From Police Department to Mayor?

Former Chicago Police superintendent Garry McCarthy announced on March 21 that he would be running for mayor of Chicago; this was prior to mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Sep. 4 announcement that he would not seek reelection.

McCarthy, who served as the CPD’s superintendent from 2011 to 2015, was red from his position by Mayor Emanuel on Dec. 1, 2015 during the fallout of the murder of Laquan McDonald on Oct. 20, 2014. He was subsequently replaced in the position by Eddie Johnson.

Prior to working as Chicago’s police superintendent, McCarthy held various positions in New York City’s police department, followed by a stint in charge of the department in Newark, New Jersey. He was hired to run the CPD by Mayor Emanuel shortly after he was elected mayor.

McCarthy’s candidacy will likely prove to be controversial as the election draws near, especially due to the negative reaction of the CPD’s handling of the video footage which captured the shooting of Laquan McDonald. It took the CPD 14 months to release the footage to the public; as a result, Mayor Emanuel felt that the department had lost the trust of the community and had formally asked for McCarthy’s resignation. McCarthy refused to resign, and was subsequently red.

More controversy surrounding his candidacy continued after former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced that he would be endorsing McCarthy’s mayoral bid. Giuliani, who currently serves as one of President Trump’s personal lawyers, tweeted his support for McCarthy back in Aug. 2018, while at the same time denouncing Chicago’s historically Democratic leadership.

McCarthy, running as a Democrat, denounced Giuliani’s endorsement

and released a statement in response saying, “Let me be clear: I am a proud Democrat and I do not agree with Mayor Giuliani’s political views and I certainly remain opposed to the misguided, divisive tone and policies of Donald Trump.” According to the Chicago Tribune, McCarthy and Giuliani do in fact have professional history together, as Giuliani was present at a command post set up by McCarthy in New York City during 9/11.

Though there is currently no clear indicator as to whom the favorite is for the upcoming Chicago mayoral election, a ash poll, conducted on Sep. 5 by We Ask America, had McCarthy in the lead with seventeen- percent of 1,128 potential voters saying they would support him as their candidate.

The election is scheduled to be held on February 26, 2019.

bartdani@my.dom.edu