More than a dozen hard hats line the shelves of a glass display case at Mayor Lorraine H. Morton’s Civic Center office.
They’re from all the construction sites that Morton has visited during her 12 years as Evanston’s mayor. If she wins a fourth term in the April 5 elections, she’ll have to make room for more.
"I want to spend one more four years of managing the growth of this city so that the citizens are very happy with the direction that we’re going," she said, sitting in an office dotted with photographs, artwork and even a framed napkin from 1946 depicting Evanston’s Fountain Square. "I want to be here because you can’t take away the knowledge that a person has gained."
Morton, a former schoolteacher and Fifth Ward alderman with a master’s degree in education from Northwestern, defeated Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) in 1993 to become the city’s first black mayor. She ran unopposed in 1997 and 2001, but faces a challenge from Evanston lawyer Peter Godwin this year.
"The fact that she didn’t have a challenger is an indication of how strongly she is supported by people in the community," said Emily Guthrie, a former Third Ward alderman who is the treasurer for Morton’s re-election campaign. "She’s done a good enough job that I don’t think anybody needed to step out and challenge her on things."
Morton said she began her public service experience by raising money for an artificial leg for a friend when she was 17. The Winston-Salem, N.C., native who has lived in Evanston since 1953 taught in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and worked on desegregating public schools — both in Evanston and as part of a program in New Albany, Miss.
In a system where the mayor is largely a figurehead, Morton said maintaining good relations with all parcels of Evanston’s political landscape — from NU to the Evanston Chamber of Commerce to the Chicago Transit Authority — is what being mayor is all about.
"It’s essential that the mayor establishes relationships and maintains those relationships," she said. "It has to be a mutual trust and without fakery."
But Godwin has said Evanston needs a different kind of leadership. He charges the city is plagued by inefficient government, financial deficit and costly litigation.
It’s no secret there have been disagreements between Morton and some members of the City Council. Morton said she hopes a new council will be different, even if personal antagonism has made it difficult for aldermen to work together.
"The community has seen it, they don’t want it and they are tired of that lack of civility," she said. "We have to have a council that’s willing to put egos aside and really work to the best interest of the city of Evanston."
Some critics say Morton puts university interests ahead of the city, but she said she is pro-higher education, not pro-NU. To maintain the quality of education, Morton said she understands the university needs to expand.
"I resent those people who malign me by insinuating that I don’t have the objectivity to deal with Northwestern," she said. "If the university remains static, that’s not a good university. It isn’t fulfilling its mission."
To stave off rising property taxes, Morton said the city needs to plan better for emergencies and employee salary raises. Julia Carroll, the new city manager who was hired in January, will help with her financial expertise, she said.
Guthrie, who often shared hotel rooms on official trips with Morton during her aldermanic stint from 1993 to 1997, said the first time she met the mayor was at Morton’s campaign headquarters after her 1993 victory.
"I said, ‘Where is Mayor Morton?’ and someone looked in the back and said, ‘She’s in the back dancing on that desk,’" Guthrie said. "She’s a treat. We should be absolutely delighted that she’s (running again)."
Reach Mike Cherney at [email protected].
