Rahm's Latest Campaign Ad Uses Creative Logic To Question Garcia
By aaroncynic in News on Mar 11, 2015 2:00PM
In his latest campaign ad, Rahm Emanuel steps away from the camera to accuse challenger Chuy Garcia of making $1.9 billion in spending promises with no plan to pay for it. The ad, released yesterday, says Garcia’s platform would cost the average Chicago homeowner an extra $1,900 in taxes and is peppered with interview footage of him asking for more time to release his fiscal plans while he looks for “creative sources” of financing.
The ad ends with the ominous caption “Creative sources of financing? Uh-oh.”
Garcia, who has said he would release a financial plan by the end of the week, brushed off the ad, telling the Sun-Times:
“Where do you find the audacity to criticize others? What this demonstrates is that Rahm Emanuel took the fuzzy sweater off again . . . and now, we’re seeing the real Rahm. The Rahm that will attack to distract. The Rahm that can’t offer a financial plan himself. And the Rahm that has demonstrated that he can’t manage the city’s finances adequately.”
Voters however shouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that somehow another four years of Rahm Emanuel won’t mean an increase in property taxes. In a press conference on Monday, the mayor’s aldermanic allies all but confirmed that property taxes would go up to cover his spending plans. WGN reports Alderman Carrie Austin said:
“I believe we can truly say that it will happen, but it’s all in the ‘how much.’ Nothing is off the table, and I think we should be honest with the people to let them know that everything is being considered.”
Chicago’s looming $600 million pension payment sits at the heart of a potential property tax increase, and the Emanuel campaign’s math is almost as fuzzy as the sweater he sported in the last ad. According to the Chicago Tribune, $1.2 billion of the $1.9 billion in Garcia’s campaign promises are attributed to him not being open to making concessions on pensions, which he said he would consider in the Trib’s endorsement questionnaire prior to the Feb. 24 election. Emanuel has also been fuzzy on the details of how he would pay the bill.
Meanwhile, the mayor continues to shovel money into his campaign war chest. The Tribune reports a handful of billionaires once again rained the bulk of another $1.4 million into Rahm’s coffers, bringing his overall fundraising total to $18 million. Garcia managed to pull in $907,000, mostly from labor.