In the Chicago south suburbs, some hotly contested primary election races have played out and the unofficial election night results are in. Any late arriving vote by mail ballots will be tallied and the election results will be fully counted and certified in two weeks. There are clear winners this evening with 100% of precincts reporting.
Jones Thrashes Patton
In the hotly contested mayoral race, incumbent Democrat Thaddeus Jones beat challenger JR Patton by a 20% margin. Jones has delivered for the city and the voters have chosen him to serve for another 4 years. Jones’ win in this cycle is 7 points larger than the margin by which he defeated Qualkenbush 4 years ago.
Treasurer Gerry Tarka Wins Over Aradia Clark
Aradia Clark was backed by JR Patton but won just 43% of the vote to incumbent Tarka’s 58%.
Figgs Hangs On
Calumet City Clerk Nyota Figgs survived a challenge from Cassandra Holbert Elston by eeking out 5% more of the vote.
Shalisa Harvey Defeats Navarette in 1st Ward
Challenger Shalisa Harvey upsets incumbent Navarette earning 54% of the vote. Harvey worked hard and will go on to be the 1st ward alderwoman.
Miacole Nelson Wins 6th Ward
JR Patton ran for mayor, creating an open seat in the 6th ward. First time candidate Miacole Nelson won a solid victory coming in 8% ahead of Patton backed candidate Garnadette Stuckey.
Tie In the 7th Ward
Incumbent Alderman Anthony Smith stands 1 vote behind challenger Melissa Phillips with the results at Smith’s 264 to Phillips’ 265 votes. This one will come down to late arriving vote by mail and any provisional ballots.
House CRUSHES Henyard
Incumbent mayor Tiffany Henyard made a name for herself by doing just about everything an elected official shouldn’t do. Henyard lavished money on herself, picked fights with the board, ignored FOIA requests and ballooned the budget deficit against the backdrop of a complete lack of transparency. Trustee Jason House soundly defeated Henyard with 88% of the vote to Henyard’s 12%.
Dolton Trustees
ALL of the candidates on the “Clean House” ticket won over those on Henyard’s slate. With 7 candidates on the ballot for 3 seats, the Clean House team cleaned up. Kiana L. Belcher, Brittney Norwood and Edward “Ed” Steave all got better than 26% of the vote while Henyard’s candidates were at 5% or below.
In Sum
The idea, “stunning defeat” absolutely applies to the victory of the Clean House team over Henyard and her slate.