2007 Chicago mayoral election

The Chicago mayoral election of 2007 saw incumbent mayor Richard M. Daley win a landslide victory, garnering a 51-point margin of victory.

2007 Chicago mayoral election

February 27, 2007
Turnout	32.44%[1][2] 0.20 pp
Candidate Richard M. Daley Dorothy A. Brown William Walls Popular vote 324,519 91,878 40,368 Percentage 71.05% 20.12% 8.84%
Mayor before election Richard M. Daley Elected Mayor Richard M. Daley

Daley was opposed by Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy A. Brown and William "Dock" Walls.

Candidates

• Dorothy A. Brown, Cook County Clerk[3][4]
• Richard M. Daley, incumbent mayor[3][4]
• William "Dock" Walls III, former aide to Harold Washington[3][4]

Nominations invalid

The following candidates had their nominations deemed invalid by the Chicago Board of Elections, and thus were denied inclusion on the ballot:

• Thomas O'Brien[5]
• Ziff Anthony Sistrunk[6][7][8]
• Syron S. Smith, community activist[9][10][11]

Declined

• Luis Gutierrez, congressman[3][4]
• Jesse Jackson Jr., congressman[3][4]

Campaign

Despite speculation that they might challenge Daley, congressmen Luis Gutierrez and Jesse Jackson Jr. both opted not run.[3][4] Both had explored potential runs, but declared that they had opted to remain in Washington, D.C. after the Democratic Party captured control of the United States House of Representatives in the November 2006 congressional elections.[3][12] [13] Gutierrez had been exploring a 2007 bid for mayor at least as early as December 2005, when he publicly confirmed his interest in possibly running.[14] Some analysts speculated that the true reason that both men opted against running was that they had both concluded that they lacked viable prospects of unseating Daley.[3]

In the previous election Daley faced opponents who lacked significant campaign experience.[3] With Brown's entry into the 2007 election, Daley was faced with an opponent with significant electoral experience. In her 2004 reelection as clerk, Brown had received just under 800,000 votes in the city of Chicago.[3]

While both Brown and Walls were African Americans,[3][4] neither were able to coalesce strong support from black voters.[3] They also failed to enthuse much support from other groups.[3]

While the election was nonpartisan, all three candidates were members of the Democratic Party.

Brown ran an issue-focused campaign, releasing policy papers on housing, ethics, transportation, public safety, and economic development.[15] Some argued that, in her campaign, Brown was too light on Daley, failing to hammer him with criticism.[16] Brown's campaign failed to garner endorsements.[15] Walls criticized Daley's hiring practices.[17]

Daley massively eclipsed his opponents in fundraising.[3][4] Daley had nearly $6 million in funds, while Brown had less than $200,000 and Walls had less than $10,000.[3]

Daley's fundraising advantage allowed him to run a three-week long barrage of television advertisements in advance of the election.[15]

Daley made use of Democratic organizations in the city's wards to run his field operations.[3]

As was the case in all of his reelection campaigns, Daley did not attend any debates.[4]

Chicago Housing Authority head Terry Peterson resigned his position to serve as Daley's campaign manager.[18][19]

Endorsements

Dorothy Brown
Organizations Americans for Democratic Action[20] Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization[20]

Richard M. Daley
Individuals Luis Gutierrez, congressman[12] Barack Obama, U.S. senator and candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination[4][15][21][22] Bobby Rush, congressman[4][15] Newspapers Chicago Tribune[23]

Results

Daley won a plurality in each of Chicago's fifty wards, and obtained an absolute majority in forty-nine.[24]

Daley even beat Brown by a broad margin in her home ward, the city's 8th ward.[15]

Voter turnout increased slightly from the previous election, but was still the second-lowest turnout in a Chicago mayoral election.[3][2] Only one-third of the city's 1.4 million registered voters participated in the election.[3][25]

Mayor of Chicago 2007[2][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Richard M. Daley (incumbent)	324,519	71.05
	Nonpartisan	Dorothy A. Brown	91,878	20.12
	Nonpartisan	William Walls	40,368	8.84
	Write-in	Ina Pinkney	20	0.00
	Write-in	Ernest Mailhot	1	0.00
	Write-in	Ziff A. Sistrunk	1	0.00
Turnout			456,787

