By Ray Hanania
Nearly 800 people from every ethnicity and political background packed Gibsons in Oak Brook on Thursday night to support Chris Getty’s candidacy for Congress in the 4th District.
Getty, a Democrat and the mayor of the Village of Lyons, is running in the Nov. 3 General Election to succeed Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who held the seat for eight years, since 2019.
An avowed independent, Garcia betrayed the progressive movement and pulled a “Machine” stunt when he waited till the last minute to announce he would not seek re-election and orchestrated the filing of his Chief of Staff, Patty Garcia, to be the only Democratic candidate in the race.
Responding to district and Democratic Party outrage over Garcia’s sellout, Getty announced his candidacy as an “Independent,” vowing to do what Garcia failed to do: make the 4th District the priority.
“I’m asking you to do more than support a campaign. I’m asking you to help build a different kind of politics, one that puts people over party, one that values results over rhetoric, one that remembers who government actually works for. Because if we build this together, we won’t just win an election. We’ll send a message that this district refuses to settle for politics as usual, a message that representation is earned and not handed down, a message that the American dream is still alive, and a message that no political party will ever be more important than the people it is supposed to serve,” Getty said to cheers.
“If I ever have to choose between pleasing a political party and fighting for the people of this district, you already know my answer. I’ll choose you. Because this seat doesn’t belong to a political party. It belongs to the people. Yeah. This is our district. This is our movement. And our time is now. Thank you. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.”
Getty said his commitment is to support the best policies and programs to address the needs of district residents.
“If the best idea comes from a Democrat, I’ll support it. If the best idea comes from a Republican, I’ll support it. If it comes from neither, I’ll say so. Because I didn’t choose a party, I chose this district, and I’ll choose this district every single time,” Getty said.
“After 17 years as mayor, here’s what I can tell you. People don’t bring partisan problems to the village hall. Nobody has ever walked into my office asking for a Republican pothole to be filled. Nobody has ever asked for a Democratic police officer to respond to an emergency. Nobody has ever, ever asked me whether a firetruck votes red or blue. People simply want their government to work. They want leaders who show up, leaders who listen, and leaders who solve problems.”
Getty drew strong endorsements from an array of Chicagoland elected officials and politicians, and the endorsements of several celebrity personalities, including former Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, who also served in New York and New Jersey, and Krist Novoselic, the co-founder and bass player with the mega-band Nirvana, who is actively engaged in supporting third-party candidates to address American voter needs.
Alderman Raymond Lopez, who ran for the seat four years ago, was also a moving speaker who stressed that Getty is what the district needs to move forward with programs and policies to help homeowners and businesses there.
The national anthem was presented by Chicago Police Officer Kenyatta Gaines, following an inspiring opening performance by the Shannon Rovers.
“I’m here today on behalf of the six communities that I represent, five of which are in this district, to say that we will stand in strong support of our candidate for Congress, Chris Getty, so we can have representation that reflects our values, our families, and our country,” Lopez said.
“The 4th District isn’t just a suburban district. It isn’t just a city district. It spans both, and it’s tilted, in fact, more towards the suburbs. And I think there’s one or two suburban leaders in here tonight who are anxious to see representation lead from the suburbs and help the city out. We can do this together. We have to do this together because we cannot continue to allow our politics to be co-opted by people who think it’s their birthright to have this position.”
Former Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy (2011-15) praised Getty’s “proven leadership skills” in the 4th District, who reflects the ideals of leaders he has served with in the past.
“All of those good traits of leadership that I talked about, whether it’s John Boccieri, Ray Kelly, Mike Bloomberg, Cory Booker, Rudy Giuliani, all of these traits you have, Chris. You have the inspirational leadership that you can bring to this chaos in our country right now is super important to all of us, Chris,” McCarthy said.
Nirvana co-founder and activist for independent political causes Krist Novoselic said an independent can win in November.
“I’m excited about Chris Getty. My wife Darbury and I flew out here for the event. Chris has great experience. He just works. He does the job. He’s proven himself as somebody you can depend on, who works for the people and works for his constituency, and that’s what we really want,” Novoselic said, noting the national Democratic Party has not championed its founding principles.
“I was the chair of the Democrats, and I was active until about 2009. Coming out of the working class, I gravitated towards the Democrats, and I don’t recognize the Democrats these days. It’s not a party of the working class. I’m not a Republican. So tonight I’m here to support Chris Getty and be positive. I have Democratic friends, and I love them. I have Republican friends, and I love them, too. And so this is an invitation to come and join us and support an independent candidate who can win.”
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