Mayor Richard Daley along with his wife Maggie and members of his family announces he will not be a candidate for mayor, ending his 21 years in office. Antonio Dickey/Mayor
Mayor Richard M. Daley stunned even close supporters by announcing Tuesday that he would not seek a seventh term in the February election, calling it a “personal decision, no more, no less.”
Daley disclosed his decision to retire after 21 years in office at what had been touted as a news conference to make a “cabinet announcement.”
“In the coming days I know there will be some reflecting on my time as mayor,” Daley said. “Many of you will search to find what’s behind my decision. It’s simple: I have always believed that every person especially public officials must understand when it is time to to move on. For me, that time is now.
“The truth is, that I’ve been thinking about this for the last several months. And in the last several weeks, I’ve been increasingly comfortable with my decision. It just feels right.”
The mayor made his brief remarks from a prepared statement and declined to answer questions from reporters.
Terry Peterson, who ran his 2007 re-election campaign, said he was surprised by the announcement. Asked if he would be part of the expected flood of candidates to replace him, Peterson replied, “I’m numb.”
Despite low approval ratings and a huge budget deficit, no potentially strong challengers had emerged. Last week, Daley’s brother William Daley told the Chicago News Cooperative that the mayor had not decided but he expected him to run again.
“That would have been the easy choice but he made the tough choice,” William Daley said today. “He wants to quit while he has time in life to do other things.”
Asked what the mayor would do now, he said, “Family things, business things.”
“Despite what people say, there is a Rich Daley underneath Mayor Richard Daley, with a lot of different interests,” William Daley added.
President Barack Obama issued a statement Tuesday afternoon praising Daley.
“No mayor in America has loved a city more or served a community with greater passion than Rich Daley,” Obama said. “He helped build Chicago’s image as a world class city, and leaves a legacy of progress that will be appreciated for generations to come.”
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who served as an aide under Daley and who in April said that he would like to run for mayor one day if Daley decided not to, said in a statement that “While Mayor Daley surprised me today with his decision to not run for reelection, I have never been surprised by his leadership, dedication and tireless work on behalf of the city and the people of Chicago.”
Rev. Jesse Jackson said Mayor Daley’s announcement that he was not running for a seventh term was “shocking and unexpected.’’
“All signs pointed to him running again,’’ Jackson said. “Right now there’s a little trauma based on the shock.’’
Jackson added that “the loss of the Olympic bid, the rising crime, the rising debt, the low poll ratings, the health of his wife, the loss of Michael Scott probably all had some role in his decision.’’
“Being Mayor of Chicago used to be a position of power: distributing jobs and resources,’’ Jackson said. “Now, you’re distributing cuts in public transportation, public safety and teachers.’’
An aide to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart declined to say whether Dart plans to run for mayor.
“He is up for re-election in November and that is what he is focussed on,” Steve Patterson, Dart’s communications director, said. “He has some time to think about it, but that’s what he is focussed on right now, running for re-election. He has made no secret of the fact that it is a job that interests him and he has said in previous interviews that he likes being an executive and would only leave if he has a job that has more impact than sheriff and mayor fits that criteria.”
Daniel Libit and Don Terry contributed reporting