- Credibility:
ROSCOE VILLAGE — Candidates vying for the seat of outgoing 47th Ward Ald. Ameya Pawar will square off in a forum at Lane Tech High School Tuesday.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the forum starts at 7 p.m. at the school, 2501 W. Addison St. Attendees are asked to RSVP online and should enter the school using door “M.” Parking will be available in the school’s lot.
The event is organized by the 47th Ward Democratic Organization, a political party committee that supports Democratic candidates for public office. The forum will be moderated by Paul Rosenfeld, 47th Ward Democratic committeeman.
Rosenfeld said the group agrees that “we have great representation right now” and there’s a lot of interest in getting to know the candidates who aim to replace Pawar.
“We wanted to make sure that we gave everyone in the community the chance to meet the candidates and the candidates to meet the community,” he said.
There are nine candidates running for the 47th Ward seat. Candidates participating in Tuesday’s forum include:
- Eileen Dordek, a social-worker and women and LGBTQ activist.
- Michael Negron, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s former policy chief.
- Angie Maloney, a CPS music teacher and organizer.
- Matt Martin, a Civil Rights attorney at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
- Gus Katsafaros, a restaurant owner with a background in real estate also a Coyne-trained electrician.
- Jeff Jenkins, a co-founder of Midnight Circus in the Parks and a small business owner.
- Heather Way Kitzes, a former director of the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce and current manager of government and neighborhood relations for the Chicago Cubs.
- Thomas Schwartzers, a former Chicago firefighter and paramedic.
It’s unclear if the ninth candidate, physician Kimball Ladien, will attend Tuesday’s forum. Rosenfeld said he had talked to the other candidates about attending but was not able to connect with Ladien.
Calls left with Ladien’s offices were not returned Monday afternoon. His photo was not available.
At the forum, each candidate will have 90 seconds to give an opening statement, Rosenfeld said. Residents can also suggest questions for the forum here.
“Those questions will be grouped into similar categories and then we’ll choose between 6-10 questions,” he said. “Each candidate will have 45 seconds to answer the questions and afterwards they’ll each have a final minute to do a wrap-up statement.”
Outgoing Ald. Pawar (47th) was first elected to the City Council seat in 2011 and was reelected in 2015. After a failed run for governor, he announced he would be sticking to his self-imposed two-term limit as an alderman.
In October, Pawar announced he will run for city treasurer.
The 47th Ward includes all or parts of North Center, Lincoln Square, Lakeview and Uptown.
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