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Ralf Seiffe argues that Ron Gidwitz, GOP candidate for Governor, is the right messenger in the wrong race. He should run for Mayor of Chicago in 2007 rather than Governor in 2006, so says Seiffe.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

By Ralf Seiffe

OPINION - This past week, IllinoisLeader.com reported that Ron Gidwitz has begun to run advertisements to support his primary run for governor.

One of these cleared on the Fox News Channel this morning which shows Mr. Gidwitz’s consumer marketing talents are as sharp as ever.

The version I saw reminds the audience of several specific campaign promises Rod Blagojevich made but has honored exclusively in their breach.

The spots make the case that Gidwitz is a successful business man who will change the corrupt culture Blagojevich has magnified in Springfield.

As much as I agree with his message, I think Mr. Gidwitz is seeking the wrong job.

The former chief executive of Alberto-Culver is a take charge sort who would make a much better mayor of Chicago than governor.

The city is a place where a forceful personality--the Type A CEO with a vision--can be successful and is honored.

I’ve only met the candidate once but I was impressed.

He appeared at the city’s 44th Ward meeting a couple of months back, before he announced his candidacy. Jim Fuchs, the ward committeeman, has done a remarkable job rounding up prospective candidates and Gidwitz was one of the early respondents.

Despite the racket regular Monday night patrons at the Big City Tap make, I found Gidwitz articulate and well-informed about the state in which Illinois finds itself.

The now-announced candidate was commodious with his time, sticking around to speak privately after his “scheduled” time had expired.

Even more heartening, he wasn’t flapped by the bar’s rowdy patrons and I believe that shows real tolerance most pols claim but seldom demonstrate.

Even as refreshing as Candidate Gidwitz appeared, I cannot help but think he’s better suited to win a mayor’s race.

First, the governor’s race is loaded with Republican reformers and every one of those hopefuls is capable of running ads similar to the one for which Gidwitz is paying.

In varying degrees of credibility, each of the visible candidates can lay claim as a reformer and, in comparison to Blagojevich, even Boss Tweed would look good.

Chicago’s a different story.

No credible reformers are on the horizon and the need for a un-public servant is becoming ever more evident each time the U.S. attorney invites reporters to the Dirksen courthouse building.

If the pace of indictments continues--and the guilty pleas pile up--the mayor may be thinking of a new career. By the time of the municipal election, the mayor may be so wounded that there could be a realistic chance that many voters will want him replaced.

As a contrarian, Mayor Daley’s recent canonization by one of the weekly newsmagazines tells fate has some difficulties in store for the mayor.

Businessman Gidwitz knows that organizations become vulnerable to change in control when they fail to plan for orderly succession. This certainly describes a city governed by the “Mayor for Life” just as it did in 1976 when Richard I died in office.

That doesn’t mean the city goes Republican.

A functionally open seat will draw pretenders who want to become the big boss by leveraging the political assets they now manage for the machine. Where these operatives once offered their unquestionable support to the mayor, they may turn internecine when there’s no real boss. Others may show up too; Jesse Jr. is a natural regardless of his denials.

A real reformer might take advantage of the vacuum just as Harold Washington did when his opposition split into political camps.

Now, a generation later, Gidwitz could do the same thing and serve the same purpose.

Nevertheless, most folks think there is no chance for a Republican to become Chicago’s chief.

After all, there hasn’t been a Republican mayor since about the time booze was illegal and the stockyards were still operating. But remember the conventionally-wise once said the same thing about New York City, yet, behold, the Big Apple has elected Republicans in the last three contests.

New York’s current mayor might provide Gidwitz guidance on how to overcome Chicago’s historic reality. Michael Bloomberg was a Democrat who turned Republican to seek and win Rudy Guiliani’s chair. He’s still a nominal Republican but most observers see through the veneer.

Analogously, Gidwitz could re-invent himself as a Democrat and go after Richard II’s seat.

By becoming a member of the city’s ruling party he could overcome the genetic predisposition of city voters to be Democrats and win a split primary. He might even run in both primaries!

Since this is Illinois, Candidate Gidwitz should extract the promise of all other Republican gubernatorial candidates that they will support him, regardless of his political affiliation during the state-wide races and when the city race occurs in 2007.

Assuming Republicans nominate a serious candidate for governor, this two-office strategy fits the reality of Illinois’ political landscape.

Connecting the need for change in the two most important offices provides the opportunity to craft a unified message for voters.

Beyond that, the two-office strategy with Gidwitz for mayor matches personalities and philosophies with the offices’ constituencies.

This suggestion may seem a little too tongue-in-cheek but Republican strategies to win Chicago have failed for a lifetime.

Ron Gidwitz should simply switch his commercial’s picture-in-picture from Hot Rod to Richie Daley and he’d have a campaign that just sings.

© 2005 IllinoisLeader.com -- all rights reserved

Ralf Seiffe advises business start-ups and product launches from Chicago, Illinois and is a political analyst and columnist for the Illinois Leader.