Controversial and embattled Northwest Side Ald. James Gardiner ahead among five opponents
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Ald. James Gardiner (45th), who has been the subject of controversy, scrutiny, and accusations of intimidation and retribution in his term in office, faced a tough race for reelection Tuesday.
As of 9:40 p.m., with all but two precincts reporting, Gardiner had about 49 percent of the vote. The next runner up, Megan Mathias, had only 16 percent, followed by 14.7 percent for James Suh.
Gardiner will face a runoff if he does not clear the 50 percent mark when all the votes are in.
Gardiner, who has already been found guilty of violating the city's Ethics Code and is under federal investigation, was up against five challengers. Among them was small business owner and Local School Council member Suh – the man whose complaint of retaliation by Gardiner got the alderman in trouble with the Board of Ethics.
After Suh criticized Gardiner at a 2019 rally, Gardiner exchanged texts with a staffer in which they discuss using a staffer's family connection to get a hold of Suh's past arrest record and mug shot.
"James Suh says I overstep boundaries?" Gardiner wrote in a text. "Maybe that gets leaked."
In September 2021, the Board of Ethics found probable cause that this action violated the city's Ethics Code. Gardiner said at a City Council meeting on Sept. 15, 2021, that the comments he made did not reflect his values.
Two months later, Suh sued Gardiner for defamation and violating his civil rights.
Suh went on to announce he was running for alderman in November. He said his run for alderman is not about revenge – but all about public service.
Volunteers for another candidate, Jefferson Park resident Marija Tomic, also accused Gardiner of personally confronting them in an encounter that resulted in the volunteers filing a police report.
As shown on Ring doorbell camera, three Tomic volunteers were just walking down a Northwest Side street on Saturday, Nov. 26 – collecting a petition signature from a woman on the sidewalk.
It was all routine, until a blue truck pulled up out of nowhere.
"The gentleman came out of the car and crossing the street, yelling, 'What are you doing signing their petitions?' Like, you know, 'They're lying about me?'" said Tomic volunteer Andrij Skyba.
Skyba said that gentleman who said those things was Ald. Gardiner. The confrontation was caught on the Ring doorbell camera video, which was first obtained by a watchdog blog called The People's Fabric.
"Then he turned around to me and he got in very nose-to-nose, and it was like one of these clenched fists," Skyba said. "I could see almost like steam coming out of his ears."
Skyba said Gardiner kept accusing them of spreading lies.
A snipped is even heard on the Ring video, in which a man the volunteers say is Gardiner says: "Run clean campaign. know what you're talking about."
Also in the race were Susanna Ernst, a Jefferson Park community leader and historian; Mathias, a small business owner, community leader, and Local School Council member; and Ana Santoyo, an activist and community organizer who works in the Chicago Public Library.
Gardiner was elected to the Northwest Side City Council seat in 2019, defeating incumbent John Arena.
In addition to the controversy with Suh, Gardiner has been embroiled in an assortment of other controversies in his single term in office.
Leaked text messages obtained by CBS 2 have shown constituents who disagree with Gardiner are often targeted by him – among them a resident to whom he tried denying city services.
He also used insulting and misogynistic language when referring to a fellow alderman and women who work in city politics in other text messages leaked to the media.
Political consultant Joanna Klonsky and aldermanic aide Anne Emerson both were the targets of disparaging texts sent by Gardiner in 2019. The messages were sent to a former staffer who leaked them to CBS 2.
In some of the texts, which were obtained by CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov, Gardiner refers to women as "bitch" and used that word to describe a fellow alderman.
In one text, after Gardiner is informed Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) was attending an event, Gardiner replied, "Nice. Is his bitch with him? White girl w blonde dirty hair?" Gardiner was referring to Emerson, Waguespack's chief of staff.
In another text, Gardiner refers to retiring Ald. Tom Tunney as a "bitch" and a "f—ing snake" after Tunney showed up for a meeting, which Gardiner did not expect. The text ends with Gardiner saying, "F–k him."