Fancy political footwork

33rd Ward Alderman and Democratic Committeeman Richard Mell backed former Mayoral Chief of Staff John Schmidt in the 1998 Democratic primary for Governor. On the last weekend of the campaign, he switched his support to Congressman Glenn Poshard and delivered the 33rd ward for his new choice by a large margin.

Poshard won the primary, buoyed by his downstate base and Machine support in Chicago, but he lost the general election to Republican Secretary of State George Ryan.

Mell's defection in the primary was not viewed by others as a double-cross since he had jumped to the winning side.  It was seen as a smart move.