By Tammy Webber
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who has presided over the third-largest US city for 21 years, like his father did before him, has announced that he will not run for a seventh term. He says the time "just feels right".
Daley, 68, said he'd been thinking about not running for several months and became comfortable with his decision over the last several weeks.
"It just feels right," Daley said at a news conference, his smiling wife Maggie standing by his side. "I've always believed that every person, especially public officials, must understand when it's time to move on. For me, that time is now."
He called the announcement "a personal decision, no more, no less" and said he and his family now begin a "new phase of our lives."
The announcement was made with little warning, but was not a surprise to everyone.
Daley has refused to say whether he would run again, fuelling speculation that he might not, and his wife has been battling cancer.
"It's a surprise because there's been a Daley in the political system for so long," said Alan Gitelson, a Loyola University of Chicago political science professor. "There's always been this presence. It's been really part and parcel of the identity of the city to have a Daley in the mayor's office."
Daley was first elected mayor in 1989, following in the footsteps of his father, Richard J. Daley, who died of a heart attack in 1976 at age 74 during his 21st year in office.
Cook County Clerk David Orr said he did not think anyone would have seriously challenged Daley if he had run for re-election, but the announcement means "the whole political landscape changes enormously".
"All of a sudden now many of the political people will be focused on the mayor's seat. February is so close," Orr told WBBM radio in Chicago.
"There's going to be a lot of scheming and planning going on."
Daley's announcement leaves an open door for White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who said in April during a television interview that "it's no secret" he'd like to run for mayor of Chicago someday.
At the time, Emanuel called Daley "a dear friend" and said he's done "a fabulous job" as mayor. He said on Charlie Rose's PBS talk show that he hopes Daley will seek re-election and said he'd work for Daley if he runs again.
The 50-year-old Emanuel is a one-time Daley adviser and a Chicago native. He was an Illinois congressman until he resigned to take his current White House post.
A few days later, Daley said the two are friends but didn't endorse Emanuel as his heir apparent. "I think there are many people out there who would be great mayors," Daley said.
Others whose names have surfaced as possible candidates are Democratic US Representatives Jesse Jackson Jr. and Luis Gutierrez, and Chicago Alderman Bob Fioretti.
AP