-- CHICAGO
It seems no one was expecting that result. Not even the candidate himself. But after the last ballot was counted Feb. 22, Ameya Pawar, a 30-year-old program assistant in Northwestern University's Office of Emergency Management, was declared elected from the city's 47th Ward with a decisive 51 percent of the vote. The win makes him the first Indian-American to be elected to the Chicago City Council.
Pawar, who had run a low-key campaign, going door to door and explaining his platform to voters, defeated Tom O’Donnell, the candidate who had been endorsed by outgoing Alderman Gene Schulter. As a result, his surprise win made headlines and reporters scrambled to interview him.
He told the Chicago Sun-Times he was “speechless” that he did so well. “I hadn’t planned for this moment,” he said. “Up until four weeks ago, it was just five or six of us knocking on every door. ... The community really got behind us.”
"It is amazing. It was really amazing," Pawar told ABC7 after the election results were declared.
Though he had worked hard on his campaign, Pawar hadn't prepared a victory speech or a celebration with his supporters. At an impromptu event at a bowling alley whose owners are among his supporters, he thanked all those who had worked for him.
“In the last four weeks, we went from a small four-person organization to hundreds of you,” he was quoted as saying in the Center Square Journal, an online publication.
The son of Indian immigrant parents, Pawar was born and raised in the Chicago area. He has been quoted as saying in news reports that he stands on the shoulders of other prominent Indian-Americans, as well as his parents and grandparents. The Indian-American community is rejoicing in Pawar's win.
"We are proud of Ameya Pawar's accomplishment as an alderman for the 47th Ward," Pinky Kaur, a Chicago area resident, told News India Times.
James Pappachen, a member of Pan-Asian Voter Empowerment, noted that Pawar would be a voice for the community on the city council. Rahm Emanuel won his mayoral bid with the support of white, African-American, Latino and Asian-American voters, he noted. The mayor-elect now faces the challenge of ensuring all of these groups have a seat at the public policy table.
"Luckily, he will have Ameya Pawar, the first Indian- and Asian-American alderman in Chicago history, to keep his feet to the fire," Pappachen told News India Times.
Others , too, have been showering praise on the once-unknown Pawar.
Kyle Hillman, a social media political consultant, discussed an encounter with Pawar on his blog on The Huffington Post. "If you saw his staff, you would hardly believe that this group pulled one of the greatest of upsets last night. His field director is a large, bearded man with an infectious laugh and a stand-out-of-the-limelight demeanor. His baby-faced treasurer made you want to ask if he was even old enough to open a checking account. They weren't your normal political players, but they were so much more effective because of it."
In an article titled "Fresh Faces" the Chicago Tribune had this to say: "Few aldermanic candidates who met with the Tribune editorial board during this campaign impressed us as much as Pawar, who says the part-time aldermen should slash their salaries and—gasp!—give up their pension benefits. He earned this victory through hustle. He'll go to the council with a lot of ideas about efficient government."
Pawar has no dearth of ideas. "The City’s financial outlook is grim. We are headed towards bankruptcy unless we make some fundamental changes," he says on his website. "That means that aldermen must look at ways to streamline services, reduce waste and utilize technology to ensure services are responsive today, durable tomorrow and sustainable for future generations."
He has also announced that he will serve only two terms and will donate $50,000 of his salary to help offset the city's deficit or offer community grants.
The alderman-elect has already gotten down to work. According to the Center Square Journal, he has had his first phone conversation with Mayor-elect Emanuel. “He just said that he wants to help me be the best alderman I can be and that he looks forward to working with me and I look forward to working with Rahm Emanuel,” Pawar was quoted as saying.
While Pawar has been in the limelight since his win, another Indian-American candidate who was running for Chicago City Council, did not fare as well. Ahmed Khan, who was seeking election from the 50th Ward, lost his bid. Incumbent Alderman Bernard Stone, the council's second-longest serving member who narrowly won in a runoff contest four years ago, is locked in another tight election battle with rival Debra Silverstein. A runoff in April will decide the winner.
