In the race to succeed retiring Ald. James Cappleman in the North Side 46th Ward, Angela Clay and Kim Walz have sought to portray each other as being at the opposite ends of the political spectrum.
During the election’s first round, Clay’s campaign described Walz, who works in government affairs for Walgreens, as a corporate insider. Walz and outside groups supporting her campaign painted Clay as a “radical” in favor of defunding the Chicago Police Department.
[ Runoffs signal the changing City Council makeup for three North Side lakefront wards ]
In February’s crowded six-way contest, Clay finished with 36% of the vote to Walz’s 26%. Previous aldermanic elections to represent Uptown and a portion of Lakeview have traditionally been nail-biters: Cappleman was pushed into runoffs in both the 2015 and 2019 elections and won only by narrow margins.
A housing organizer with endorsements from progressive elected officials and organizations including the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Clay said police are part of the city’s public safety solution, but that she wanted to see more resources dedicated to the social safety net.
Walz, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley who is backed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and several state lawmakers, wants to see police patrols boosted, but agrees with Clay on the need for more funding for mental health and homelessness. She has benefited from more than $150,000 in spending by outside super PACs supporting her and opposing Clay.
Should Clay succeed, she would expand the number of Democratic socialists on the council from six to seven.
