Former 33rd Ward aldermanic candidate Tim Meegan and a dozen members of his new independent political organization, 33rd Ward Working Families, showed up Tuesday night at Ald. Deb Mell’s (33) new ward office open house on Irving Park Road. According to Nick Burt, a member of Meegan’s new organization, the group wanted to talk to Ald. Mell about some local policy issues like affordable housing, a charter school moratorium, and the city budget, but were instead welcomed by four police officers. Mell strongly denied that the police officers were called, and were instead already at the event.

Burt alerted Aldertrack about the meeting after we mentioned in Tuesday’s newsletter that we spotted Meegan in one of the open house pictures Mell posted to her Facebook page.

It was the first time the 33rd Ward Working Families reached out to Ald. Mell, since they created the group after losing the election, says Burt. Asked if Mell’s staff recognized Meegan, Burt said “probably,” but noted none of their members had any identifying markers.

But Ald. Mell says she didn’t call the cops when the group showed up. She says the police, all of whom she knew from the ward’s CAPS meetings, were already at the event, and had walked into the office to say goodbye to the Alderman around the same time as Meegan and his group showed up. “There is no way I would ever call the police on a constituent,” Mell told Aldertrack.