Up on Chicago’s North Side, a powerful alderman who’s been in office since the Nixon administration, has some tough competition.

Berny Stone hasn’t had many serious challenges during his 30-plus-year career.

But this time he’s up against two immigrants and an architect.

Chicago Public Radio’s Lynette Kalsnes reports.

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West Rogers Park is one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. It’s home to rows of Indian and Pakistani restaurants, shops full of jeweled saris, and a tight-knit Jewish community.

So it’s fitting the challengers to Berny Stone include Naisy Dolar, Greg Brewer and Salman Aftab.

Dolar is a Filipino immigrant and would be the first Asian-American on City Council. Aftab is a Persian immigrant who would be the first Asian and the first Muslim. Brewer is an architect and planner who’s of Irish and English ancestry. He and Dolar are both Catholic.

So you’d think religion and ethnicity would be the focal point here. But not in the way you might expect.

Dick Simpson: “There are major religious divisions. There are major ethnic divisions in the ward. It’s a hard job for any alderman to bridge across all those differences.” 

Professor Dick Simpson heads the political science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Years ago, he served on the City Council with Stone.

Dick Simpson: “Berny Stone tends to go back to the old supporters who support him all through his time in the City Council, and has less contact with most of the newer elements in the ward.”

Stone is Jewish and of Polish ancestry.

Simpson says the ward is so diverse, no single ethnic group can win the election. So all of the candidates are being very careful not to identity any one group as their base of support. And they all say they’re reaching across religious and ethnic divides.

Here’s Greg Brewer:

Greg Brewer: “You win such a diverse ward by doing the same thing you need to be aldermen for such a diverse ward, which is not trying to represent or gain the support of just one or two pieces of that, but to really, seriously, involve everyone.”

Brewer formed Citizens for Responsible Development to advocate for quote “smart growth” and community involvement. His campaign office is a narrow room that’s full of orange and blue signs, and munchies for his staff.

One morning, a nearby business owner named Ed Esho walks in. He’s helping with arrangements for Brewer to appear on Assyrian radio, and at some Assyrian Super Bowl parties.

Ed Esho/Greg Brewer: “Yeah, well, this is our community, so we want you to be there. (No, that would be great), talk to the people, they’re interested in what you do, and listen to what you’re going to do to the community, so it’s going to be perfect.”

In another storefront office, Naisy Dolar makes plans to appear on a Pakistani radio program.  And she’s holding regular coffee gatherings at a kosher deli called BB’s Bagels.

Naisy Dolar: “I believe we all deserve efficient and respectful city services throughout the entire ward. (Yeah!) (Applause.)”

Dolar has held positions on the city’s Commission on Human Relations and the League of Women Voters.

Naisy Dolar: “People are tired of nepotism, tired of the fact that there isn’t a transparent government, and that’s why there are so many people running for office this time around. And I want to be part of that new generation of leadership.”

All three challengers are calling for more accountability and transparency in government. They say Stone often yells at people who question him or try to get help.

Aftab, who’s a partner in an information technology firm, wants to outlaw nepotism in city government, and scale back the aldermanic pay raise. One evening, he takes his message to the bungalows south of Devon.

Salman Aftab: “Hello ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you, I’m running for alderman. (I know I’ve heard of you.) OK. I’m the only reform candidate in this race.”

The woman invites him inside to warm up. Aftab and a supporter stand in the front hallway under a high ceiling.

Salman Aftab/Voter: “I want your vote to go in the City Council, and I can fight against corruption. And, sorry, go ahead. (I was just going to say, I’m all for public officials who want to fight corruption, and I’m sick of it too.) Right, exactly.”

All three challengers claim Stone’s supporters intimidate and pressure voters. Stone denies he’s directed anyone to do this.

Berny Stone: “If I’ve helped you, and I’ve asked you to put my sign up, do you think it’s wrong for me to ask you to put my sign up, and I’ve helped you? I don’t think that’s wrong.”

His opponents say residents are being prodded to remove signs that support his challengers.

Berny Stone/Lynette Kalsnes: “Well that’s tough. Tough. (Is that happening?) I don’t know if it’s happening. But if it is, I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

In the ward, there’s widespread concern Stone is planning to run for office and retire, so his daughter can replace him, the same way several other officials have. But he says he has no intention of leaving office.

Berny Stone: “I’m running for re-election primarily because there are so many things I haven’t completed, and I want to complete. And quite frankly, I like being alderman. I like working with people, and I like helping people.”
Stone thinks he’s done a good job, and he’s confident he’ll win.

But UIC’s Dick Simpson says Stone is vulnerable this time around. And he doesn’t really think this race is about ethnicity or religion.

Dick Simpson: “I think the election in the 50th Ward is primarily a contest between old politics and new politics. It’s whether the old-style machine aldermen like Berny Stone, who really represent the 20th Century, are still dominant, and that’s still the style of politics Chicagoans want.”

Simpson is predicting a run-off. And he thinks Stone will lose. But he says the struggle will be titanic.

I’m Lynette Kalsnes, Chicago Public Radio.