Mayor’s Allies Get 52%, 65% of Vote in Chicago Wards
Luis Gutierrez and Marlene Carter, the candidates allied with Mayor Harold Washington in Tuesday’s ward runoff elections, collected 52% and 65% of the vote, respectively, according to unofficial final figures reported Wednesday by the Chicago Board of Elections.
In a hotly contested race for the 26th Ward, Gutierrez had 7,429 votes, compared to Manuel Torres’ 6,549. Torres was the choice of the Cook County Democratic Party.
In the race for the 15th ward aldermanic seat, Carter defeated incumbent Alderman Frank Brady, 10,463 to 5,525.
The victories gave Mayor Washington the upper hand in the City Council for the first time since his election in 1983. The 50-seat council is split evenly between Washington-supporting aldermen and Democratic machine aldermen--and the mayor holds the tie-breaking vote.
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