French twist: Blogger making surprise bid for alderman
French
Antonio French, a Democratic committeeman and the muscle behind the PubDef political blog, this morning took the lid off of his future aspirations: He’s running for alderman.
French, 31, said in a statement today — the last to join the March 3 municipal primary — he’s entering the race in the 21st Ward, where he’ll challenge incumbent Bennice Jones-King.
“I get calls every week from people in my ward — especially seniors — looking for help. They need financial assistance for repairing their homes, or they need a dilapidated house torn down because of safety concerns, or they need a stop sign installed at the end of the block to slow down the cars that go speeding down their street,” French said. “As a committeeman, I have very little power to help these people. These are the duties of the alderman. “
Taking on a sitting aldermen is never easy, especially in the 21st, where politics can be a contact sport. No one knows that better than French, whose late grandmother, Myrtle, was the ward’s Democratic committeewoman for many years.
In August, Antonio unseated her long time sparring partner, veteran Democrat committeeman Arthur “Chink” Washington. That victory no doubt played a key role in French’s calculus to run again in March. His entry into the aldermanic race adds to the mix of seats up in the air: Crowded contests have also emerged in the 3rd, 23rd and 25th Wards.
Sorry, grandmother formerly had the job. Political Royalty. End political royalty in America, Now!