Many laws, rules, and regulations in our society are currently being examined and adjusted from the supreme court to the small business. If I had my way, there would be a standard for candidates running for political office, at least an educational qualification. Right now, anyone can run for public office. There are qualifications for teachers, police officers, firefighters, insurance agents, bus drivers, and the like. But for political office, it is a matter of residency and age. Maybe, just maybe, if we had standards, Donald Trump might not have been President. I’m just saying.
So it is the definite case with mayoral candidate Willie Wilson. He is not fit for the fifth floor as he tries to buy his way into city hall. He has a seventh-grade education and purchased a Ph.D. to cover his educational deficit with a doctor’s title.
His philanthropy is gracious and gives as he observes the need, but is he qualified to run the city? Please. Wilson is on his third run for mayor and will probably lose but might gain votes in a third rating. Willie loves media attention, and political candidacy is a sure way of engaging the media dynamic. The trend in American politics is for billionaires to come forth as candidates or backers. So was the case with former Governor Bruce Rauner, JB Pritzker, and Ken Griffin. Ken just lost a nice bundle with his backing for Richard Irvin, Republican candidate for governor. The money was there, but the message wasn’t.
Willie joins the trend of the rich as he runs a “Robin Hood” type campaign. He has million-dollar giveaways, gas, food, and bikes. His core support comes from small churches where he gives ministers $10,000 and hands out cash to parishioners. His quaint ministerial base is secured by paying for roof, furnace, plumbing repairs, and buying choir robes. Willie is purchasing votes as he postures goodwill in the name of philanthropy. Wilson came in third in the last mayoral campaign, carrying Black wards. The real contribution he made to leverage Lori Lightfoot into office is he prevented the clergy from clamping down on her as a married lesbian. She is applauded for saying it is not about the bedroom, but it’s about the boardroom. After the election, Lightfoot stopped taking Willie’s calls because she said he wanted to dominate City Hall.
Willie’s latest tacit is with the Black press. Because I am Black, I automatically qualify as a member of the Black media since 1989. I am independent and free. These are characteristics beyond Willie’s appreciation. Members of the Black-owned media have come together to join forces as we position advertising and political spending. Members of the coalition are Black media owners.
Recently Wilson hosted a meeting in his home for Black press members to talk about a media buy. Willie never has a campaign office; he runs his operations from home, mainly in the kitchen. Carl West has been the quasi-leader of the group, organizing meetings. Carl was explicitly told not to invite me to the meeting because Willie did not want me in his home. Like I am waiting to go to Willie’s home in the first place. I resent the round-up “nigger type plantation politics“and mainly don’t participate. I might be more amendable if I see candidates meeting simultaneously with the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. But the plantation-style is to call all to a gathering and dispense dollars like we are field hands needing instruction. Usually, the media buy is peanuts. Not for me.
So, back to Willie, one of the most chauvinistic men I have ever met. Willie does not like independent, educated, progressive women. He favors obedience without question. I was not invited to the meeting, but members of the Black press came to see what Master Wilson had to say. He told them he would buy media and wanted to know the price. They will get back to him with a magic number to write excellent articles about him. I will not be included and will not take his dollars for integrity reasons. In my media career as a publisher, I sell advertising, and the only category of money I have refused has been “sex” dollars. And now I add Willie to the don’t take money category.
Willie Wilson is a fool and would do well to use his millions for a speech therapist so that he could be understood. He is an awful communicator. His method is to hire an intelligent person to speak for him, to explain to the press his message. A well-spoken lawyer and a well-spoken minister have fit the bill. Both have been eloquent speakers, and Wilson has paid handsomely for the role. The lawyer has hurt his would-be political aspirations by standing at Willie’s side to explain his mumbles. The minister left town as he was on the presidential campaign trail for Willie and was embarrassed to no end. A well-known, eloquent speaking publicist left Willie, saying, I can’t take it anymore. Willie’s jumbles and mumbles ruined his written speeches. And then there is the case of the former senator who was at Willie’s campaign side and also left because he said Willie had no discipline. These men were overpaid for professional services rendered.
Willie is an unscrupulous person who will do anything to make his point as he projects himself as a moral, humble man. When a question is too hard for his mild intellect, he breaks into song, usually “His Eye on the Sparrow.”
When Rev. Jesse Jackson was running for President, he was out of office at PUSH. Willie seized what he saw as an opportunity to sit in Jackson’s chair at his desk. He financed the organization somewhat. I was invited to a meeting stating that Willie was the new leader and wanted to revive the business division. There were twelve people in the meeting, including two women. Willie shared he was writing letters to major corporations asking that they advertise with his television program, “Singsation.” This is a gospel music program where he is the star singer and other gospel choirs or soloists.
He threatened to boycott the company if they didn’t advertise with the TV program. Willie forged Rev. Jackson’s name on the letters. I spoke to the issue that this was not the way to market his private business. I was harshly scolded because I did not raise my hand, and he had not recognized me.
I immediately called Jackosn, as he was out of town, to say you have a problem brewing, and you should immediately come home to attend to your business before you have an unwarranted headline that you won’t know about. Jackson came home and met with Willie on a Monday morning and was furious as he dismissed Willie. But Willie had made a sizeable donation.
Willie’s ignorance is abrasive. Can you imagine Mayor Wilson’s public policy for the school system, the park district, or the police department? Really. He probably has good ideas but let’s face it, his intellectual abilities are limited. The White mainstream press is very kind to him because, first of all, they barely understand his vocabulary. Still, they tolerate his shenanigans and excessive behaviors because he is Black and fear being called racist. I can’t tell you how often I have had reporters call asking if I could explain Willie. I have said you are on your very own.
I guess the question is can Willie pull it off? Will his donations and philanthropic dollars buy him votes? While his good deeds are massive, they only last for a week. Will the public vote for Willie because of a tank of gas or a bag of groceries? The image projection is he has a significant and kind heart for the little guy, the struggling guy. He is genuinely Robin Hood coming to the rescue.
The debates will kill him with the experienced and accurate politicos. A spokesperson cannot take the discussion questions on his behalf. Perhaps he will host his very own debate and have the Black Press coordinate it.
I have resigned from the Black media organization. This is because I do not qualify for the Willie Wilson money, and I don’t want to go to his house and meet in his Lake Shore kitchen.
Stay woke at all levels with all people at all times.
I will probably get minister calls for this article. Please don’t. I suppose Willie is supplying you greatly. But borrowing a page from Harold Washington’s playbook, take the money and vote for someone who can run the city. Chicago has real problems requiring real solutions, not fool’s play. God bless Chicago.
