Why We Run: Daniel La Spata
Election Day in the Windy City is right around the corner, and we’d like to introduce you to one of our endorsed candidates in the race for Chicago City Council. Daniel La Spata is a long-time community activist in Chicago’s 1st Ward, where has been an advocate for affordable housing and helped pass legislation to protect renters in foreclosing properties. Now, Daniel is running for alderman to help keep housing affordable for working families.
What’s the problem you’d like to solve by running for office?
There truly are so many problems that are facing my ward, but I think the biggest thing is stopping the displacement of families from my community. Almost all of the neighborhoods of the 1st Ward are under profound pressure from gentrification — from the demolition of existing housing to corrupted zoning and development policies.
Since 2011, we’ve lost about 3,000 low income households. We see that reflected in our schools being disenrolled, and in our neighbors moving away. The impact is profound.
Was there a specific incident that led you to decide to run?
About four years ago, there was a new development going up in the 1st Ward. It was a multi-story luxury housing development that no one thought was really in line with the community’s interests, and it was really being rammed through.
Community groups in the ward collected over 3,000 petition signatures asking for one more community meeting that actually felt deliberative, and that actually showed responsiveness.
We went to the alderman’s office. We handed him a stack of petition sheets as thick as the phone book. He set them aside so casually, like it was nothing. He thanked us for our time, but said that the deal was already moving forward. We found out later that the developer had contributed thousands of dollars to his campaign fund.
After that, I saw a lot of dejectedness and hopelessness. When people get to the point that they don’t feel like the democratic process or community power building is worth participating in anymore, you have a fundamental breakdown. I felt that I needed to take the necessary steps to bring new leadership to my ward.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about running?
Think very deeply with a lot of people outside of yourself about why you want to run, because it should never be because you want to be popular, or you want more Twitter followers or Facebook friends. Do it because there’s something undeniable in you that says, “I need to serve my community. I need to lead.” You have to understand the stakes very deeply.
I would also say start planning it out as far in advance as you can. I say this as a runner who’s done some marathons — fundraising requires some very specific social muscles. You do not learn how to exercise those muscles in a day. It takes a lot of practice, lots of one on ones, lots of phone calls, lots of door knocking to learn how to develop those skills. A year or two out, find ways to start practicing, so that when you get into the campaign, you’ll be ready to knock on 60–70–80 doors a day.
Do you have a favorite quote?
Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not.”
We need elected officials who live into that imagination — that political, moral, and social imagination — for an entirely different world. Because if all you can see is the present, particularly in a city like Chicago that is so profoundly corrupt and deeply segregated, almost down to our DNA, you can get trapped by that reality.
You have to be willing and able to imagine narratives, policies, and cultures that have never existed — because that imagination is the beginning of hope. Imagination + hope + power is how you change the world. That is what we’re trying to do here in Chicago right now.
To find out more about Daniel’s campaign, check out his website: http://daniellaspata.com/
