Chicago News Coop: Another Son of a Mayor Takes a Run at Office

This article is referring to Roderick Sawyer who is the son of Eugene Sawyer, former Mayor and also former 6th Ward Alderman before he became mayor in 1987. That wasn't long after the death of Mayor Harold Washington

Roderick Sawyer, son of Mr. Daley’s predecessor, Eugene Sawyer, has his eye on his father’s old City Council seat in the 6th Ward of the city’s South Side. He said he will need at least $150,000 to beat the incumbent, Alderman Freddrenna Lyle, and six other candidates.

To help reach that benchmark, Mr. Sawyer said, he is seeking support from the Illinois Merchants Association and from Roland Burris, the former United States senator, whose legal defense fund included Mr. Sawyer, a lawyer, as a trustee.

“I know that if I called him for advice, he’d give it to me,” Mr. Sawyer said of Mr. Burris, who joined Eugene Sawyer’s ward organization in the late 1970s. “Am I expecting a check from him? Yeah, I’m expecting a check from him. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t want to put him in a situation because I know he has a relationship with the current alderman, but he’s a friend.” 

The former US Senator says this about Sawyer:

“I’m sure there are people who remember his father fondly,” Mr. Burris said. “Some of the old-timers will have an allegiance to Roderick.”

This is what Mr. Sawyer says about his father. Having been too young to understand the political situation after Washington's death I've read that it was pretty tense. That's indicated in this article:

“They turned their backs on him,” he said. “There was a lot of misinformation going on right after Harold Washington died. Because my dad got along with other people on the other side, there was some perception that he was, as they were saying, an ‘Uncle Tom,’ which was the furthest thing from the truth.” 

Mr. Sawyer also says that he used to be a DJ for his father's campaign events and that he learned a lot about Chicago politics from his father.

Read the whole thing!

At least I beat Early and Often in sharing this story. :P