Gutierrez to Run Again, Everybody Loves Him

By Kevin Robinson in News on Aug 17, 2007 3:30PM

After a veritable outpouring of support expressed through an open letter, Fourth District Congressman Luis Gutiérrez announced that he would seek a 9th term in congress. “The situation is going to get worse for the immigrant community, there’ll be more deportations and more separation of families and more damage to our community,” Gutierrez said yesterday. “I want to come back to see if a Democrat-controlled Congress with a president called Barack Obama can bring an end to this nightmare of injustices for the people of the immigrant community.”

Now that 12th Ward Alderman Ricardo Munoz has dropped out, four other candidates have to decide what they will do. First Ward Alderman Manny Flores, who has already raised half a million dollars for his candidacy, said that he "would respect his decision should he decide to run.”

The letter was signed by 27 political and community leaders, urging him to run again. “To me, it was a no-brainer,” said McPier CEO Juan Ochoa told CBS2. “Who could best take the fight on and come home with a victory? I think that's Congressman Gutierrez.” Although this announcement opens him up to criticism, his wife's health may have influenced his decision. Soraida Gutierrez has been battling cancer, but he says she has gotten better recently.