Many things happened in Chicago on February 28. Lori Lightfoot conceded in the election, and both Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson went on into the Chicago mayoral runoffs. Chicago had a very eventful February 28, the reason why is that the race for Chicago’s mayor was finally wrapping up with Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson closing with 35% and 20% of the vote respectively. Lori Lightfoot, the incumbent mayoral candidate conceded in the election later in the night taking in around 16% of the votes.
Brandon Johnson
The progressive hopeful Brandon Johnson is ever closer to the promised land of mayorhood. He’s worked hard for a very long time to rally his supporters to help him win this epic battle for Chicago’s mayor. He is supported by major labor unions like the teacher’s and healthcare worker’s unions.
He is firmly progressive in policy and has an extensive history of advocacy and activism. Johnson is the people’s mayor, he sees the issues, he has experienced the issues and he, with everyone’s help, wants to do something about it. He is fighting in the mayoral runoff which ends on April 4.
Paul Vallas
The political moderate Vallas came out of nowhere with a strong lead on election day. Despite the controversy about his inconsistent politics, Paul Vallas supporters came through on Election day, considering it was mostly older people that voted, and Vallas’ Crime and Punishment politics this makes a lot of sense. Vallas is currently in the lead for Chicago’s mayor, however, the runoff election is in April, and anything could happen.
On election day his speech was focused on trying to position himself as a progressive candidate.
He cited his support of women’s rights and other progressive policies like community policing. However, one only has to look at his political history to see the truth about Paul Vallas.
He is a politician through and through, he transforms into whatever is most likely to get him votes. He has gone on record in the past to say that he is a Republican. Despite all of this political baggage, the chameleon politician Paul Vallas asserts that he is a democrat through and through.
Lori Lightfoot
The incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot dropped out of the race around 9:30 that night. What this means is that Lori Lightfoot will not be Chicago’s next mayor for the 4-year term coming up. Her legacy is criticized by both sides and is filled with a lot of controversies.
However, she and her wife stood strong and counted their successes during Lightfoot’s concession speech. She cited the light foot administration getting guns off the street, the invest southwest program, and more. With Lori Lightfoot out of the mayoral seat, Chicago has the chance to see what a post-COVID Chicago mayor looks like.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
New York Times: Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago Loses Her Bid for Re-election Julie Bosman and
WBEZ: Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson head to Chicago mayoral runoff By Dave McKinney, Tessa Weinberg, Mariah Woelfel
BlockClubChicago: Johnson, Vallas Advance To Mayoral Runoff As Lightfoot Concedes Defeat by
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Ashley Bree Photography’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
