Chicago aldermen rejected Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s choice to serve as City Council education committee chairman in an embarrassing rebuke to the reelection-seeking mayor.
The drama began early Wednesday when Lightfoot’s floor leader, Ald. Michelle Harris, introduced a resolution to appoint retiring Ald. James Cappleman as education committee chairman, a post that’s been empty since Ald. Michael Scott resigned from the City Council earlier this year.
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The move to appoint Cappleman took most aldermen by surprise and was a notable snub to Ald. Sophia King, the committee vice chair, who has said she wants the position and also is running for mayor against Lightfoot.
Aldermen voted 29-18 against Cappleman’s elevation to committee chair without debate. In theory, aldermen can appoint their own chairs, but they have historically deferred to the mayor’s choices.
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Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, has also been trying to get appointed as ethics committee chairman after Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, retired.
After the vote, King rose to criticize the mayor’s decision and accuse Lightfoot of not running a transparent administration. Afterward, King told reporters she has been trying to organize hearings with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, which she said Lightfoot was trying to short-circuit by appointing Cappleman.
”If you spent more time attacking problems instead of people, the city would be better off,” King said.
Lightfoot in turn accused King of giving a “political speech” on the City Council floor.
Although Lightfoot supported Cappleman’s opponent Marianne Lalonde in the 2019 election, they have developed a solid working relationship. She has referred to Cappleman, of the North Side 46th Ward, as her “conscience,” and he is generally seen as an alderman who can reliably be counted on to work with the mayor.
Cappleman, an alderman since 2011, announced over the summer he won’t seek reelection next year; his term ends in May.
