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| 11/15/2009 | Email this article • Print this article | Structure of 5th Ward questioned
Jessica Maher
Reporter
Mark Capone ran for 5th Ward Alderman this year to try and bring some attention, and representation, back to the East End.
"There is no real representation on the East End throughout the city, whether it's the ward alderman or the city council in general," he said.
Capone proved unsuccessful against incumbent alderman Richard Leggiero, a South Side resident. Though Leggiero maintains that he has equally represented constituents on both sides of the river, some have called to question the structure of the 5th Ward and the entire ward system.
"The worst thing the city did was to lump us in with the South Side," said Alex Torres. "That needs to be changed immediately."
The areas have different needs, said Torres, who compared the situation to a constituent in Highland and Holland Gardens being representing by an alderman who lives on Guy Park Avenue.
Leggiero didn't say he'd be open to a change in ward structure, but does think the East End's unique problems need more community involvement.
"The area is just maybe demanding of someone maybe taking a bull by its horns down there," he said.
Mayor Ann Thane thinks there shouldn't be an alderman for the East End, South Side or any other neighborhood.
"I think we should be going to the five aldermen at large, because everyone should have the interest of the East End," she said. "We should all be concerned about all of the wards ... we're too small for this territorialism."
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Contact Jessica Maher at jessica.maher@recordernews.com
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