Hoffman Decides Against Mayoral Run

David Hoffman has decided not to run for mayor.

“Really the family issues were predominant,” Hoffman, the city’s former inspector general, told the Chicago News Cooperative on Sunday.

Hoffman previously lost against Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic Senate primary.

“Not to overstate it,” Hoffman said, “but there was a lot of encouragement” for a mayoral bid.

Hoffman added that he spent a great deal of time in recent weeks talking to strategists, other potential candidates and leaders from various key constituencies.

“We had very realistic assessments about what the race would look like, and I was having all those conversations knowing that it wasn’t clear whether it was the right for us a family.”

Hoffman said the fact he had recently run a tough primary race was “a significant factor” in his decision not to enter the mayoral contest.

“Even though that ended a number of months ago,” he said, “as everyone knows and as almost all candidates have experienced, it is a grueling experience. It was very positive and very inspiring, but when they say it is 24/7, it is true.”

Among those that Hoffman said he spoke with in evaluating his potential was David Axelrod‘s former consultancy, AKPD, which handled his Senate primary race. He also said he had conversations with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Ald. Bob Fioretti, and Ald. Manny Flores. All three have shown a strong interest in running.

Hoffman said that talk of a front-runner at this point was premature.

“I think the thing is very wide open and that there is really no overwhelming consensus about who would win,” Hoffman said, “and also I think that for people who are trying to find that consensus, it is way too early.”