search.
  57. ^ Mouat, Lucia (April 8, 1983). "Chicago readies for controversial mayoral election". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  58. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2013). Fire on the prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago politics, and the roots of the Obama presidency (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-1-4399-0491-6. Through the second half of the general election, however, Epton spoke of little else. With election day less than three weeks off, the two candidates met in their sole debate. No campaign issue, Epton said in his opening statement, is as important as doubts about Washington's background. Voters, he said, must ask themselves one question that outweighs all others: "Will he obey the law?" During the debate, Epton held up a thick blue notebook that his aides said beforehand would contain shocking new disclosures. The notebook was nothing more than a compilation of old charges, but it made for a dramatic prop. The debate set the tone for the remainder of the campaign. Epton offered no programs or sense of direction in his standard stump speech—just a recap of Washington's jail term and the law license suspension.
  59. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-252-04185-3. Between the evening of the debate and Election Day, just less than three weeks overall, the thin veneer of civility present earlier in the mayoral contest disappeared completely, as Epton vigorously questioned his adversary's fitness to be mayor and Washington responded in kind. The campaign slogan the Republican coined, Epton—Before It's Too Late", addressed the fears of white Chicagoans apprehensive of the changes a black mayor would impose.
  60. ^ Biles, Roger (2018). Mayor Harold Washington: champion of race and reform in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-252-05052-7. The Washington campaign attempted to take advantage of questions raised by the media about Epton's medical history, specifically repeating claims that the Republican had been institutionalized twice for depression and had been prescribed lithium to control his anxiety.
  61. ^ Travis, Dempsey J. (2017). 176. Chicago: Bolden. p. 176. ISBN 9781572842373. Harold counterattacked his opponent with a barrage of accusations. He publicized medical records that indicated Epton had been hospitalized several times for mental illness, and he charged that the campaign slogan, "Epton Before It's Too Late", was not a non-too-subtle appeal to racist fears.
  62. ^ Austin, Beth (March 28, 1983). "Washington, Mondale routed by white mob". The Dispatch. p. 14. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  63. ^ Travis, Dempsey J. (2017). Harold, the people's mayor : the biography of Harold Washington (2nd ed.). Chicago: Bolden. p. 178. ISBN 9781572842373. The ghastliness of that Palm Sunday received national headlines. Newsweek did a four-page cover story on "Chicago's Ugly Election" and People magazine carried a picture of a jeering mob and the headline "Hatred Walks The Street." Esquire magazine warned that "The campaign is disastrous for Chicago in terms of its own immediate future and certainly in terms of its national image. The image is taking. And the unfortunate thing is that part of the image is true."
  64. ^ Heller, Jordan (April 2, 2019). "An Oral History of the Election of Chicago's First Black Mayor". Intelligencer. Retrieved July 5, 2024. Fortunately, a local CBS News crew was there, and they filmed the crowd reacting to Washington and Mondale. That created the strategic opening that we were trying to exploit, which was to make the case to white liberals that the campaign against Washington was so overtly racist that they would want nothing to do with it. With the footage from St. Pascal's, we could make commercials that would effectively shame those white liberals into supporting Harold.
  65. ^ Travis, Dempsey J. (2017). Harold, the people's mayor : the biography of Harold Washington (2nd ed.). Chicago: Bolden. pp. 179–180. ISBN 9781572842373. The flier described Harold as a child molester. Harold stunned a lakefront audience at Mundelein College when he waved the flier over his head and shouted... The audience, most of whom were white people from the 48th and 49th Wards, cheered wildly at Harold's remarks, repeatedly interrupting him with chants of "We Want Harold." In the opinion of some political pundits, Harold won his margin of victory during these last few days before the election, when he put on his boxing gloves and came out in the middle of the ring fighting like Mike Tyson.
  66. ^ Neal, Steve (March 20, 1986). "How Will Ed Kelly Wield His Clout?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  67. ^ "Machine Demo Bolts to Epton". The Dispatch. United Press International. April 1, 1983. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  68. ^ "Listening positions". Southern Illinoisan. Associated Press. March 30, 1983. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  69. ^ Moberg, David (April 8, 1983). "Guide for the Perplexed". Chicago ЯEADER. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  70. ^ a b Axelrod, David; Anderson, Monroe (March 11, 1983). "Washington picks up Netsch, Oberman support". Chicago Tribune. p. 44. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  71. ^ Mouat, Lucia (April 8, 1983). "Chicago readies for controversial mayoral election". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  72. ^ Preston, Michael B. (1983). "The Election of Harold Washington: Black Voting Patterns in the 1983 Chicago Mayoral Race". PS. 16 (3): 487. doi:10.2307/418606. ISSN 0030-8269. JSTOR 418606 – via Cambridge. In one of the most bitter campaigns in Chicago's history, Washington won with 51.4 percent or 656,727 votes to Epton's 48.3 percent or 617,1 59 votes. The city turnout of 82 percent was one of the highest in Chicago's history.
  73. ^ "Board of Election Commissioners For the City of Chicago Mayoral Election Results Since 1900 General Elections Only". Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. July 18, 2004. Archived from the original on July 18, 2004. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  74. ^ a b Green, Paul M. (August 1, 1983). "Chicago election: the numbers and the implications". Illinois Issues. Sangamon State University. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  75. ^ Preston, Michael B. (1983). "The Election of Harold Washington: Black Voting Patterns in the 1983 Chicago Mayoral Race". PS. 16 (3): 487. doi:10.2307/418606. ISSN 0030-8269. JSTOR 418606 – via Cambridge. In fact, black voters out-voted whites, and no black ward turned out lower than 73 percent. The black vote for Washington approached 97 percent.
  76. ^ a b "Election Results for 1983 General Election, Mayor, Chicago, IL".
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1983_Chicago_mayoral_election&oldid=1262052212"