Obama backs alderman in first post-presidency endorsement

Former President Barack Obama waited less than two weeks after leaving office to wade back into politics, endorsing a Chicago alderman in the same ward where he got his own political start.

Obama on Monday backed Sophia King in a February special election to represent the 4th Ward, which covers the neighborhoods of Hyde Park and Kenwood — where the Obamas have their primary residence — and several other communities.

“Michelle and I have known Sophia [for] many years as a leader dedicated to improving her community,” Obama said in a statement provided by the King campaign.

{mosads}Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) appointed King to fill the seat last year, after the incumbent quit to take a private-sector job with Airbnb. She faces four other Democrats running in the special election to fill the remainder of the term.

Obama has delved back into the city’s tumultuous political scene several times in recent years: Emanuel, now serving his second term, left his post as Obama’s chief of staff to run for mayor; Will Burns, who quit the Ward 4 seat that led to King’s appointment, used to work for Obama; and last year, Obama appeared in a television ad for a Democrat who eventually ousted an incumbent state legislator.