Chicago Alderman Robert Fioretti said Tuesday that he will not run for mayor after surgery two weeks ago revealed he has tonsil cancer.
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CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Alderman Robert Fioretti said Tuesday that he will not run for mayor after surgery two weeks ago revealed he has tonsil cancer.
Fioretti said at a news conference that his prognosis is "great" and that he still plans to run for re-election as alderman. But he said he will have to undergo seven weeks of radiation treatment and chemotherapy three times beginning later this month, and suggested that running for mayor would be too physically taxing.
"Running for election in what I call my backyard, the 2nd ward, is a lot different than running for mayor of the city of Chicago in all 50 wards," he said.
Fioretti, who had planned to officially announce his intention to run for mayor after his tonsillectomy, said the campaign was going well. He said volunteers had collected about 30,000 signatures — just under three times the number required to qualify for next February’s ballot. He also said supporters had committed $2.5 million to $3 million for his run.
Fioretti is the second presumed candidate in a week to announce his decision not to run to succeed the retiring Mayor Richard Daley. Last week, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, widely believed to be one of the favorites in the race, said he would not run, saying he did not want to put his family through a tough campaign or take a job that would require him to put in 16-hour work days.
Others who have said they are not running are Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., and Luis Gutierrez.
Among those who have announced their candidacy or are considering running for mayor in February are former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago school board president Gery Chico, state senators James Meeks and Rickey Hendon, City Clerk Miguel Del Valle and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun.
Moseley Braun, who has not officially declared her candidacy, announced this week she has hired as a senior adviser a one-time top aide to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Louanner Peters was deputy governor under Blagojevich for two years. Peters has been deputy chief of staff to Rep. Bobby Rush since April, according to a news release from Moseley Braun.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
