Just three years ago independents, radicals, and libertarians up in Logan Square were howling with triumph. It wasn’t so much that their candidate, former Park District supervisor and YMCA head Rey Colon, had been elected alderman of the 35th Ward. It was that his opponent, Vilma Colom, the scourge of many local activists, had been bounced by a margin so commanding that her enemies figured she’d crawl away in shame.
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A onetime schoolteacher, she morphed from college radical to right-wing Republican, running for city clerk on the Republican ticket in 1991, to mainstream Democrat. In 1995 Colom was elected alderman with the backing of 33rd Ward alderman Richard Mell, her political mentor. Once in office she proved to be arrogant, imperious, condescending, and rude–and that’s how friends describe her. Perhaps she figured that, with Mell and Mayor Daley behind her, she couldn’t be defeated no matter what she did (and, true enough, she beat Colon the first time he ran against her, in 1999). Colom didn’t bother to try to ingratiate herself with constituents. In her own words: she was an “antipolitician.” She seemed to enjoy keeping people waiting, standing them up, or telling them exactly what they didn’t want to hear.
By 2003 Colom had made so many enemies in the ward that Colon had scores of volunteers in almost every precinct. “She disenfranchised the community to such a point that I only lost 6 of 35 precincts on Election Day,” says Colon.
“Yes,” Colom says. “I’m with the community regardless of what any people want.”
They met a few days later at Hilary’s Urban Eatery on Division. At the time Colon was gearing up to run against Colom for the 35th Ward Democratic committeeman’s slot. “I brought along [longtime Mell aide] Chuck Lamonto,” says Colom. “I said, ‘Rey, I lost fair and square–I want to work with you. Whatever you need help with I’ll help you with,’ I said. ‘I’m even going to give you my committeeman spot–I won’t run for reelection. I only want you to have a press conference to let people know we’re working together.’ He promised to call me back. He never called me back. And for the next year and a half he attacked me. He slammed me for everything in the community.”
He says Ramos is well qualified for the job, and that it’s premature to talk about the two projects on Milwaukee. “We’re a long way from deciding any of these issues,” says Colon. “There will be many meetings, and all the residents will get a chance to speak.”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Robert Drea.
