Just about everybody on the outside–business leaders, school officials, reformers, politicians, journalists–wants incumbent Tom Reece to win the May 20 election for president of the Chicago Teachers Union. But the opinion of the people who’ll actually vote–the teachers themselves–isn’t so clear.

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Reece declined repeated requests for an interview, leaving those chores to Jackie Gallagher, his chief press aide. “Tom’s strengths are his sensitivity–he is not a grandstanding leader,” says Gallagher. “He is not someone who puts himself first and the troops second. He believes in working together, and I think he has a quiet kind of leadership that is very good for this organization at this time.”

In contrast Schmidt, 48, is a prolific writer and talker who’s never been on the inside of any organization (except for small groups of mavericks like himself) and who’s never run from any fight. As a writer for Substance, a muckraking monthly published by activist teachers, Schmidt has taken on some of the system’s most powerful insiders, uncovering many examples of bureaucratic waste and abuse.

“A lot of the teachers were against that contract, but Jacque got it through,” says Carr. “That was her last great performance. She told the board of delegates, ‘This is the best that can be given and you must take it.’”

Reece’s strategy for dealing with such hostility is to build alliances with powerful interests, particularly Mayor Daley, that might allow teachers to avoid concessions and bad press. “I’m not saying that a strike is never an option; I’m saying you go as far as you can, making sure you aren’t losing,” says Gallagher. “You just don’t immediately say ‘Strike’ and leap out. We can’t do that to the kids of the school system. We have to fight like hell to keep the schools open while getting the best deal for our members. George doesn’t understand if he thinks we could have gotten more in October. The money wasn’t there. And we were dealing with a complicated network of attack against the classroom teacher.”

But Gallagher remains doubtful: “We’ll have our usual defections from the high schools, where they always want a more activist image. But the bottom line is that most teachers don’t want anything to do with George and his rhetoric.”