2019 Chicagoaldermanic elections

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All 50 seats in theChicago City Council 26 seats needed for a majority
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v t e

The2019 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 26 and April 2, 2019, to elect 50aldermen to theChicago City Council. Each alderman represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use atwo-round system where the top two finishers compete in a second-round run-off if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the first round. The elections were party of the2019 Chicago elections, which included elections forMayor, City Clerk, City Treasurer.^[1]

Of the 50 incumbent aldermen 45 ran for re-election.^[2][1] Incumbents did not run in the 20th, 22nd, 25th, 39th, and 47th wards.^[1] Five aldermen ran unopposed:Brian Hopkins (2nd ward),Scott Waguespack (32nd),Gilbert Villegas (36th),Brendan Reilly (42nd), andNicholas Sposato (38th).^[2]

Three aldermen were defeated in the first round, and four more were defeated in run-off elections. There were a total of 12 new aldermen elected:Daniel La Spata (1st ward),Stephanie Coleman (16th),Jeanette Taylor (20th),Michael Rodriguez (22nd),Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th),Felix Cardona (31st),Rossana Rodríguez (33rd),Samantha Nugent (39th),Andre Vasquez (40th),Jim Gardiner (45th),Matt Martin (47th), andMaria Hadden (49th). After the election, the council'sProgressive Caucus grew from 10 to 18 members and a new 6-memberSocialist Caucus was formed.

Candidates for city council are required to submit 473 valid signatures from registered voters in their ward to appear on the ballot.^[3][4] A total of 212 candidates submitted nominating petitions, an increase from 184 candidates in the 2015 election.^[1] However, the total number of candidates is lower than the 351 candidates in 2011, the last municipal election that, like 2019, had an open race for mayor.^[4]

In the first round, three aldermen who ran for re-election lost their seats. There were run-offs elections in 14 wards: 10 races where incumbents are running, and four races for open seats.^[5] At least three additional incumbent aldermen were defeated in run-off elections.^[6][7]

Incumbent aldermanProco Joe Moreno unsuccessfully sought reelection. Moreno had been appointed alderman in 2010 by MayorRichard M. Daley, and had subsequently been reelected in 2011 and 2015. Moreno ultimately lost reelection to his sole challenger,Daniel La Spata.

Two write-in candidates filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, Treasurer in 2019^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]
• Justin Tucker^[22]

One candidate was removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures:^[2]

• Justin Tucker

The following candidate filed nominating petitions but withdrew before ballot certification:^[2]

• Trevor Grant, statistician and data scientist, Illinois National Guard Veteran^[31]

Moreno and La Spata appeared at a candidate forum hosted by Logan Square Preservation on January 8, 2019.^[32][33][34]

Incumbent first-term aldermanBrian Hopkins won reelection, running unopposed on the ballot.^[2]

Two write-in candidates filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]
• Mollie May Brady^[22]

Incumbent third-term aldermanScott Waguespack won reelection, running unopposed on the ballot.^[2] He appeared at a candidate forum covering the Logan Square neighborhood on January 8, 2019.^[32][43]

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Incumbent ninth-term aldermanPatrick J. O'Connor unsuccessfully sought reelection, being defeated byAndre Vasquez in a runoff.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

A candidate forum organized by several community organizations was scheduled on January 29, 2019.^[64]

Incumbent third-term aldermanBrendan Reilly won reelection, running unopposed on the ballot.^[2]

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Incumbent second-term aldermanMichele Smith won reelection, defeating Derek Lindblom in a runoff.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

One candidate was removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures:^[2]

• Matthew RoneyArchived 2018-09-18 at theWayback Machine, student at DePaul University^[70]

Incumbent fourth-term aldermanTom Tunney won reelection.

The following candidate filed nominating petitions but withdrew before ballot certification:^[2]

• Patrick Shine, U.S. Air Force veteran, co-founder of non-profit This Is My Country, Inc.^[75]

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Incumbent second-term aldermanJames Cappleman won reelection, defeating Marianne Lalonde in a runoff by a margin of only 25 votes (0.09% of the votes cast in the runoff).

Two write-in candidates filed:

• Joann Breivogel^[22]
• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Incumbent second-term aldermanAmeya Pawar did not seek reelection as alderman, opting to instead run (unsuccessfully) forCity Treasurer of Chicago.Matt Martin was elected to succeed him, defeating Michael Negron in a runoff.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

All candidates, except Kastafaros, appeared at a forum focused on education issues on January 17, 2019.^[103][104] All candidates, except Ladien and Schwartzers, appeared at a forum on business issues on January 24.^[105] A third forum hosted by several neighborhood Chambers of Commerce was scheduled on January 26.^[106]

Runoff

Incumbent second-term aldermanHarry Osterman won reelection, defeating David Williams III, his sole challenger.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Incumbent seventh-term aldermanJoe Moore unsuccessfully sought reelection. He was defeated byMaria Hadden, his sole challenger.

