Aldermanic incumbents Emma Mitts (37th Ward) and Ed Smith (28th Ward) won their respective races handily Tuesday. As opposed to other Chicago aldermen who faced strong challenges and, in some cases, will face run-off elections on April 17, Smith and Mitts beat back their competition with ease.
Smith, who faced five other challengers, won with 60 percent of the vote, a total of 4,404 votes cast in his favor. His closest challenger, Shawn Walker, garnered roughly 23 percent, with 1,726 votes cast for him.
Mitts, facing five challengers, secured 59 percent of the vote with 4,462 votes cast. Her closest challenger, Eric McKennie, received 1,183 votes or 15.7 percent. Percy Giles, whom Mitts replaced in 2001, received 759 votes, or 10 percent of the vote.
Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th Ward) ran unopposed in his race.
Mitts’ win was a kind of vindication, since she was among the aldermanic incumbents targeted by labor for her opposition to the big box ordinance. Carothers also voted against the ordinance while Smith voted in favor of it.
