Washington's successor

In the days following the death of Mayor Harold Washington in 1987, several Aldermen expressed their desire to win City Council appointment as the new Mayor. Ald. Timothy Evans (4th) and Ald. Eugene Sawyer (6th) emerged as the two major contenders.

Both were Democratic Ward Committeemen who had been part of the Machine but had supported Washington’s election because they felt it was essential for their political survival. Evans represented South Kenwood and part of heavily Independent Hyde Park. Sawyer’s ward included the Independent-minded communities of Chatham and Park Manor.

Evans, who had served as Mayor Washington’s Council floor leader, was supported in his quest by the progressive Council members, Sawyer by the Machine stalwarts.

Sawyer was known to be soft-spoken and hesitant. At a meeting where he appeared to be backing down, one of his supporters nudged him and screamed, “Stand up, man!” Some people claim Sawyer didn’t want to win on the strength of the White vote. Others say he just wasn’t very assertive.

Well, the Council appointed Sawyer to serve as Mayor until the special election in 1989. He lost the Democratic Primary that year to Cook County State’s Attorney Richard M. Daley, son of a previous mayor, and Evans lost in the general election that same year, running as the candidate of the “Harold Washington Party.”