In the Aurora mayoral race, incumbent Richard Irvin and challenger John Laesch have both received notable endorsements ahead of the April 1 consolidated election.
Irvin, a lawyer who was born and raised in Aurora, made history in 2017 when he was elected as the city’s first Black mayor. Laesch, a union carpenter and former Naval Intelligence analyst, previously lost the mayoral race against Irvin in 2021 and two years later was elected to be one of two aldermen at-large on the Aurora City Council.
Last weekend, more than 20 Black pastors met to endorse Irvin’s run for a third term as mayor of Aurora, according to a news release from his campaign.
Those pastors included the Rev. Dr. Julian Spencer of Main Baptist Church, Pastor Jesse Hawkins of St. John AME and Irvin’s own pastor, Kevin Bedford of Progressive Baptist Church, the news release said.
A number of local public safety organizations, such as the Aurora Association of Professional Police Officers and the Aurora Firefighters Local 99, have also endorsed Irvin, as have labor organizations like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 461 and the Painters District Council 30, his campaign website shows.
Irvin was also endorsed by the editorial boards of both the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald.
Over the past few weeks, Laesch has drawn endorsements from Democratic elected officials, current and former, at the federal, state and local level.
Those include former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, U.S. Reps. Delia Ramirez and Jesus “Chuy” García, state Sen. Karina Villa and a number of board members from surrounding counties, among others, according to Laesch’s campaign website.
Plus, Laesch has received the endorsements of previous mayoral candidates Jazmine Garcia, who dropped out of the race and endorsed Laesch ahead of the Feb. 25 primary, and Karina Garcia, who lost to Irvin and Laesch in the primary.
The state Democratic Party has also been sending out mailers and running online advertisements targeting Irvin.
A list of endorsements, along with information about the two candidates’ backgrounds and platforms, can be found on the candidates’ respective websites at irvinformayor.com and johnforaurora.com.
In the final days leading up to the election, both candidates are gearing up for a final push to get voters out to the polls, they separately told The Beacon-News.
On Sunday and Monday, Irvin is planning to be out knocking on doors and going directly to voters to talk about “what we’ve done for Aurora and our vision for the future,” just like he has done every weekend for the past couple months, he said.
Irvin said he will be trying to walk and speak to voters in all of the city’s wards. Plus, he will be attending some meet-and-greets at peoples’ homes, he said.
Laesch said his campaign is placing a heavy focus on door-to-door campaigning and handing out leaflets at early voting locations in these last few days before the April 1 election.
On Saturday, Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García was scheduled to be out with Laesch’s campaign, along with the campaigns for alderman at-large candidate Keith Larson and 2nd Ward alderman candidate Alfonso Santoyo, canvassing with a focus on the 2nd Ward, according to Laesch.
A week before the election, Irvin held a State of the City address to showcase the city’s progress in safety, economic development, education and economic development over the last several years under his leadership, he said.
That event, held at Fox Valley Mall on Wednesday evening, was the fifth such speech he has held since the start of last year, as he held four State of the City addresses last year.
While some members of the Aurora City Council attended that speech, Laesch instead was at the “Get Out the Vote Rally at the Roundhouse” event, which was held at Two Brothers Roundhouse on North Broadway and organized by the Working Families Aurora Political Action Committee.
In addition to Laesch, a number of other local candidates supported by Working Families Aurora attended the event, including Larson and Santoyo, according to the group’s Facebook page.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