Through this election, the victor Maria Hadden made history as the first LGBTQ woman of color to be elected to Chicago's City Council.^[123]

Certified candidates^[2]

Name	Experience	Campaign	Ref
Maria Hadden	Executive director and founder of non-profit Our City Our Voice Founding board member of Participatory Budgeting Project	(Website) (Facebook) (Twitter)	[124]
Joe Moore	Incumbent alderman Democratic Committeeman for the 49th ward	(Website) (Facebook) (Twitter)

Two write-in candidates filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]
• Bill Morton

Two candidates were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures:^[2]

• Bill MortonArchived 2019-01-01 at theWayback Machine, president of the Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce^[117]
• Nathan Ben Myers

Hadden and Moore both identify asprogressives, but their policy positions differ sharply on a number of issues, including policing, accepting donations from developers, use oftax-increment financing, andcharter school expansion.^[125] Both candidates participated in a debate hosted atSullivan High School on January 15, 2019.^{[126][127][128]} At the debate, they disagreed on a number of issues, including a freeze on new charter schools (Hadden supported one; Moore did not), funding for a new police training facility (Moore supported the ongoing proposal; Hadden did not), and use of tax-increment financing for theproposed Lincoln Yards project (Moore was in favor; Hadden was opposed).^[127][129]

In February 2019, a controversy emerged when two photographers alleged that the Moore campaign used their photographs in campaign advertisements without permission or attribution.^[130] Another controversy emerged late in the campaign when a Moore staffer accused a 15 year old Hadden volunteer (and former Moore intern) of espionage.^{[citation needed]}

Incumbent second-term aldermanDebra Silverstein won reelection.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

The following candidate filed nominating petitions but withdrew before ballot certification:^[2]

• Majid Mustafa

A candidate forum is scheduled for February 10, 2019.^[144]

Incumbent aldermanRoberto Maldonado won reelection. Maldonado had been first appointed by MayorRichard M. Daley in 2009, and had subsequently been reelected in 2011 and 2015.

Two write-in candidates filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]
• Mirko "Limo Mike Z" Zaplatic, Jr

Two candidates were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures:^[2]

• Angee GonzalezArchived 2019-01-03 at theWayback Machine
• Mirko "Limo Mike Z." Zaplatic Jr.

Incumbent fourth-term aldermanAriel Reboyras won reelection, defeating Jessica Gutierrez in a runoff.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Incumbent first-term aldermanMilly Santiago unsuccessfully sought reelection, losing toFelix Cardona, Jr. in a runoff.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

One candidate was removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures:^[2]

• Renne Chavez, candidate for 31st ward aldermanin 2015^[156]

Runoff

Incumbent aldermanDeb Mell unsuccessfully sought reelection. Mell had first been appointed by MayorRahm Emanuel in 2013, and had subsequently been reelected in 2015. She was defeated byRossana Rodriguez Sanchez in a runoff.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

The following candidates submitted nominating petition signatures but withdrew before the certification process:^[2]

• Joel Zawko

First round

Runoff

All three candidates appeared at a candidate forum hosted at Bateman Elementary School on February 7, 2019. The forum was originally scheduled for January 30 but was postponed due to thepolar vortex.^[165]

Incumbent first-term aldermanCarlos Ramirez-Rosa was reelected, defeating Amanda Yu Dieterich, his sole challenger.

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]

Two candidates were removed from the ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures:^[2]

• Mayra Gonzalez
• Walter Zarnecki, Republican Party nominee for Cook County Board Commissioner for the 8th district^[167]

Dieterich and Ramirez-Rosa appeared at a candidate forum hosted by Logan Square Preservation on January 8, 2019.^[33][169]

Incumbent first-term aldermanGilbert Villegas was reelected, running unopposed on the ballot.^[2]

One write-in candidate filed:

• Richard Benedict Mayers,^[22] perennial candidate and allegedwhite supremacist,^{[23][24][25][26][27][28]} write-in candidate for Chicago Mayor, City Clerk, and Treasurer in 2019;^[22] congressional candidate in 2000,^[27] 2002,^[27]2008,^[27]2016, and2018;^[29][30] 1998 State House candidate;^[27] 1993Berwyn city clerk and city treasurer candidate^[27]