Page 36 - FOP Magazine March 2019

RALLY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35
And it’s not just her vow to be the financial watchdog the city needs or the fact that she is the only candidate in the race with an MBA that merits police officers helping to get out the vote for her during the next few weeks. She says being a problem-solver is one of her greatest attributes, and there is a problem Con- years-Ervin wants to attack as soon she gets elected.
“When I think about the workers and the pensions they were promised, that’s a financial contract between employers and employees,” she confirmed. “I will be on the pension board to make certain I am advocating for the workers who were prom- ised those pensions. That will require investing the city funds properly to get the greatest return on our dollars.”
By the time they turned out the lights in the FOP Hall on Feb. 20, the rally might have been over. But the political action for the combined force of Lodge 7 and Local 2 members was just getting started. The fruits of their` labor began blooming within a week.
With the election of Gardiner to join Taliaferro, Napolitano and Sposato in the council, Sposato anticipates even more first responders stepping up to run for office four years from now. Gardiner related how the morning after the election, people in his ward were high-fiving him at the train station and stopping their cars to get out and give him a hug.
“People connected to first responders, married to first re- sponders, children of first responders,” he said. “This was a win for a lot of people who respect the work of first responders.”
Looking back on what the night meant, Napolitano offered words that could become a campaign slogan for cops and fire- fighters. Or a hashtag.
“We’re on the rise,” he announced.
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2019