Results by ward

Ward[24]	Dorothy A. Brown		Richard M. Daley		William Walls, III		Total	Turnout %
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
1	862	16.74%	3,968	77.05%	320	6.21%	5,150	18.12%
2	2,421	21.67%	7,764	69.50%	986	8.83%	11,171	33.52%
3	2,556	31.70%	4,464	55.37%	1,042	12.92%	8,062	34.89%
4	3,146	31.12%	5,355	52.97%	1,609	15.91%	10,110	35.51%
5	2,840	30.93%	4,978	54.21%	1,365	14.86%	9,183	31.66%
6	4,618	35.06%	6,370	48.36%	2,185	16.59%	13,173	35.33%
7	3,765	31.44%	6,456	53.91%	1,755	14.65%	11,976	37.38%
8	4,584	32.37%	7,178	50.68%	2,400	16.95%	14,162	37.26%
9	3,117	31.85%	5,169	52.82%	1,500	15.33%	9,786	28.79%
10	972	11.02%	7,387	83.73%	463	5.25%	8,822	33.57%
11	522	5.29%	9,104	92.32%	235	2.38%	9,861	41.91%
12	342	7.77%	3,874	88.05%	184	4.18%	4,400	33.59%
13	717	6.40%	10,164	90.66%	330	2.94%	11,211	57.04%
14	263	4.66%	5,255	93.16%	123	2.18%	5,641	48.35%
15	1,944	29.72%	3,671	56.12%	926	14.16%	6,541	24.78%
16	1,817	29.28%	3,621	58.35%	768	12.38%	6,206	26.07%
17	2,934	32.36%	4,755	52.45%	1,377	15.19%	9,066	27.39%
18	3,901	29.31%	7,638	57.39%	1,770	13.30%	13,309	38.38%
19	3,085	14.69%	16,547	78.81%	1,365	6.50%	20,997	61.28%
20	2,282	31.67%	3,842	53.32%	1,082	15.02%	7,206	30.08%
21	4,528	31.86%	7,176	50.49%	2,510	17.66%	14,214	35.29%
22	559	12.92%	3,541	81.83%	227	5.25%	4,327	29.20%
23	1,300	9.79%	11,491	86.50%	493	3.71%	13,284	46.94%
24	3,100	36.30%	4,313	50.50%	1,128	13.21%	8,541	26.59%
25	1,012	14.48%	5,606	80.22%	370	5.29%	6,988	32.75%
26	948	17.17%	4,219	76.40%	355	6.43%	5,522	23.83%
27	1,646	26.04%	4,064	64.28%	612	9.68%	6,322	22.60%
28	2,470	32.55%	4,142	54.59%	976	12.86%	7,588	25.28%
29	2,197	25.42%	5,578	64.55%	867	10.03%	8,642	37.72%
30	516	10.20%	4,311	85.20%	233	4.60%	5,060	24.61%
31	489	9.17%	4,629	86.80%	215	4.03%	5,333	26.26%
32	1,124	13.91%	6,516	80.66%	438	5.42%	8,078	24.09%
33	601	11.78%	4,266	83.63%	234	4.59%	5,101	29.33%
34	3,755	30.45%	6,632	53.78%	1,944	15.77%	12,331	31.79%
35	1,125	17.10%	5,021	76.33%	432	6.57%	6,578	28.59%
36	1,207	11.03%	9,227	84.33%	508	4.64%	10,942	39.24%
37	2,553	33.37%	4,233	55.33%	864	11.29%	7,650	26.60%
38	809	10.06%	6,889	85.71%	340	4.23%	8,038	29.72%
39	756	9.49%	6,884	86.37%	330	4.14%	7,970	33.52%
40	867	13.82%	5,082	80.99%	326	5.20%	6,275	27.68%
41	1,785	12.82%	11,516	82.68%	627	4.50%	13,928	38.52%
42	1,175	9.14%	11,084	86.25%	592	4.61%	12,851	33.16%
43	1,026	11.05%	7,797	83.98%	461	4.97%	9,284	28.19%
44	802	12.20%	5,480	83.38%	290	4.41%	6,572	20.13%
45	1,461	11.25%	10,926	84.12%	601	4.63%	12,988	42.49%
46	1,727	15.42%	8,835	78.89%	637	5.69%	11,199	37.95%
47	1,371	14.79%	7,429	80.15%	469	5.06%	9,269	31.89%
48	1,375	16.74%	6,372	77.56%	469	5.71%	8,216	29.67%
49	1,721	23.31%	5,040	68.27%	621	8.41%	7,382	34.97%
50	1,185	11.55%	8,660	84.41%	414	4.04%	10,259	42.91%

Aftermath

Daley delivered a brief election night victory speech at the Chicago Hilton & Towers.[3]

By winning the election Daley had secured a sixth term as mayor (his fifth full four-year term, since he had first become mayor in a special election to a partial term following the death of Harold Washington). By winning his sixth mayoral election, Daley tied the record set by his father for the most Chicago mayoral election victories. During his subsequent term, Daley surpassed his father as the longest-tenured mayor in Chicago history. This term was ultimately Daley's last, as he opted to forgo seeking reelection in 2011.

