The race to represent the affluent 43rd Ward encompassing Lincoln Park and part of the Gold Coast was among the most heated aldermanic contests this cycle.
Ald. Timmy Knudsen was appointed to the seat by Mayor Lori Lightfoot only about six months ago following the retirement of three-term incumbent Ald. Michele Smith. Facing a challenge from lifelong ward resident Brian Comer, the head of the Sheffield Neighborhood Association, Knudsen led Comer on election night with 51.7% of the vote with 100% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial results.
Knudsen told a crowd at the Blue Door Farm Stand he was “humbled to have been appointed to this position as the first LGBTQ Alderman of the 43rd Ward” and was proud to have been elected “to serve our community for the next four years.”
Comer did not concede Tuesday night, however. In a statement, he said he remained “cautiously optimistic as the votes are tallied. It may take days or weeks before we know the final vote totals, but I am humbled and honored at the show of support by the residents of the 43rd ward.”
The two were the top finishers in a six-way race in February. The expensive and divisive first round featured political insiders sharply divided over endorsements, one candidate spending $750,000 of her own money and accusations of bullying and sign stealing.
Knudsen, an attorney, ended up with 27% of the vote to Comer’s 24%. He and two of Lightfoot’s other council appointees were pushed into runoffs. A fourth lost.
A consultant in the renewable energy sector, Comer argued Knudsen was only in the runoff after being “gifted” the seat by Lightfoot, who also appointed Knudsen to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals. Comer also argued Knudsen was not adequately addressing a rise in crime in the area.
Knudsen has punched back, saying Comer spread fear and misinformation in the wake of a tussle in which a police officer’s gun fired as the officer was trying to make an arrest. That officer wasn’t hit, but Comer initially reported he was shot and hospitalized in stable condition.
In the weeks following the February election, Knudsen won endorsements from all of the ward’s previous aldermen dating back to 1971, as well as from two of his former opponents.