Posted: February 26, 2003

Gay Man Wins in Chicago Alderman Race

Chicago--- Restaurant owner Tom Tunney has become the first openly gay man elected to the Chicago City Council.

Tunney, who was appointed to the job in December by Mayor Richard Daley after the retirement of an ailing alderman, beat out four other opponents seeking his seat. With 59 percent of the vote, Tunney will not have to face the second-highest vote recipient, Rick Ingram, in a runoff.

"We never knew which way this was going to go," Monica Carranza, Tunney's deputy campaign manager, told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network. "We were always confident we had a great candidate, but with four other candidates, two in particular who were well-organized, well-known and well-funded, we didn't take anything for granted."

Between Tunney and Ingram, who is also gay, the two candidates got 82 percent of the vote, something gay political activists say is significant.

"Times have changed in Chicago," said Victory Fund Political Director Bob Kearney. "Until yesterday, Chicago was the largest city in America to have never elected a gay person to its council. Forty-fourth Ward voters said resoundingly that Tom Tunney is their choice for the job. They also expressed confidence in gay office seekers by choosing the two gay candidates as the number one and number two finishers."