Former Chicago Alderman John Arena isn’t walking away quietly following his defeat in the Feb. 26 election as recent Facebook post revealed a bitter exchange.
With all votes counted, James "Jim" Gardiner received at least 51 percent for the 45th ward, Arena fired off a testy text message to another rival, John Garrido, that was ultimately posted on Facebook. Arena referred to Garrido as “a little impotent boy” and a “cuck” adding “knowing that for eight years you watched me build while you diddle away on Facebook was all I needed.”
The 50-year-old Garrido, a Chicago Police Department lieutenant and prominent community leader, ran against Arena twice before in the 45th ward race.
Ald. John Arena
Even as the insults flew in Arena’s missive, Garrido tried to keep things civil.
“Thank you for the early morning text the morning after your defeat,” Garrido responded on Facebook. “Yes, you did beat me twice but not sure you owned anything. And I’m pretty proud of my diddling away on Facebook.”
Being in the middle of controversy is nothing new for Arena. Last May he was at the center of a controversy where he reportedly demanded special parking privileges for a Cubs-White Sox game at Wrigley Field.
Not long before Arena was accused of seeking to retaliate against off-duty police officers opposed to his affordable housing project in Jefferson Park by filing an ethics complaint against them.
Editor's note: The original article previously referred to Gardiner as the recipient of John Arena's text. It has since been corrected that the texts were sent to John Garrido.
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