Prominent Black Chicago Alderman, Ed Smith, Says a Black Candidate Should Replace Mayor Daley

According to Chicago Public Radio, 28th Ward Alderman Ed Smith, who heads the city council's Black Caucus, wants a black candidate to replace outgoing Mayor Richard Daley.

SMITH: I want to see a strong any candidate who can run this town. But obviously I'd like to see a Black candidate. Black candidate want to run, they got to step up. But we want to see a candidate who can run the city of Chicago continuously to bring people together. Continuously build our city.

Alderman Smith says he hasn't thought about whether he could be that African American candidate but he'd like to help find the right person. Source

Isn't he asking for trouble when he makes his case for a black candidate? The obvious question is why and how important would having a black mayor be in the grand scheme of things? What if someone said we need another "white" mayor to replace Richard Daley?