“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it”. This is a quote from philosopher George Santayana, which was slightly changed in a 1948 speech given to the House of Commons by Winston Churchill when he said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Then there is my version which I like the best, “Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it”. Something about the word ‘doomed’ has impact. Maybe it came from being a Cub fan for so many years.
It appears Naperville mayoral candidate Rocky Caylor never read that quote, nor does he remember 1988 Democratic Presidential candidate Gary Hart. When rumors began to circulate about Hart, he challenged the media by saying, “They should follow me around…They’ll be very bored.” The media did follow him around, and they weren’t bored. Five days after Hart issued the challenge, Hart’s candidacy crashed and burned when a picture of a boat named ‘Monkey Business’ surfaced and Gary Hart was on board. Oops. Hart went down for the count of ten.
In 2015 when Caylor was appearing before a Joliet zoning board, residents spoke in opposition to a massive trucking facility. Caylor assured residents that promises would be honored, but residents had their doubts. Caylor encouraged town folks to Google him or hire an investigator to look at what he’s done. Oops. Not wise on Caylor’s part.
Background research on a political candidate is standard operating procedure. Most of us who get hired are subject to a background check.
Caylor might be a very nice guy. In his campaign mailer, he’s smiling, holding a cute little white dog, relaxed in blue jeans, and a cool hoodie, so how could he not be a nice guy. The dog even has tags. So that makes him a responsible guy, right. And let’s face it, who among us, hasn’t been slapped with class-action law suits, and affiliations with strip clubs. And as for Caylor’s claim that he graduated from IU, maybe he confused Indiana University with Iceland University, he’s still looking for his diploma. Can’t find it, minor detail, it’s not like Caylor said he graduated from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, or North Central College.
Who doesn’t like an underdog. Incumbents typically are not underdogs. Name recognition is huge. Ask Naperville residents who the mayor is, and they will say George Pradel. It shows the power of 20 years worth of name recognition. Mayor Steve Chirico’s name recognition has had four years to develop, just as his strong track record of accomplishment has developed.
Ask Naperville residents who Richard Caylor is, and they might say ‘who’? However ask them who Rocky Caylor is and they might say ‘who’. No doubt that the name ‘Rocky’ is worth a few votes, but unfortunately for Rocky not enough to make a difference in the final vote.
If I could vote for two people for mayor of Naperville, Steve Chirico would get both votes.
Bottom line, Watchdog endorses Mayor Steve Chirico for re-election. The reasons are too many to list, so keeping it simple, Chirico has two cute little doggies, while Caylor has just one, telling me that Chirico likes dogs twice as much as Caylor, and Chirico has not been good for Naperville, he has been outstanding for Naperville.
