Calumet City 6th Ward Ald. James Patton announced Thursday he will run for mayor next year, becoming the first announced challenger to a possible reelection bid from incumbent Mayor Thaddeus Jones, who is also state representative.
Since he took office in May 2021, Patton, a longtime city official, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Jones administration. He challenged whether Jones could simultaneously be mayor and state representative, questioned the way Jones’ handpicked city engineering firm Farnsworth led the city’s contract selection process and said Jones urged Democrats to avoid using his business when he questioned how the mayor ran a City Council meeting.
“We need to do everything that we can to make sure there is a change of leadership at City Hall,” Patton said Tuesday. “The general sense that I am getting from people is excitement.”
Jones, who did not respond Thursday to a request for comment, has not publicly announced his intention to run again for mayor. Jones last week again won the Democratic nomination for the 29th Illinois House District and currently does not face a Republican challenger for that seat.
Patton said he worked for and supported Jones’s predecessor, Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush, and said he tried to start fresh with the new mayor when Jones took office in 2021. But the two have butted heads with Patton regularly voting against matters supported by Jones.
Patton said his opposition triggered Jones to send a letter to colleagues in Springfield telling them to avoid using Patton’s consulting business.
“There is probably going to be a lot of things said about me and you just got to remember they are not true,” Patton said he told his son. “We expect that it’s going to be a brutal 10 months. But it’s not going to stop me.”
Patton said he is starting his race well before the February Democratic primary because he needs to create enough of a runway to meet voters to make up for a likely financial deficit between himself and Jones.
“I am confident that I am going to have the money that I need to run the race that I want to run,” he said. “That does not necessarily mean I am going to outspend Thaddeus. But I am confident in what I need and that I will be able to raise it.”
Patton said there are infrastructure projects that have been talked about and studied by city engineers forthree years.
“We don’t need to have the engineers come and tell us how bad it is. We need to get to work,” Patton said.
A study conducted in September 2022 by Farnsworth Group showed several of the stormwater pumps were faulty and should be replaced, the Daily Southtown reported. There is no indication the faulty pumps were fixed, the paper’s investigation concluded. One year later, a massive rain event lead to hundreds of homes being flooded, but the city administration maintains the impact would not have been reduced if the pumps were fixed as recommended.
Patton also said there are fewer businesses open today than when Jones took office. He also said he was frustrated with how Jones runs the public comment at City Council meetings, which regularly include combative interactions with residents.
“My plan for this whole spring and summer and fall is to get out there and listen to what every resident has to say,” said Patton. “If I am lucky enough to be elected that is certainly the way I am going to govern.”
hsanders@chicagotribune.com
