Harold Washington, Mayor essays

Harold Washington, Mayor essays Harold Washington was Chicagos first black mayor. He was elected in 1983, in an election that garnered national attention. He defeated the Republican candidate Bernard Epton with what many considered a rainbow coalition of supporters: blacks, Hispanics, Asians, liberal whites, women, and the elderly (Chicago Remembers Harold Washington). Washingtons surprise primary election victory over the incumbent mayor Jane Byrne, and future mayor Richard M. Daley put the national spotlight on Washington, and when he beat Republican Bernard Epton in the general election, he became Chicagos first black mayor. Washington almost immediately faced opposition from political opponents in the City Council who resisted cooperating with him because he was an outsider and reformer. That period was marked by turbulent fights in the Council between the twenty-nine anti-Washington aldermen and the twenty-one who were loyal to the new mayor. Washington is best known for bringing opportunity to the underprivileged. He also helped significantly raise the number of city contracts given to minority businesses, as well as helped open doors for minorities to attain top positions in City Hall. In the same vein, Washington made Illinois the first state to honor Martin Luther King by creating a state holiday. Washington did much for city policy as well. He created the first citywide Ethics Ordinance, and by writing the cities own Freedom of Information Act, he encouraged everyone to become informed and involved with community operations. Washington had always said that he would stay in office till the day he died; he had the ambition to outlast former mayor Richard J. Daley and his 20-year reign. Sadly, Washington served a little more than four years. Washington, who was sixty-five, collapsed at his desk during a meeting with his press secretary, and within minutes of his collapse paramedics were urgently attempting...