Barely three weeks after asking scores of his fellow First Ward Democrats to circulate petitions to put him on the ballot for mayor, former Ald. Manny Flores will announce that he is not running and will endorse Gery Chico instead, First Ward Democratic Committeeman Jesse Ruben Juarez said Sunday.
Juarez, a longtime ally of Flores, said Flores informed him of the decision Sunday night. First Ward Democratic volunteers had continued to collect signatures to put Flores on the mayoral ballot as recently as Sunday afternoon, Juarez said.
“Manny doesn’t speak for the First Ward,” Juarez said of Flores’ decision to endorse Chico.
Juarez questioned whether Flores, as acting head of the Illinois Commerce Commission, was even permitted by law to issue an endorsement.
Flores did not return calls seeking comment Sunday.
The Chico campaign sent out a news release for an event Monday morning where the candidate would announce a “key endorsement.” A source close to Chico confirmed that the event would involve Flores endorsing Chico, a former chief of staff to retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley.
How much weight Flores’ endorsement could carry — particularly without the support of his ward organization — is highly debatable.
Flores’ abortive run for mayor is not the first time that the ambitious politician geared up to run for higher office, only to back down ultimately. Flores raised a large sum three years ago — much of it from real estate developers doing business in his gentrifying ward — to run for Congress. But he backed down after the incumbent congressman, his former boss Luis Gutierrez, changed his mind and decided to seek another term.
Gutierrez is circulating petitions to run for mayor but has not announced that he will be a candidate in the Feb. 22 election for what will be an open seat. A source close to Gutierrez said he plans to officially enter the race this week.
City Clerk Miguel del Valle is another prominent Latino politician who already has announced that he is running to replace Daley.
The Hispanic vote is estimated to make up about 18 percent of the electorate in Chicago.
Flores, 38, was elected to the City Council in 2003 and shocked many observers of Chicago politics when he gave up his seat last year to accept an offer from Gov. Pat Quinn to head the ICC, which regulates utilities. The move backfired, as enemies he made in Latino political circles blocked Flores from receiving confirmation for a full term as ICC chairman. A Quinn defeat in the November election would end Flores’ tenure at the ICC.