Silverstein tops long-time alderman  Stone in 50th Ward runoff

by JASON PORTERFIELD

Debra Silverstein defeated long-time 50th Ward Alderman Bernard Stone in his bid for an 11th term in the April 5 runoff election.

With 100 percent of the vote counted, Silverstein received 5,931, or 61.6 percent of the total cast, to 3,698, or 38.4 percent for Stone, according to early results from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

In the Feb. 22 election, Stone defeated Silverstein, who is married to state Senator Ira Silverstein (D-8), and three other candidates, but was forced into a runoff because he did not receive 50 percent of the vote.

Stone, who was first elected to the City Council in 1973, campaigned on his years of experience as an alderman and his knowledge of the ward, saying that he had not lost his passion for the job.

Stone said that he called Silverstein at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday to concede the race.

“I congratulated her and wished her well, and she thanked me for my years of service,” Stone said. “It was just a confluence of many things. In the past, I’ve had the machine backing me. This time, I was up against the machine.”

Ira Silverstein defeated Stone for the 50th Ward Democratic committeeman’s seat in 2007, and Debra Silverstein received the support of mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel in the runoff race. Stone was backed by 14th Ward Alderman Edward Burke.

Stone said that he has no regrets about the campaign. “I’m certainly done as far as being alderman is concerned,” Stone said. “I may stay involved. I’m still energized. The hardest part is going to be saying good-bye.”

Silverstein ran on her accounting background and her knowledge of ward issues through working in the committeeman’s office. During the campaign, she said that the ward had been left to deteriorate and that she would take steps to revitalize its business districts, particularly along Devon Avenue.