CHICAGO (CBS 2) - The attack ad against 32nd Ward Alderman Ted Matlak takes a cue from the Obama/Clinton ads that got millions of hits on popular Web site YouTube.
As CBS 2's Derrick Blakely reports, the producer of the ad is an angry resident.
The YouTube video sums up the case against longtime alderman Matlak (pictured), to the delight of his 36-year-old challenger Scott Waguespack.
“I thought it encapsulated what's happening in this ward just perfectly,” Waguespack said.
The ward is undergoing rapid change. Upscale development, some charge, is out of scale to the old neighborhood, and they blame Matlak.
“What we're trying to do is manage that growth and keep what's best of the old and build the best buildings possible for the future,” Matlak said.
But his challenger and detractors don’t agree with him.
“It's been runaway development that has no input from neighbors, no input from residents,” Waguespack said.
Critcs charge Matlack has put the interest of developers ahead of residents, while accepting more than $300,000 in developers’ contributions.
“I take campaign contributions from people who like what we're doing in this ward. Most of them are residents or businesses here,” Matlack said.
Waguespack is campaigning aggressively door to door, claiming Matlak has been unresponsive to residents, but the alderman takes credit for improvements like new playgrounds and a new library.
And as for the negative video, Matlak insists he has not seen it.
“I have other things to do,” he said.
For his part, Waguespack says he is not behind the video and has never met the producers.
Meantime, Mayor Richard M. Daley and several North Side aldermen are pouring in money and manpower to help Matlak, who is part of the old organization once run by Congressman Dan Rostenkowski.
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