She Held up the LIGHT and Got the Victory! Lori Lightfoot Has been elected Chicago's First Black Female Mayor!
Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosector, won Chicago's mayoral election on Tuesday, becoming the city's first black female mayor. Ms. Lightfoot also will be the city’s first openly gay mayor.
She defeated Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president and chair of the Cook County Democratic Party. Lightfoot, 56, is the second woman to be elected mayor of Chicago, after Jane Byrne, who served one term from 1979 to 1983. This was Lightfoot's first run for office, and with her win, Chicago is now the largest city in the U.S. to ever elect an openly gay mayor.
For Chicago, Ms. Lightfoot’s win signaled a notable shift in the mood of voters and a rejection of an entrenched political culture that has more often rewarded insiders and dismissed unknowns. For many voters, the notion that someone with no political ties might become mayor of Chicago seemed an eye-opening counterpoint to a decades-old, often-repeated mantra about this city’s political order: “We don’t want nobody nobody sent.”
For some of Ms. Lightfoot’s supporters, the significance of her victory was monumental, going beyond a single candidate or city. “Look, nothing personal, but it’s not the good old boys club anymore,” said Kimberly Smith, 40, who was born and raised on the South Side and said she thought the election marked a turning point in Chicago politics. “I feel empowered.”
National advocates for gay rights celebrated Ms. Lightfoot’s win. “Now young queer women and women of color can see themselves reflected in a position of major political leadership,” said Stephanie Sandberg, executive director of LPAC, an organization that works to build the political power of L.G.B.T.Q. women.
In September, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he would not seek a third term, and Lightfoot and Preckwinkle beat out 12 other candidates in February's first-round election.
No comments:
Post a Comment