We can all concur it was a brutal, negative mayoral campaign in Aurora – and we’re glad it’s over.
Of course, not everyone agrees on who should have won. But a victor has been declared and it’s time now that we all stop, inhale deeply, and then focus on repairing the damage that can come when emotions and negative ads – and yes, lots of outside money – complicate the issues most important to a community.
To those not happy with the outcome, I humbly suggest it’s not likely Aurora is going over any proverbial cliff in the next four years. Mayor-elect John Laesch, after all, did not put all this effort into becoming mayor of the second largest city in the state to let it slide back to those dark years that included gang violence and shuttered downtown buildings.
Everyone, including those who voted for his opponent (and those who did not get out to vote) should thank Mayor Richard Irvin for his part in turning around that negative trajectory. The two-term incumbent had every right to proclaim that Aurora is on the rise. All you have to do is count the ribbon-cuttings this year alone, or drive past the outlet mall or compare current crime statistics to other cities.
Better yet. Take a group to a downtown show – lots of choices these days at the Paramount or Copley or Stolp Island theaters – and then grab dinner at any one of a growing number of wonderful restaurants that have sprung up in the last few years.
Here’s the thing to remember: Once Laesch takes the reins, he’ll have to keep the city on the right track in order to stay in the driver’s seat. And he understands that means building relationships, including those that have been damaged, he noted in his election night speech at Two Brothers Roundhouse.
I can’t imagine how hard it was for Irvin to take the stage around that same time at his own watch party a few blocks away. He took a political hit in his bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2022, but there’s no question he loves his hometown, is proud of its improvements over the years and is now feeling a lot of heartbreak, maybe even betrayal, that voters rejected those efforts.
Lots of people far more politically savvy than me will spend the next few weeks dissecting this election. Without question, Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Democratic Party played a huge role in its outcome. But even before the big bucks rolled in at the end, Laesch had an effective ground campaign and knew how to engage effectively on social media.
Plus, because Irvin easily defeated Laesch in the 2021 mayoral campaign, there no doubt was some overconfidence from the mayor’s supporters. Also take into account that Illinois Republicans lost considerable ground in suburban races, indicating backlash from a tumultuous Trump administration.
And, while most incumbent mayors retained their seats regionally, there seemed to be more dissatisfaction with the status quo here in the Fox Valley. Geneva’s longtime Mayor Kevin Burns won but not as easily as in years past, nor did Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke, who was re-elected to the post he has been in since 1981, unofficial final results show.
Also, next door in St. Charles, retired Kane County Judge Clint Hull easily beat incumbent Lora Vitek, and in Sugar Grove, Village President Jennifer Konen was soundly defeated by Susan Stillwell, according to unofficial final results.
But it was the Aurora mayoral election that garnered the biggest headlines, including those that touted the word “upset.”
“Everyone’s face was like seeing a ghost,” said one Irvin supporter as he described the Election Night war room. “People were stunned.”
A couple days later, as emotions settle but rumors continue to fly, people are asking important questions: Like who will the mayor-elect appoint to replace him as alderman at-large, and what key staffers will stay and which ones will go on the third floor of City Hall, which one former Aurora official called “the loneliest place in Aurora.”
It’s easy to become isolated by staff, he told me on Wednesday, and politics in general make it hard to figure out who you can trust.
Irvin likely felt that emptiness as he made his way home at the end of a crushing defeat. Here’s hoping he can fall back on the gratitude so many residents have expressed to him and about him for his eight years of service leading this city. As one supporter mentioned, Richard Irvin became mayor to make a difference in his hometown. He made that difference. And no matter what he does going forward, no one can take that away from him.
The good thing is, “time” tends to heal lots of wounds.
That’s the word that Laesch used on Thursday morning when I asked him what it will take to convince opponents he’s not the boogeyman who will snuff out the City of Lights mojo.
As soon as next week, he told me, “I will start meeting with staff” to dispel “a lot of panic and anxiety.”
Laesch knows he needs experienced people around him to keep Aurora moving in the right direction. And he knows he must repair his strained relationship with a City Council who saw him mostly as a contrarian because he refused to be a yes-man.
Referring to a “palaver hut,” an African thatched structure used for community dialogue and conflict resolution, Laesch said he’s a firm believer that only by “hearing all opinions” will ”the best answers rise to the top.”
“Part of why I was elected is people did not feel included,” he insisted. “I want to share the power of running a city … and the spotlight.”
Both power and spotlight inevitably involve tripwires. Laesch’s nonstop itinerary since winning the election includes hitting the Chicago media circuit, and ever-so-slowly whittling down hundreds of texts. But there are also, he added, “plenty of fires that need to be put out.” And he’s determined to keep moving – listening tours are high on his agenda – because of what he believes is at stake.
“It will be a different culture … a different process,” Laesch said. “We want to try to build a more democratic system.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
