Gordon, Moore Turf War

In Tuesday's election, incumbent alderman Joe Moore took 49.33%, or 3,657 votes of the total votes cast. Don Gordon received 29.16%, or 2,162 votes. Sadly, only 7,414 votes were cast in the entire ward. Moore received 1,495 more votes than did Gordon. That is a significant number.

Ginderske and Adams combined received about 22% of the vote. Translation: More than 1 in 5 voters did not vote for Gordon or Moore. The low turnout (roughly 1/3 of the registered voters in the 49th) is not a good sign. By the time of the run-off election on April 17, many people who voted two days ago will be bored with the process or so frustrated with the choice between Gordon and Moore that the turnout will be even lower than it was on Feb. 27. Low voter turnout almost always works in the incumbent's favor.

There were 1,595 voters who did not vote for Gordon or Moore (Ginderske 939 and Adams 656). Remember that Moore got 1,495 more votes than did Gordon. We cannot assume that the Ginderske/Adams votes will go for Gordon. Some will, many will not. There are those who would not be able to vote for Gordon or Moore based on a garden variety of issues and principles, and many will simply not vote because of boredom, burnout, apathy or the distraction of the onset of spring. The point is that neither Gordon nor Moore can take even one of those votes for granted. Neither Ginderske nor Adams carried a single ward (see map below). However, both Gordon and Moore are actively courting the support of Adams and of Ginderske by phone calls and personal visits. There has been a flurry of backroom activity within the past 38 hours.

If Don Gordon is serious about beating Joe Moore in April, he needs to study the issues. Say what you will about Moore, he is good in a debate. Don Gordon is intelligent enough, but unfortunately not well informed enough at this point to effectively debate Joe Moore. Although time is short, it is theoretically possible for Gordon to cram, if you will, for his finals. Let us hope he has a good set of flash cards and a patient tutor.

For a full breakdown of the precinct numbers, see this chart. See the map shown above for a detailed geographical view of the Gordon-Moore turf war.