In her concession speech Brown congratulated Daley but urged residents of Chicago, "to hold this mayor accountable".[3] She also declared that voters had, "not seen the last of Dorothy Brown".[3] Brown would explain her loss by declaring that she believed that voters had failed to, "understand the magnitude of the crime and corruption," which had occurred under Daley's tenure.[26] Brown was subsequently reelected as Clerk in 2008, 2012, and 2016. She ran unsuccessfully for President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2010. She ran for mayor again in the 2019 election,[27] but failed to qualify for inclusion on the ballot.[28]

Walls ran for mayor again in 2011, 2015 and 2019.[27][29][30]

References

1. "2007 Municipal General - 2/27/07". chicagoelections.gov. Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago.
2. "TABULATED STATEMENT OF THE RETURNS AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE CANVASS OF THE ELECTION RETURNS FOR THE MUNICIPAL GENERAL ELECTION HELD IN EACH OF THE PRECINCTS IN ALL THE WARDS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2007 A.D." (PDF). Chicago Board of Elections. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
3. Daley: A Retrospective: A Historical Exploration of Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley by Chicago Tribune Staff Dec 18, 2012
4. Chicago's Long-Running Daley Show Ken Rudin February 21, 2007
5. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2914.PDF
6. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2918.PDF
7. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2912.PDF
8. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2921.PDF
9. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2920.PDF
10. https://app.chicagoelections.com/documents/Electoral-Board/document_2917.PDF
11. Felton, Robert (10 January 2007). "Dorothy Brown reacts to criticism from Meeks". www.austinweeklynews.com. Austin Weekly News. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
12. Gutierrez decides to back Daley - Chicago Tribune
13. https://www.politico.com/story/2010/10/gutierrez-passes-on-chicago-mayor-043622
14. Illinois Democrat Gutierrez Confirms Retirement Plans By CQ Staff Published: March 6, 2007
15. Spielman, Fran (19 April 2018). "'Flabbergasted': Some can't understand Dorothy Brown's decision to run for mayor". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
16. https://m.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2007/01/10/no-more-ms-nice-gal
17. https://m.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2007/01/11/new-boss-same-as-the-old-boss
18. Rhodes, Steve (29 September 2009). "The CTA's New Chairman an Old Crony". NBC Chicago. WMAQ-TV. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
19. Dardick, Hal; Hilkevitch, Jon (30 September 2009). "Daley taps ex-campaign manager to lead CTA board". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
20. https://web.archive.org/web/20070209010243/http://www.electdorothybrownmayor.com/(X(1)A(lE7p1neCxwEkAAAANDY2MmIzZjMtN2Q3NS00YTJiLWJkMzAtM2FmYTQ5OWI0MmUx7tlItZsgI6Yf89jN5wL6lc4BK2Q1))/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
21. The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate Front Cover David Freddoso Regnery Publishing, Jul 15, 2008
22. washingtonpost.com Obama and the Illinois Political Machine By DEANNA BELLANDI The Associated Press Monday, February 26, 2007
23. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=52636
24. "2007 Municipal General - 2/27/07".
25. 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 11 December 2018.
26. Spielman, Fran (19 April 2018). "'Flabbergasted': Some can't understand Dorothy Brown's decision to run for mayor". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
27. "Amid federal investigation, Dorothy Brown to run for mayor". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
28. "Dorothy Brown Removed From Ballot In Race For Mayor". CBS Chicago. January 22, 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
29. Walls, William "Dock" [@DockWalls] (27 November 2018). "Thank you for your support. Even though we had enough signatures to run for mayor, I decided not to turn them in. Someone has to take the first step towards uniting behind 1 candidate who will put the community first" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 December 2018 – via Twitter.
30. Bremer, Shelby (November 14, 2018). "These Are the Candidates Currently Running for Chicago Mayor". WMAQ-TV. Retrieved 28 November 2018.