Photo caption: A multi ethnic, multi-coalition of women endorses Brandon Johnson for mayor of Chicago–a man who will take the city forward, not backwards. (Photos by Chinta Strausberg)
Calling it the new spirit of the convening of Mayor Harold Washington, a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural coalition of women Tuesday, March 14, endorsed Brandon Johnson for mayor vowing to “move Chicago forward, not backwards.”
Led by former Illinois Representative Monica Faith Stewart who was the youngest woman to be elected from 1981 to 1983, the coalition of women made it clear Johnson was a better choice than Paul Vallas whom they painted as bad for Chicago and someone who would privatize away services under his administration.
Among the scores of women attending a press conference at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in support of Johnson, was Dr. Jacqueline Jackson, wife of Reverend Jesse Jackson. She told the Chicago Crusader, “We intend to win with Brandon because he’s the best man for the job and I’ve always been for the very best.”
Looking out over the audience, Stewart reminded the women of their power, the same power she said, elected Harold Washington mayor in 1983 and reelected him in 1987.
“We are women for Brandon,” she said to a round of applause. “We are looking for a new day in Chicago, and we know that will not happen by accident.”
Stewart said the press conference is a prelude to the Saturday, March 18, 3-5 p.m. Women’s Rally for Brandon being held at the Johnny Miller Center, 2622 W. Jackson Blvd., where former Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Senator Mattie Hunter and Alderman Pat Dowell (3rd) will endorse Johnson for mayor.
Referring to the time she was first elected, Stewart said she was the biggest vote getter in Illinois and she only had one endorsement, the Chicago Teacher’s Union, of which Brandon is a part. “I know the power of the CTU…,” she told a cheering crowd.
Stewart said a Johnson victory will happen because, “We say so. We think so. We work so, and we vote so. We vote for our future. We are not talking about taking the city back. No, we are talking about taking the city forward” for everyone.”
Stewart recognized Dr. Jacqueline Jackson, saying, “The whole Jackson family is on board” in supporting Johnson.
Looking out over the audience which included members from SEIU, the CTU, and the Illinois Coalition of African American Women, former Senator Jacqueline Collins, said Johnson “understands our challenges and the needs of many hard working families across the city.
“He is not afraid to face the systems and institutions that intend to hold many of our children on the south and west sides of Chicago hostage to poverty, low expectation and hopelessness. Brandon represents the future for legislation and access, opportunity, equity and promise,” Collins said.
Alderman Pat Dowell (3rd) said Johnson “is the right candidate, the right person to be on the Fifth Floor of City Hall…. We know what we’re getting in a Brandon Johnson. We are not going back. We are not taking our city back. We’re taking our city forward.
“Let’s turn our excitement for Brandon Johnson into action…get every woman to the polls because we’re going to make a difference,” said Dowell.
She said Johnson is a young man who is raising his family in Chicago, not in Palos Heights, referring to Vallas’ home where his wife and family live.
Zenobia Black,widow of Professor Timuel Black, said the coalition is a “reasonable facsimile of the Washington coalition. It is the same kind of calling. Brandon evokes that image of Harold Washington when he speaks to the community.”
A member of SEIU Local 1, Mae Santiago, vice president of Airports, explained why she supports Johnson. “He’s the best choice. Paul Vallas was here, been here before and he did bad. We cannot have Paul Vallas again. Brandon Johnson understands communities and that is what we need right now in Chicago,” she told the Chicago Crusader after the press conference.
When told that Vallas denied allegations of destroying CPS when he was the CEO, Santiago said, “Oh, yeah, he says that but talk to all of the janitors who lost their jobs at CPS when he privatized the janitors and they went down in pay and they lost their jobs. He did all of that to save some money and took away jobs from working people.”
Santiago said at present janitors are represented by SEIU who “We represent. They have jobs. We have good pay again. We don’t want him coming back again and doing that again. Taking peoples work, livelihood, away so they can’t raise their families. That’s proof of what he (Vallas) has done and that is in the records.”
One of Mayor Washington’s strong supporters, Jane Ramsey, who was then Director of Community Relations under his administration said, “This is a new reconvening with the spirit of Harold Washington. Many of those who were part of that are touched by Brandon Johnson’s warmth, his passion and his commitment to the vision of Harold Washington.”
But Ramsey made it clear their coalition is not just for the “old girl’s network,” as Stewart referred to the women, but intends to reach out to the younger generation—the multi-racial, multi-cultural coalition that elected Washington in 1983 and re-elected him in 1987.
“We want to connect to young folks who want the same vision, passion and commitment to the city. It is an expanded version of the Harold Washington coalition. It is the Brandon Johnson generation. I think that is a powerful partnership,” Ramsey told the Chicago Crusader.
Community activist Zakiyyah S. Muhammad, who was also involved in the election of Washington, said, “Brandon reminds me of Mayor Washington when he talks with the interests and concerns of the people. He is one of us and he knows what the issues are in our community.
“I believe Johnson will bring in his administration people who look like us, his people, to make decisions on behalf of Black people in their communities unlike others who have brought other people in who are neither familiar with our issues nor do they care,” Muhammad said.
