Mayor Brandon Johnson won’t pay a price for floor leader’s ouster, top aide says

The “bullying” controversy that forced Mayor Brandon Johnson to dump his most powerful City Council ally will not damage the mayor’s progressive agenda and could be a “catalyzing moment to return us to civility,” a top mayoral aide said Wednesday.

One day after Johnson’s tie-breaking vote spared Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) from a Council censure, senior mayoral adviser Jason Lee said it was not a mistake for Johnson to empower the head of the Council’s Socialist Caucus with the jobs of floor leader and Zoning Committee chairman.

Before using strong-arm tactics to prevent proponents of a sanctuary city resolution from achieving a quorum at a special Council meeting earlier this month, Ramirez-Rosa “had a strong record of advocating and advancing progressive issues throughout his career,” Lee said.

“He had already advanced legislation alongside the business community related to extending outdoor dining. He had engineered the advancement of several progressive issues to either passage or the cusp of passage. And he had built coalitions across ideological lines on several pieces of legislation,” Lee told the Sun-Times.

“Ald. Rosa had a very bad day on (Nov. 2) , an uncharacteristic day relative to how he had performed his duties for months. … The mayor does not regret the decision to appoint Ald. Rosa. … Part of leadership is to make decisions with confidence, evaluate new circumstances and then make the correct decision at that point.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Former Mayor Richard M. Daley dumped his floor leader seven years into his 22-year administration after a corruption scandal that forced Ald. Pat Huels (11th) to resign his Council seat. Rahm Emanuel never changed floor leaders. Lori Lightfoot replaced Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) midway through her four-year term.

Johnson didn’t even make it to the six-month mark with Ramirez-Rosa.

Lee said Johnson won’t pay a political price for the early transition because, unlike Lightfoot, Johnson “doesn’t have a contentious relationship” with the Council.

“The mayor has been able to advance some of the most progressive legislation consistent with his values and his campaign promises in six months. ... We’re on track to have a very successful budget and do everything that the mayor said he would do: invest in people, invest particularly in communities that have been disadvantaged ... and do it without breaking the backs of working people,” Lee said.

“We don’t see this as a major political setback. It is a growing and learning moment for the City Council, Ald. Rosa and the administration itself. We will only become stronger because of it. … More and more Chicagoans understand that we have to be careful about continuing down the path of division, and our hope, with the mayor’s leadership, is that this will be a catalyzing moment to return us to civility.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Even after being accused of threatening to withhold zoning approval of projects in the wards of those who refused to leave last week’s meeting, Ramirez-Rosa will continue to chair the Zoning Committee until Dec. 1, giving Johnson time to choose a replacement.

But Johnson may not choose a Council floor leader, Lee said, and rely instead on a team led by his newly chosen director of intergovernmental affairs, Sydney Holman, who has lobbied at both the state and county levels.

“Is the floor leader model the only model to advance and move legislation through City Council? I don’t think it is. … There’s opportunities for new structures and for [intergovernmental affairs] to continue to build its relationships to be even more effective than it’s been so far,” Lee said.

“The advantage of a floor leader as a member of the Council is that individuals can be in rooms … that the administration can’t necessarily be in and can gather intelligence and be part of conversations that provide insight into how best to move forward on a particular piece of legislation. But there are other ways to do it.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The mayor’s proposal to build winterized base camps to house migrants now sleeping on police station floors has caused unprecedented tension on display at virtually every full Council, Council committee and community meeting.

Lee was asked why Johnson is continuing to force those tent cities down the throats of communities that don’t want them.

“Nobody wants to have their police stations filled with individuals needing respite and not being able to focus on the function of public safety. Nobody wants thousands of people sleeping on the streets in the dead of winter. Nobody wants any of this,” he said.

“How did international patterns of global migration movements force any of this down any of our throats? The only option that we have as leaders is to figure out the best way to move forward. We know that sacrifices are being made. We know that this is difficult for any community. There’s not a single community that is saying, ‘We’re soliciting this.’”