Lopez was one of the earlier candidates to announce he would challenge Lori Lightfoot for mayor before reversing those plans.
Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th Ward, announces his run for mayor in April. Southwest Side Ald. Raymond Lopez is dropping out of the race for Chicago mayor and instead will seek re-election to the City Council, he announced Monday.
Lopez, who is in his second term representing Back of the Yards, Brighton Park and West Englewood, has been a frequent Lightfoot critic and launched a long shot bid to succeed her earlier this year.While Lopez has been a vigorous campaigner, visiting neighborhoods throughout the city, he has not been able to raise as much money as some of his rivals. Aldermen rarely announce runs for mayor, in large part because they cannot run for reelection and pursue the city’s top job at the same time. In this cycle, though, two other aldermen have also declared a challenge to Lightfoot: Roderick Sawyer and Sophia King. Lopez said his decision was “for the good of the city” because “a crowded field only serves to benefit the mayor. Lightfoot must be defeated to save Chicago.”At a news conference Monday, Lopez said declined to endorse another candidate but contended Chicagoans are “tired of the gaslighting” and “virtue signaling.”Lopez has been one of the city’s most prominent aldermen since getting elected in 2015. Since 2019, Lopez has feuded with Lightfoot and accused her of being negative, petty and vindictive — traits that some of Lopez’s critics say he shares. Lightfoot, in turn, has accused Lopez of “carrying water for” indicted Ald. Ed Burke, Lopez’s ward neighbor and ally. In previous elections, Lopez has pushed back efforts to defeat him by progressive groups and generated a reputation as one of the council’s most conservative members, particularly on crime. After a mass shooting in Brighton Park, Lopez said he was thankful “that no innocent lives were lost” and called out members of the community for what he said was their complicity in the violence, drawing intense criticism from some residents. Still, he has been tough to beat in the 15th Ward, which he will seek to represent for another four years.
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