The catchiest campaign slogan? Get out and vote

SHARE The catchiest campaign slogan? Get out and vote
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(From left) Mayoral candidates Gery Chico, Bob Fioretti, State Rep. La Shawn Ford, State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Lori Lightfoot, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Paul Vallas meet with the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board in the second of two sessions earlier this month. File Photo. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Are you ready? ARE YOU READY? Are you ready? ARE YOU READY?

Well, you’d better be. NO MORE EXCUSES!

If you’re a Chicago voter, you can never say you didn’t have a choice in Tuesday’s mayoral election.

You have 14 choices to be exact, as wide an array of candidates as in any election in which most of us have had a vote.

Whether you want a mayor who will fight for you or one who thinks it’s time to bring in the light, the future starts now.

And even if you’re not susceptible to catchy though empty campaign slogans, from which I am borrowing liberally from the various candidate’s television commercials, the message is the same: let’s go get the city we want.

It’s true. The people of Chicago are entitled to a new, honest and open government.

But there’s only one way to do that. Get out and vote.

Just remember, there’s nothing Chicago politicians fear more than this broom, unless it’s a mass outpouring of voters they don’t control.

So many elections come and go where we don’t have any choice, where the incumbent is running unopposed or against only token opposition.

Mayoral candidates, from left, Bill Daley, Amara Enyia, Garry McCarthy, Jerry Joyce, John Kenneth Kozlar and Willie Wilson meet with the Sun-Times Editorial Board earlier this month. File Photo. | Rich Hein/Sun-Times

Mayoral candidates, from left, Bill Daley, Amara Enyia, Garry McCarthy, Jerry Joyce, John Kenneth Kozlar and Willie Wilson meet with the Sun-Times Editorial Board earlier this month. File Photo. | Rich Hein/Sun-Times

This time we have legitimate choices, substantive people who have done substantive things with their lives, many of whom might capably fill the role of mayor.

Is there a perfect candidate in the field, someone who excites us to the possibilities of the future under their leadership and won’t disappoint us when elected?

Let’s get real.

No such person exists.

Back on Sept. 6, the Sun-Times ran a front page with the photos of 38 potential candidates believed to be considering the mayoral race after Rahm Emanuel’s surprise decision to call it quits.

I hope no one is still laboring under the impression that the dream candidate was one of those people whose photo appeared that day but who chose not to make the race.

Sorry to break it you. There are no perfect politicians. They all have feet of clay like the rest of us, and the more you know about any one of them, the more flaws you see.

Obviously, not all the candidates in the 2019 field are truly capable of being the mayor. It’s still not clear who or what convinced some of these folks to get in the race, that is, beyond visions of grandeur and cutting into another candidate’s vote. But at this point, we’ll have to trust you to sort that out for yourself.

At the same time, there’s no sense trying to handicap the field by limiting your choices to the candidates you think are most likely to qualify for the runoff based on some poll. This race is so wide open that any of eight candidates could conceivably slip into the top two if voters follow their own instincts instead of the pundits.

I keep hearing that some people are waiting for the runoff election to cast a vote for mayor, as if it’s too difficult to pick from this crowded field.

Are they kidding?

Do they not understand what’s being offered in this election that won’t be available to them on April 2?

Choices — all 14 of them. Make the most of a rare opportunity.

And if you are having trouble keeping track of all the campaign slogans, here’s a quick cheat sheet, sort of a Cliff’s Notes to the election: Are you ready? ARE YOU READY?—Bob Fioretti NO MORE EXCUSES!—Bill Daley Want a mayor who will fight for you?—Toni Preckwinkle It’s time to bring in the light.—Lori Lightfoot The future starts now.—Susana Mendoza Let’s go get the city we want.—Gery Chico There’s nothing Chicago politicians fear more than this broom.—Paul Vallas The people of Chicago are entitled to a new, honest and open government.—Jerry Joyce Let get real!—Bill Daley

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