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Dance with the one who brought you: It’s generally good advice. And for politicians, it’s the predictable result of the American electoral process.
In the campaign for mayor of the city of Chicago, the ones who have brought Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas to the final round of the contest, thanks to donations and endorsements, are many and varied. But two groups stand out more than most: the teachers union backing Johnson and the police union behind Vallas.
More than half of the $9.8 million Johnsonhas raised for his campaign since March 1 has come from the Chicago Teachers Union and other unions representing school system workers. And for Vallas, the defining endorsement has come from the Fraternal Order of Police, headed by John Catanzara, who has spoken approvingly of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The FOP’s backing early in the campaign separated Vallas from the field of eight other candidates. It helped establish a law-and-order image and was a key to Vallas’ powerful showing in the city’s Northwest and Southwest sides during the Feb. 28 primary. For Johnson, the CTU is part of his origin story: He spent early years as a teacher in a Cabrini-Green school, then as an organizer and CTU employee, even today.
Read more at chicagotribune.com
