Jeff Boarini roused himself from his first full night of sleep in forever.
Moments before 7 a.m. Saturday, the sole challenger to Mayor Daniel Biss awoke. No alarms. And so much light. The nearly eight hours he slept marked his longest slumber since his April 1 election defeat.
Later that morning, Boarini sat inside his narrow but airy home in a central Evanston condominium complex. He remembered what used to keep him up late during the campaign, when he’d get as few as four hours of sleep.
“Where it really affected me, I think, was in my concession speech,” Boarini said. “Between trying to process the loss, I just don’t think — I was not as energetic as I would’ve hoped to be at that moment.”
He also pondered, with more excitement, everything he’d achieved.
Despite garnering less than 40% of the vote, according to preliminary totals, the political newcomer and his closest supporters said he gave a voice to those who didn’t have one. In a matter of months, Boarini said he quickly cultivated a “resonance with residents” — using, his confidants told The Daily, a disarming humility.
The loss closed the door on many possibilities for Boarini: that perhaps he could topple a well-heeled incumbent who’d garnered endorsements from the likes of Gov. JB Pritzker. That perhaps he could boost accountability directly from the mayor’s office.
One dream lives on.
That perhaps, through all those restless days and nights, something lasting came into being.
“Even knowing the difficulties, knowing the hard work, even knowing the outcome, I’d do it all again,” Boarini said.
Making a voice last
Ahead of Boarini’s October 2024 filing that opened his campaign, the 34-year Evanston resident mulled over his potential entry into the highly personal world of city politics.
He discussed his options with Ald. Clare Kelly (1st), his romantic partner, who recounted those early conversations during which Boarini could sum up hours of complex political discourse in four sentences.
“He was always able to really just cut through the chase, cut through it all, the political sort of web, and synthesize really quickly,” Kelly told The Daily. “It was really amazing.”
Kelly said she didn’t try to persuade Boarini to run, but she recognized his potential. He “effortlessly or innately just sees good in everybody,” she said.
And so did Ezra Shevick, who eventually helped coach Boarini through his campaign. He met Boarini during those formative days. Shevick had announced a run for the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education.
“I could tell from just our one interaction that he was sharp,” Shevick said. “He cared a lot about Evanston.”
When Shevick dropped out from the District 65 race, Boarini reached out. He wanted his help.
The once-quiet campaign kicked into high gear as the new year dawned. Boarini staked out his skeptical stance on Envision Evanston 2045, a sweeping plan to overhaul city policy pushed by Biss. He seized on comments by the mayor, who said that he saw it as “immoral” not to adopt the plan swiftly.
Soon, Boarini would need to make his case in front of audiences around the city. That’s where Shevick came in.
Aside from sending Boarini pointers and research, Shevick sat with Boarini in his kitchen, working through questions on the issues for hours, multiple days at a time. The discussions revealed Boarini’s engagement and personal connections with Evanston, the campaign coach added.
During some of those events Boarini prepared for, he came face-to-face with his opponent. Biss and Boarini would exchange smiles and handshakes, but their divergent visions for the city sometimes revealed themselves through occasional barbs between the two men.
At a Feb. 9 forum, Boarini complained about how Biss wielded his mayoral power. Biss snapped back at Boarini, chastising him for a “snide attack.” At another forum, Biss criticized Boarini for staying mum about what the mayor saw as an “obvious conflict of interest” in having a romantic partner on City Council.
Boarini had to navigate how to address both Biss and the mayor’s critics, sometimes at his own peril. After the Feb. 9 forum, he apologized to Biss for some of his digs. And more broadly, Boarini worried about his occasional gaffe — a concern he now thinks he pondered too much.
When asked about what kept him up during the oft-restless campaign, Boarini joked that The Daily’s stories did. More earnestly, he continued, he’d mull over what he saw as gaps in his team: not having enough people to keep his bid humming.
Beyond all of Boarini’s worries, though, something became resolutely manifest to him and his confidants as the April 1 showdown neared.
“He changed the conversation that was happening in Evanston,” Shevick said.
‘An act of compassion’
The election night results swiftly ended Boarini’s bid.
Around 8 p.m. April 1, as Boarini’s campaign hosted his supporters at his Davis Street office, Biss’ resounding win already became clear.
“I could handle losing, but we were hoping that it had been somewhat closer,” Boarini said.
Soon, Boarini got a text from Biss. The mayor messaged Boarini that he’d speak at 8:30 p.m.
“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll call you,” Boarini remembers responding.
Over at Biss’ jubilant bash at a Central Street eatery, the mayor opened his victory speech by lauding Boarini’s concession call as “collegial” and pledging to work together.
Downtown, Boarini meanwhile consoled his supporters, pledging to carry their energy forward. He called on them to keep the mayor accountable. Then he closed on a high note.
“Let’s let the party begin.”
That sort of levity has stood out to his confidants throughout the campaign. Even as it came to a brisk close, and while Biss garnered a healthy lead, Boarini’s supporters credited his comedic zingers and upbeat approach to fomenting a lasting movement.
Shevick said he thinks the campaign could’ve given more depth to Boarini’s policy vision, aside from broadcasting its qualms with the city’s direction. Yet any reflection on his campaign would not come without praise for the man behind it.
Over the course of the campaign, Shevick said he witnessed Boarini reveal a “difficult attribute in politics”: humility. Indeed, Boarini’s emotional verve seemed manifest from the early days.
“He really rose to that occasion to do what he felt was like an act of compassion, really for our community,” Kelly said. “When you have people feeling really frustrated and dismissed, he agreed to take it on. That impressed me.”
Kelly, who secured another City Council term, recounted the effort and time the couple spent campaigning for their respective races. Valentine’s Day came and went. Boarini and Kelly decided to hold off on celebrating — until later in April, when they’ll head off to Florida.
Not long after he awoke Saturday, Boarini sent out a lengthy missive to his team, to whom he recounted the campaign against Biss. How they “made him work for it.” How he felt “forever in debt” to every member of his team.
Then he closed with his typical flair:
“I owe you each a beer. Or a case. Redeemable anytime.”
Hedy Cohen had already taken him up.
Boarini’s former neighbor helped coordinate events during his campaign. On Friday night, Boarini returned some things to Cohen.
They drank one of them, a bottle of wine.
“He’s a man of his word,” she said with a laugh.
Email: shungraves2027@u.northwestern.edu
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