My alderman, John Rice of the 36th Ward, now faces a runoff election against firefighter Nicholas Sposato. In the Feb. 24 Tribune, Alderman Rice is quoted as saying that if only one of the five opposing candidates hadn’t run, he wouldn’t “have to take money [he] would have spent on community baseball and softball programs and use it to print signs so [he] can win in April. It’s a shame.”
A shame indeed, and not just because of the need for a runoff. Alderman Rice had to waste lots of cash paying for signs and workers just in the first-round election. If none of these opposing candidates had run, the 36th Ward would have had one magnificent community baseball and softball program!
What can the opposition be thinking! Can they really be vain enough to believe that their judgment is somehow superior to the profound wisdom of our outgoing leader Richard M. Daley and of our aldermen, who recognized John Rice’s intelligence and dedication and appointed him to the post?
A runoff is simply a waste that hinders our leaders from devoting their full energies to serving the public good. We should take the shining example of North Korea to heart. North Koreans have flourished through the genius of two generations of dear leaders, who are better able to help their citizens because they are unencumbered by contentious elections.
If we emulated their example, Chicago might someday become the undisputed baseball champions of the world!
— Edwin W. Meyer, Chicago
