Part of the downside of writing a column like this, in which one covers local politics and much of the necessary information one must gather first-hand, is that one is prone to jump to conclusions, and then one is forced to eat one's words.
I've decided it's time to eat my words.
During the municipal elections of 2003, your humble columnist expressed serious doubts about the candidacy of one Manuel "Manny" Flores, an ambitious young lawyer originally from the airport suburb of Northlake, mainly because his candidacy was being characterized as a fight "against City Hall." In the interest of public purification and full disclosure, I said some of the following things:
The Ward itself has gained nothing by Flores' election, especially if he begins antagonizing The Mayor. (April 2, 2003)
[Mr. Flores is] a young pup...true, he was an assistant state's attorney, but that doesn't qualify him to run a growing, prosperous ward in the heart of Chicago. Flores will have to be content to sit and do nothing for four years while looking good doing it. His statements about reform and the future of the politics of the ward have shown him to be naive... (May 8, 2003)
I also may or may not have referred to him as a no-account.
To the end of eating my words, I went and spoke to Alderman Flores recently at his office next to the Congress Theater in Bucktown.
In his year in office, Alderman Flores has been very active -- and not just in a public relations sense -- in support of the issues once considered outside of his reach -- most notably the property tax cap, embodied in SB1498 -- and has shown a willingness to build coalitions with sitting, so-called "regular" aldermen and work with the Fifth Floor, too. For many political observers, this may be seen as a sort of concession, or "selling out" to the regular Chicago political establishment, and as such a risky political move.
In reality, Alderman Flores' actions and political manueverings since taking office are simply pragmatic, and prove him to be not, as one political columnist called him, "naive." That he has reached across the aisle to work with men like Alderman Ed Burke or Daniel Solis speaks to his dedication to improving services and the quality of life for the residents of the 1st Ward.
During the election, his campaign was characterized as being one "against City Hall," although the Alderman and his staff never tried to portray it as such, and were in fact careful to avoid doing so.
"Well, you know, in the campaign I think I always made it clear that it was one that -- we felt change was needed in the First Ward. I made a case to the voters that resulted in a pretty strong win April 1st," he told me.
Alderman Flores' campaign was forced to walk the fine line between being "pro-growth," to appease business interests, and "anti-development," to protect long-time residents and homeowners faced with skyrocketing property taxes. This raised the eyebrows of many observers. But Alderman Flores has been prodigious in his ability to walk that fine line. He pledged better city services -- which had noticeably deteriorated during Alderman Granato's tenure -- while also promising to push Springfield to aid in the creation of a cap for property taxes to slow gentrification.
Some saw these as hollow promises. "I was criticized at one point -- because people said, 'How can an Alderman be involved in such a daunting issue?' but we played a good role, and hopefully that will culminate in the passing of SB1498." The "good role" the Alderman played was to travel downstate along with Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) among others on a bus trip to lobby state politicians on the behalf of the bill, which brought press attention to the issue and forced the hand of many state representatives who were facing reelection in February.
Alderman Flores, befitting his promise to stand up for people whom he says were being "pushed around," also joined with other Aldermen to put pressure on Archibald Candies to improve the benefits package for laid-off Fannie May workers.
"We've dealt with the issue of the uninsured -- taken that battle on. With the issue of property taxes. And now we're dealing with the BankOne-J.P. Morgan merger and ensuring that communities, especially in the City of Chicago, continue to benefit with the relationship that we once had -- that we had with BankOne. We want to ensure that there's continued investment in all communities equally, not just in the affluent areas," he said.
His work with Alderman Burke -- who Alderman Flores referred to as "cutting edge" -- regarding the BankOne-J.P. merger is indicative of Alderman Flores' political acumen and dedication to building a a strong community in the somewhat fractured First Ward.
It has been quite a year for Manny Flores, one that points to a bright future for him and the First Ward.
So, sorry Alderman Flores.
J Meier / May 14, 2004 3:04 PM
Yet another local writer snowed by this hack. During the past year Alderman Flores has spent more time trying to get his name in the paper than doing anything of substance. All the issues you claim he's championed were the work of less self-congratulatory elected officials...that Flores attempts to take such a large portion of the credit has more to do with his loathsome sense of self worth than with his actual effectiveness. In fact, Flores has done nothing in the City Council other than introduce a couple of meaningless, cosmetic resolutions, which have no force of law.
In addition to the Alderman's willingness to make deals with every low-life faction within the ward, he has used his office, and city funds to give jobs to his neer-do-well releatives, as exemplified by his hiring of his Cousin as 1st Ward Streets and Sanatation Superintendent. If you are any sort of Journalist I suggest you find out how many hours the Alderman's Chief of Staff actually spent in the office serving constituants while she was out running a campaign for Water Reclamation District on city time.