Friday, August 11, 2017

Thirty-four judicial hopefuls pitch Cook County Democratic Party committeemen

I could not go to the Cook County Democratic Party's slating meeting yesterday at the Erie Cafe---lawyer stuff getting in the way again---but David Thomas of the Law Bulletin was there and his article is in today's paper and online.

According to Thomas, the six sitting countywide appointees were given the privilege of addressing the slatemakers first. These were Judges Marina Ammendola, John S. Fotopoulos, Cecilia A. Horan, Elizabeth A. Karkula, Clare J. Quish, and Oran F. Whiting.

These following individuals also pitched the slatemakers, according to the Law Bulletin:
  • Erin Antonietti
  • Richard G. Cenar Jr.
  • Joseph P.M. Clary
  • Athena A. Farmakis
  • Mike Gonzalez
  • Jonathan Clark Green
  • Jack J. Hagerty
  • Preston Jones Jr.
  • Kathaleen T. Lanahan
  • John Maher
  • Thomas McGuire
  • William McLaughlin
  • Thomas E. Nowinski
  • James A. Pontrelli
  • James Reilly
  • Ioana Salajanu
  • Athanasios “Tom” S. Sianis
  • Christ S. Stacey
  • Daniel Trevino
  • Lynn Weaver-Boyle
  • Frank J. Andreou
  • Joseph Chico
  • Rosa Maria Silva
  • Bradley R. Trowbridge
  • Erika Lyn Orr
  • Caroline Smith-Jones
  • Natalie L. Howse
  • Pamela Reaves-Harris
Only seven of these individuals will be slated for the seven countywide vacancies. If form holds, the Party will also slate one or more alternates (last time there were four) -- persons effectively 'pre-slated' for any new countywide vacancies that may open up in time for the March 2018 primary. History suggests that it is likely that at least another countywide vacancy will open up in time.

Some of these persons will wind up running in subcircuits, with or without Party support. But slating in the subcircuits is handled by the committeemen in each subcircuit; some will have open slating meetings, some will not.

Even though I wasn't there yesterday, I can tell you that each of these presenters was asked whether they would support the Committee's decision (meaning that they would not run against the slate). I would bet that, though some may have tried to leave some lawyerly wriggle-room, all indicated that they would abide by the slatemakers' decisions. Most will honor that promise in hopes of gaining support in the future. They will wait.

Some have been waiting for quite awhile.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am disappointed we have not yet seen the inside play by play of the past, although it's quite likely it was submitted and trashed since the "much lampooned" one complained to Jack that the sardonic riffs were hitting too close to home.

Nonetheless a number of insiders report the ghost of slatings past was present, being ever considerate of non-clients by loudly screaming into a cell phone while clip clomping across the terrazzo floor during their 15 seconds of humiliation. She may not have to scream as loud if she used two tin cans connected by a string, but then again the whole objective is to passive-aggressively throw shade on those speaking whom she wants to diss and distract. Or it might be a way of getting some of the committeemen with overgrown thatches of ear hair to catch her subtle signal that the one speaking ain't one of mine.

The best part of the day, according to those present, had nothing to do with slating. Representative Martwick, who has been losing sleep over the prospect of a democratic challenger surfacing after pulling a Manafort on some disclosure forms did not respond well when Leslie Hairston joked that he needed to pay 14 cents in tax for the two bags under his eyes. Martwick angrily threw a bottle of Diet Snapple against the wall. Preckwinkle then insisted he pony up 20 cents, but the room was evenly split on whether stevia made the Diet Snapple a "sugary drink." Pat Levar, present only for the sausage and peppers, was asked to break the tie. Initially Levar claimed "who puts stevia on a hot fudge sundae" leading onlookers to think he was siding against Preckwinkle, but at that moment a short woman loudly talking on her cell phone placed a meme that has been going around in front of Levar. It is a photoshopped image of Martwick and Levar's successor, John Arena, riding shirtless together on a horse. Levar looked at the photoshopped meme and still angry about his loss to Arena proclaimed stevia a sugar. Martwick paid the 20 cent sugar tax (for a drink without sugar) to Preckwinkle and 14 cent tax for the bags under his eyes to Finance Chairman Burke. Just as everyone thought things had calmed down, someone yelled "don't forgot to disclose that 34 cents on your statement of economic interest" and all hell broke lose.


Anonymous said...

Looks like another of the 34 candidates for slating decided to make a go when not selected by the party. I have come across the website of Erika Orr who is running in the 1st Subcircuit. www.orrforjudge.com