Aldermania: Gerald Farinas to Challenge Helen Shiller, James Cappleman

By Kevin Robinson in News on Oct 12, 2009 2:00PM

Lots of press releases grace our inbox at the Chicagoist offices. Every once in a while we get one that makes us do a double-take. Gerald Farinas's announcement that he's running for 46th Ward Alderman is one of those press releases. Farinas officially announced his candidacy Sunday at Chicago Solidarity Rally in Daley Plaza, held in support of the National Equality March in Washington, D.C. Farinas notes that, if elected he will "be the Council’s second openly gay member," after noting that "Farinas is expected to garner much of his support from reform minded Democrats and, as a former inner circle advisor to Keyes 2004, city Republicans wanting a seat at the table to have their voices heard." Besides Shiller, Farinas will face James Cappleman, who lost in 2007.

Helen Shiller's no saint - people in her ward have accused her of being a poverty pimp, and her days as one of Harold Washington's organizers are far, far behind her. Unfortunately for Cappleman, he ran a polarizing campaign last time, sending out campaign literature that said "Fear Your Neighbor." And while Farinas makes a lot of noise about being openly gay (a political commodity in a ward that features a large gay community and an alderman that supports the cause), he was also an "inner circle advisor to" Alan Keyes when he ran for Senate against Barack Obama in 2004. What's more, Farinas is linked to the events that publicly pushed Keyes's daughter Maya out of the closet in 2004.

What is it with the 46th Ward? It's like all the politicians in Uptown are just shouting "Hey, Chicago! Do you like the Grand Prize Game? Because you just got a front row seat to the Bozo Show!" Ba-dum-da.