his party's majority. Sandi Jackson, who is credited with encouraging Jackson, Jr. to run for Congress, had been supportive of the idea of him running for mayor. William Beavers had been a longtime Daley ally. However, Jackson says she has good relations with the Daleys, especially Bill Daley. Jackson took leave from her position as deputy political director of training for the Democratic National Committee to run and her husband bought up the billboards in the ward to post an image of the couple. Jackson, Jr. had acquired the rights to 1,800 billboards in the city in preparation for his own possible mayoral candidacy. He relinquished the rights to all but those useful to his wife in her ward and a few candidates that he endorsed. Jackson, Jr. invested US$200,000 in his wife's campaign to pay for billboards, mailers, phone banks, a campaign manager and other professional staffers. William Beavers was unimpressed with the spending and had his employees remind voters that Jackson did not live in the Ward and his daughter did. William Beavers attempted to make Jackson's Washington residence an issue, and there was mudslinging in the public press between the Beavers and the Jacksons. Jackson campaigned for the 7th ward alderman position based on the issues of economy, education, and public safety. She also described the lakefront ward as prime commercial real estate ripe for development. Results Darcel Beavers 4004 (33.50%) Ron David 951 (7.96%) Eric Brown 216 (1.81%) Jackson 6783 (56.74%) Beavers was one of only four incumbents on the 50-member City Council to lose during the municipal elections. Five new alderman supported by organized labor and Jackson Jr. won seats. Aldermanic career The city of Chicago is divided into fifty wards that are each represented by an alderman in the Chicago City Council. The northern portion of Chicago's seventh ward is adjacent to the Lake Michigan lakefront, and the ward includes portions of the South Shore, South Chicago, Calumet Heights, and South Deering community areas. Jackson's aldermanic career began inauspiciously when she complained to the Chicago Sun-Times, one of Chicago's major daily newspapers, that she was caught off-guard by the need to pay office start-up expenses up front. This provided fodder for a columnist in the Chicago Tribune, the other major daily, and anonymous on-line commenters on the Chicago Sun-Times web site made light of the issue. At the time, Jackson was considered by one