WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who in January tried to quash stories about a future Chicago mayoral bid, on Monday put his interest in City Hall on the record: “One day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago.”
Emanuel made his comment on the ”Charlie Rose” show, taped in Manhattan.
After damping talk about a mayoral run in January, Rose resurrected the issue when he asked Emanuel what other government jobs he would be interested in if he left the White House.
“I hope Mayor Daley seeks re-election. I will work and support him if he seeks re-election,” said Emanuel, 50. “But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the City of Chicago. That’s always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives.”
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who in January tried to quash stories about a future Chicago mayoral bid, on Monday put his interest in City Hall on the record: “One day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago.”
Emanuel made his comment on the ”Charlie Rose” show, taped in Manhattan.
After damping talk about a mayoral run in January, Rose resurrected the issue when he asked Emanuel what other government jobs he would be interested in if he left the White House.
“I hope Mayor Daley seeks re-election. I will work and support him if he seeks re-election,” said Emanuel, 50. “But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the City of Chicago. That’s always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives.”
Mayor Daley — who will be 68 on Saturday, in his 20th year overseeing City Hall — has not yet made an announcement about running for another term. The mayoral election is next February, and Daley is expected to seek re-election.
Emanuel is trying to set the stage as his logical successor. Though he would have tremendous fund-raising ability, Emanuel would also have some competition.
“That makes him one of many who aspire to the same goal. It is a laudable aspiration,” Daley spokeswoman Jackie Heard said Monday.
Emanuel has pledged to serve as President Obama’s chief of staff to the end of the year, and has signaled that could be extended if Obama asked him. Emanuel moved his family — wife Amy and three children — to Washington last year and enrolled his kids in local schools.
Emanuel gave up a safe House seat — and a path to one day possibly being House speaker — when Obama tapped him for chief of staff.
Gossip about Emanuel’s future was first triggered Jan. 5 when Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn wrote that “Emanuel is said to have told people that the chief-of-staff role is an 18-month job and that he is considering a run for mayor of Chicago.”