Both Ald. Chris Taliaferro and Ald. Emma Mitts could each face three challengers in the February municipal election.
Three candidates filed petitions to run against Taliaferro in the 29th Ward on Monday, the final day to submit petitions to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. And two candidates – in addition to one who had filed last week – submitted their petitions to challenge Mitts in the 37th Ward.
The 29th Ward candidates at this point are: Corey Dooley-Johnson, a 24-year-old West Side resident and gun violence survivor; longtime Austin resident CB Johnson, who ran for the seat in 2011 and serves as the CEO for the nonprofit Campaign for a Drugfree Westside; and Walter T. Adamczyk, who according to the Cook County Republican Party’s website serves as the 29th Ward’s GOP committeeman.
In the 37th Ward, two more candidates – Jake Towers and Corey Denelle Braddock – filed on Monday; Towers, a pre-school and kindergarten teacher, said his mission is to ensure the Austin community is a priority at City Hall. Howard Ray filed his petition last week.
In the first election for newly created Police District Councils, 11 candidates filed petitions to run for the two police districts – the 15th and the 25th –that cover the Austin neighborhood. Each police district will have three representatives that will be voted onto the District Councils every four years, “though anyone can participate in District Council work,” according to the city of Chicago.
For the 15th Police District, seven candidates filed petitions, including two former West Side aldermanic candidates: Oddis “OJ” Johnson and Carmelita P. Earls. Johnson unsuccessfully ran for 29th Ward alderman in 2011. That same year, Earls filed to run for the 28th Ward, but her name was removed from the ballot after the 1st District Illinois Appellate Court determined her ineligible. Earls is a former commander of operations for the Chicago Fire Department Training Academy.
Darius Newsome, Constance Melton and Elena X. Thompson also filed their petitions Monday, in addition to Karen Winters and Deondre Rutues, who filed last week.
For the 25th Police District, five people filed a petition, including a 2019 candidate for alderman of the 30th Ward, Edgar “Edek” Esparza. In 2014, Esparza also ran for alderman at age 19, but his name was removed from the ballots because his petitions were improperly unbound, according to Block Club Chicago.
Another candidate, Saul Arellano, is the son of immigration rights activist Elvira Arellano, who sought sanctuary at the Humboldt Park church Adalberto Memorial United Methodist Church in 2006. The Chicago Reader reported that Arellano said the police must be held accountable. Jacob Arena, Perry Abbasi and Angelica P. Green also are running in the 25th Police District.
To be eligible for Police District Councils, candidates have to meet the following criteria:
- Be a registered voter
- Must have lived in the police district they’re running for at least one year before the election
- Cannot be a member of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability or cannot have been an employee of the Chicago Police Department, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) or the Police Board any time since May 2020
- Cannot owe money to the city of Chicago or have been convicted of a felony unless it was expunged.
Similar to aldermanic and mayoral candidates, candidates for Police District Councils must gather signatures and file them with their nominating petition.
Earlier this year, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners estimated the minimum number of required signatures for each district – 193 for the 15th District and 519 for the 25th District – based on a city’s ordinance, which mandates the number of signatures must be at least “0.5% of the total number number of registered voters in the district, or a minimum of 25 registered voters in the district, whichever is greater.”
The period to object to any municipal candidate seeking to be on the Feb. 28th ballot starts now until Dec. 5, with hearings held after that. The February ballot will be finalized on Dec. 22.
Here the full list of the candidates who filed petitions with the the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners as of the Nov. 28th deadline. All 50 city wards, the new police districts and the mayoral seat are up for grabs.