Candidates in the Cook County assessor’s race are sparring over the endorsement the challenger announced from a Northwest Side alderman who has faced criticism for offensive comments he made in texts.
Kari Steele’s campaign Instagram account until Tuesday morning included an announcement that she was “proudly endorsed by: 45th Ward Committeeperson Jim Gardiner.”
Assessor Fritz Kaegi used the announcement to question Steele’s judgment, even as the Steele campaign disavowed Gardiner and said the endorsement announcement was made “inadvertently” ahead of Democratic Party slating in December.
Gardiner, who also serves as 45th Ward alderman, has been a lightning rod since early autumn.
Ald. Jim Gardiner, 45th, attends a City Council meeting in Chicago in 2019. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
That’s when a Northwest Side group, The People’s Fabric, published texts showing him referring to one City Council colleague as “a bitch” and the top aide of another council member as “his bitch,” and also using the term to describe a political communications consultant.
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The alderman was stripped in October of his Cook County Democratic Party committee seats and formally rebuked by the party for “abhorrent and despicable” behavior, including the “misogynistic, homophobic, and obscene language” in those texts.
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The Tribune also reported last fall that federal investigators had launched an inquiry into the first-term alderman’s conduct in office, including whether he retaliated against constituents for political purposes.
Gardiner read a statement during September’s City Council meeting, apologizing for his “offensive words” and saying he “never acted on any of those rants” in which he appeared to call for ward services to be withheld from political opponents.
When the endorsement announcement began making the rounds Tuesday among Democratic insiders, the Steele campaign removed it from the Instagram page.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation Commissioner and Cook County Assessor candidate Kari Steele speaks to media last May. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Steele spokeswoman Isabelle Dienstag sought to distance the candidate from Gardiner, saying the campaign posted the fact he decided to back Steele in the Cook County Democrats’ endorsement process, along with support from other Democratic committeemen as she tried unsuccessfully in December to get the party’s backing in the primary.
“Kari has not sought Ald. Gardiner’s endorsement, and would not accept his endorsement if it was offered. His actions towards women are deplorable, and frankly he should not be a voting member of the Cook County Democratic Party,” Dienstag said in a statement. “His name was inadvertently included in a list of Kari’s supporters ahead of the Party’s slating sessions.”
The real issue in the race is Kaegi’s mismanagement of the assessor’s office, Dienstag said.
But the Kaegi campaign pounced on the Gardiner announcement, calling Steele’s “proud touting” of the endorsement “troubling.”
“Taxpayers should be able to have faith that their assessor will run a fair, transparent and ethical operation,” the Kaegi statement said. “This decision should raise grave concerns about her judgment and capacity to do so.”
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Gardiner could not be reached for comment.
jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @_johnbyrne
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