In an election that was predicted to be too close to call, Brandon Johnson beat out Paul Vallas to become the next mayor of Chicago. Experts said as recently as the weekend that it could take days or even weeks to find out the winner because it would probably come down to mail-in ballots, as Liberty Nation reported. A recent poll by Victory Research from April 2 showed Vallas in the lead by four points. But all the predictions were thrown out the window during Tuesday’s (April 4) mayoral election runoff. Johnson was declared the winner taking 51.4% of the vote, with 91% reported at the time of this writing.
Monica Faith Stewart, who attended Johnson’s celebration party, said: “This is remarkable. Because it proves that working-class people, poor people, people of color, people of consciousness, have really come together and defeated ‘the alliance.’”
Johnson, 47, is a union organizer and former teacher, and his win is reportedly part of a bigger picture for progressive organizations – especially the teachers’ unions, as they now have one of theirs “winning the highest office of any active teachers union member in recent history,” AP wrote.
Johnson’s Platform and Promises as Chicago Mayor
One of the major issues outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot faced was the soaring crime rate, so it’s no wonder the two Democrats duked it out over this concern. In 2021, during the COVID pandemic, the Windy City hit a 25-year high with 797 homicides. Vallas, 69, who was backed by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, made the criminal problem his number one priority and promised to bring in more police officers. Johnson, however, had in the past shown support for defunding the police. He promised not to cut officers if he won office, insisting instead that more funds needed to be allocated to mental health treatment and jobs for youth to combat crime.
(Photo by Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
The mayor-elect also has a plan that would create $800 million in new taxes to be imposed on businesses and the wealthy while freezing property taxes. He also proposed a levy on financial transactions, raising the hotel tax, and a jet fuel tax. Vallas argued the plan would be catastrophic for the city’s economy.
Virtually unknown in the political world when he first entered the race, Johnson, a Cook County commissioner, had strong support from progressive senators like Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). And even though Vallas was a former Chicago schools CEO, it was Johnson who was supported by the Chicago Teachers Union.
This runoff divided Democrats. Johnson’s supporters claimed Vallas – who was endorsed by Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois – was too conservative and called him “a Republican in disguise,” AP reported.
Although Vallas had not officially conceded Tuesday night, he told his supporters he had called Johnson to say he expected him to win. When some in the crowd seemed upset at the news, he urged them to offer support for the next mayor in “the daunting work ahead.” He continued, saying, “This campaign that I ran to bring the city together would not be a campaign that fulfills my ambitions if this election is going to divide us.”
“When Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to the city of Chicago … he said if we can figure it out in Chicago, we can do it anywhere in the world,” Johnson said. He added:
“The most radical thing we could ever do, you all, is to actually love people. And our administration will do just that. So make no mistake about it: Today, we did not just commemorate the life and the legacy of one of the greatest humanitarians who ever walked the planet Earth. Today, we did not just acknowledge the assassination of a dreamer.”
He concluded: “Today, the dream is alive; so today, we celebrate the revival and the resurrection of the city of Chicago. It is time for Chicago to come alive. Come alive, Chicago!”
