Emanuel, Garcia Each Claim Credit For High Number Of Early Voters
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel and rival Cook County Commissioner Chuy Garcia are expressing very different views about the high number of early votes cast ahead of their upcoming election April 7.
Mayor Emanuel suggested to reporters at the latest police academy graduation that he believes the heavy early voting is indicative of growing support for him.
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"This is a big election…big differences between putting our fiscal house in order, being forthright with the public about what it takes so we can recruit jobs," Emanuel said.
Commissioner Chuy Garcia told the City Club of Chicago the early votes are spurred by him.
"The unprecedented early vote that has been cast, is part of our effort moving toward April the seventh, we have organized the largest army of volunteers perhaps in modern history," Garcia said.
Also Monday, Garcia said he's running to represent all Chicagoans. But he also made it clear that he thought some weren't paying their fair share, CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports.
He called for a rewrite of the tax system.
"Those who earn more than $500,000 a year ought to be able to pay more than a struggling family of four," Garcia said.
Trying to counter Garcia's charges that he was neglecting those families and their neighborhoods, Emanuel announced new Sprint retail sites that he says will create 300 jobs.
The mayor also sought to cast doubt on Garcia's ability to run the city, by criticizing his record with the community group Enlace, the only organization he ever ran. Emanuel says an audit showed the organization was mismanaged.
Garcia says Enlace has thrived over the years.
Garcia and Emanuel continue to battle for critical African American voters. So, Emanuel was only too happy to talk about video briefly showing him as a bare-chested 18-year-old protesting racist neo-Nazis in Marquette Park. The Chicago Reader's blog has more information about the video, which dates back to 1978.
The candidates were scheduled to appear at a televised debate Tuesday night.
