1995 Chicago mayoral election

The Chicago mayoral election of 1995 resulted in the re-election of Democratic Party nominee incumbent Richard M. Daley over independent candidate Roland Burris, with 359,466 votes to Burris's 217,024. Daley won 60.1% of the total vote, winning by a landslide 24-point margin. The Republican candidate, Raymond Wardingley, fared poorly, with only 2.8% of the vote. The fourth nominee, Lawrence Redmond of the Harold Washington Party, won 0.9% of the votes.[2]

1995 Chicago mayoral election

April 4, 1995
Turnout42.25%[1] 2.75 pp
 
Candidate Richard M. Daley Roland Burris
Party Democratic Independent
Popular vote 359,466 217,024
Percentage 60.09% 36.28%

Mayor before election

Richard M. Daley
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Richard M. Daley
Democratic

This was the last election for Mayor of Chicago where candidates ran under party labels, as a state law was enacted later in 1995 making all municipal offices in the state non-partisan.[3]

Nominations

Democratic primary

Daley easily defeated two challengers in the primary.

Daley's primary challenge came from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Commissioner Joseph E. Gardner, who had previously been a high-ranking member of Harold Washington's mayoral administration and an executive at PUSH.[4]

By 1995 Sheila A. Jones had become a perennial competitor in the Democratic mayoral primary.

As was the case in all of his reelection campaigns, Daley did not attend any debates.[5]

Daley vastly out-raised his opponents in campaign funds.[6]

Endorsements

Richard M. Daley
Officeholders
Individuals

Results

Democratic primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard M. Daley (incumbent) 348,153 65.79
Democratic Joseph E. Gardner 174,943 33.06
Democratic Sheila A. Jones 6,067 1.15
Total votes 529,163

Daley won a majority of the vote in 31 wards.[7] Gardner won a majority of the vote in the remaining 19 wards.[7]

Results by ward[7]

Republican primary

Raymond Wardingley narrowly won the Republican nomination.

The Republican field was regarded as weak.[8] Wardingly had worked as a clown under the name "Spanky the Clown".[8] He had thrice before run for mayor.[9]

Candidates Themis Anagost[10] (an attorney),[11] Leon Beard,[12] and Raymond Lear[13][14] had been denied inclusion on the ballot due to issues with their petitions.

Results

Republican primary results[15][16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Raymond Wardingley 2,438 28.2
Republican Larry P. Horist 2,354 27.2
Republican Saturnino Noriega 1,995 23.1
Republican William J. Grutzmacher 1,579 18.2
Republican Kimball Ladien 288 3.3
Total votes 8,654
Results by ward[15]

Harold Washington Party primary

Lawrence C. Redmond went unopposed in the Harold Washington Party primary.

Candidates Phillip Morris[17] and Ilene Smith[18] had been denied inclusion on the ballot due to issues regarding their petitions.

Results

Harold Washington Party primary results[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Harold Washington Lawrence C. Redmond 1,383 100
Total votes 1,383
Results by ward[19]

Independent candidates

Roland Burris ran as an independent.[20]

When first approached by black activists about running for mayor, Burris had declined. He ultimately ran, proclaiming to have been drafted by “the people”.[21] By the time he decided to run, Joseph Gardner had already challenged Daley in the Democratic primary. Not wanting to run against Gardner and split the black vote in the primary, Burris decided he would run in the general election as an independent candidate.[21]

General election

Daley did not attend any debates.[5]

Burris complained of a lack of media coverage on his candidacy.[21]

Late into the campaign, Burris issued demands for Daley to address corruption and misconduct by aviation employees, especially Dominic Longo, the manager of vehicle operations at O’Hare. The airport had recently suffered a number of accidents caused by inexperienced runway crew leadership. Burris also alleged that Longo has coerced airport employees into making donations to the Daley campaign in order to keep their jobs.[22]

Daley's campaign spent $3 million in the election. Burris spent $250,000.[23]

Endorsements

Richard M. Daley (Democrat)
Officeholders

Polls

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
Ronald
Burris
Richard M.
Daley
Raymond
Wardingley
Chicago Tribune[24] March 1995 19% 57% 2%

Results

Mayor of Chicago 1995[25] (General election)
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Richard M. Daley (incumbent) 359,466 60.09
Independent Roland W. Burris 217,024 36.28
Republican Raymond Wardingley 16,568 2.77
Harold Washington Lawrence C. Redmond 5,160 0.86
Turnout 598,218

Daley won a majority of the vote in 31 of the city's 50 wards.[25] Burris won a majority of the vote in the remaining 19 wards.[25]

Results by ward[25]

References

  1. Denvir, Daniel (May 22, 2015). "Voter Turnout in U.S. Mayoral Elections Is Pathetic, But It Wasn't Always This Way". City Lab (The Atlantic). Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  2. "Election Results for 1995 General Election, Mayor, Chicago, Illinois". Chicago Democracy. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
  3. "Our Campaigns - Chicago Mayor Race - Apr 04, 1995". www.OurCampaigns.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  4. Writers, Jacquelyn Heard and Andrew Fegelman, Tribune Staff. "GARDNER LOSES FIGHT WITH CANCER". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  5. "Chicago's Long-Running Daley Show". NPR.org. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  6. Johnson, Dirk (February 26, 1995). "Campaign In Chicago Barely Stirs A Breeze". Retrieved February 20, 2019 via NYTimes.com.
  7. http://chicagodemocracy.org/ElectionResults.jsp?election=crdd_primary%2Cgis_entity_crdd_1995_Primary_Election%2Cil_chi_mayor_dem Election Results for 1995 Primary Election, Mayor, Chicago, Illinois (Democratic Party)
  8. Benzkofer, Mark Jacob, Stephan. "10 things you might not know about Chicago mayoral elections". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/03/06/retired-clown-is-mayoral-nominee-of-chicago-gop/3dcf8465-cf02-431a-8dea-19d9a0ce8e3c/
  10. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2055.PDF
  11. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ChicagoTribune/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=615766
  12. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2056.PDF
  13. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2053.PDF
  14. "Lord RayEL Raymond Lear Republican Mayor Candidacy FAIL 1995". Wordpress.com. April 5, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  15. "Chicago Democracy Project - Election Results". ChicagoDemocracy.org. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  16. "RaceID=388005". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  17. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2051.PDF
  18. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2052.PDF
  19. "Chicago Democracy Project - Election Results". ChicagoDemocracy.org. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  20. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2049.PDF
  21. "Would You Vote for Roland Burris?". Chicago Reader. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  22. "Media Burn Archive – [1995 Mayoral Election: Tape 3]". Mediaburn.org. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  23. "What Makes Roland Run". www.lib.NIU.edu. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  24. Hardy, Thomas (March 30, 1995). "WARDINGLEY STILL BELIEVES DESPITE STAGGERING ODDS". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  25. "Election Results for 1995 General Election, Mayor, Chicago, Illinois".
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