Chicago Primary Elections...What Does a Comptroller Do Again?
In Chicago, hearing about or participating in politics is a way of life. From current offices to our infamous history (1968), Chicago is associated with what is sometimes called 'the machine'. Whatever way you slice it, this town loves to debate. Which brings me to the upcoming activities that will surround our city on February 2 - The 2010 Primary.
We have some hot races going on: Senator, Governor and County Board President seem to be the most talked about offices that news organizations and pundits are discussing. I like to consider myself an active, informed city dweller, but time and time again, I find myself slightly dumbfounded with the amount of candidates that are running for offices I either haven't heard of or seem to only hear of come election time. I also begin to see the political ads road blocking the the slots before and after my local evening news.
I know what you are thinking: 'As a city dweller, you should research each office and figure out what the job is, then review the candidates from there.' I would typically agree with you, however, I think the city has quite a bit of room to grow and educate the public on a)what each job is b) why each job is important and c) what the impact of these government jobs has on my day-to-day life.
For example, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District seems to be a hot ticket with the Democrats. Given Chicago has a large lake as our neighbor, I'm guessing this is a pretty big job. But what exactly does this person need to do?
Going through the rest of the posts, I see there is are both Committeeman and Committeewoman posts. What do they do exactly? How are my interests representing through these folks? In a nutshell, why should I care?
I continue to see ads and commentary about the importance of voting (which I will do at the South Loop School), however, the attention with the February 2 Primary seems to be around the Senator and County Board President races. If Chicago is such a grassroots town, shouldn't there be more weight given to us understanding what our local representatives can do for our districts and wards?
If yes, who is responsible for making sure we understand who these folks are and why we should pay careful attention to their campaigns?
