Mayoral challenger Dorothy Brown has released a statement expressing her disappointment with Sen. Barack Obama’s Jan. 22 endorsement of Mayor Richard Daley.
Brown, the leading candidate facing the incumbent mayor in the Feb. 27 election, acknowledged that Obama did call her in advance of his announcement. Brown said that she ‘cautioned him about making such an endorsement because of how it will appear—especially given the extent of the corruption and scandals plaguing the Daley administration the past 17 years.’
Obama’s endorsement of Daley over two African-American challengers (Brown and Bill ‘Dock’ Walls) underscored the mayor’s political standing despite an ongoing federal corruption investigation of City Hall. Daley has said he will give Obama all the help he can with an expected presidential bid.