Former presidential chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was waging a desperate bid on Monday to keep his campaign for mayor alive after a state appeals court kicked him off the ballot for not meeting a residency requirement. The surprise decision threw the race into disarray with less than a month to go.
Just days ago, Emanuel seemed to be steamrolling the entire field of candidates for Chicago mayor. He had millions in the bank, a huge lead in the polls and abundant opportunities to show off his influence, including meeting with visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
Emanuel’s lawyers quickly sought help from the Illinois Supreme Court, asking the justices to stay the appellate ruling and to hear an appeal quickly. However, time was running short, since the Chicago Board of Elections planned to begin printing ballots without Emanuel’s name within days.
“I have no doubt that we will in the end prevail at this effort. This is just one turn in the road,” Emanuel said, adding that the “people of the city of Chicago deserve the right to make the decision on who they want to be their next mayor.”
Emanuel’s rivals, who have been overshadowed by his name recognition and deep pockets, immediately sought to take advantage of the threat to his candidacy, asking voters to take another look at their campaigns.
The three members of the appeals court panel, all fellow Democrats, ruled 2-1 to overturn a lower-court ruling that would have kept his name on the Feb. 22 ballot. Early voting was set to begin in just a week, on Jan. 31. And absentee ballots were scheduled to be sent out in days.
To be reviewed by the high court, the justices would first have to agree to take the case. If they did, they would then invite arguments from both sides before ruling either to uphold the appellate decision or to restore Emanuel’s name.
One of Emanuel’s main challenges was the fact that the majority concluded there were no gray areas on the residency requirement.
Emanuel’s lawyers now have little time to present arguments before the state’s highest court. And high-court judges used to deliberating for months will now have only days.
Emanuel’s attorney said he was hopeful the Supreme Court would accept the case, especially since the appeals court decision was not unanimous.
If Emanuel does lose, it is unlikely he could convince the US Supreme Court to hear the case, experts said, since it involves Chicago city law, and the justices are likely to see any federal constitutional issues at play.
Dick Simpson, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said if the appellate decision is upheld, Emanuel’s only choice might be to run a write-in campaign.
No candidate for mayor in Chicago has ever won a write-in campaign.
“It’s probably impossible,” Simpson said.
The residency questions have dogged Emanuel ever since he announced his candidacy last fall. Those challenging Emanuel have argued that he does not meet the one-year residency requirement because he rented out his Chicago home and moved his family to Washington to work for US President Barack Obama for nearly two years.
Emanuel has said he always intended to return to Chicago and was only living in Washington at the request of the president. He moved back to Chicago in October after he quit working for Obama to campaign full-time for mayor.
Emanuel is one of several candidates vying to replace Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who did not seek a seventh term.
The Chicago Board of Elections and a Cook County judge have both ruled in favor of Emanuel, a former congressman, saying he did not abandon his Chicago residency when he went to work at the White House.
Emanuel appeared to get a big boost last week when his campaign announced he raised more than US$10 million and was endorsed by former US president Bill Clinton during an event in Chicago.
A Chicago Tribune/WGN poll also released last week showed Emanuel with the support of 44 percent of those surveyed.
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