CHICAGO (AP) – Voters in Chicago, United States (US) will choose a new mayor as two candidates with contrasting views on issues including crime, taxes, schools and investment in policing compete to lead the heavily Democratic city, the country’s third-largest.
The race pits former Chicago schools chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat endorsed by Chicago’s police union and major business groups, against progressive Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organiser backed by the Chicago Teachers Union.
Both men finished ahead of current Mayor Lori Lightfoot in a February election, making her the first incumbent in 40 years to seek re-election in the city and lose.
The top two vote-getters in the all-Democrat but officially nonpartisan race moved to the runoff because no candidate received over 50 per cent of the vote.
The contest has centred on the increase in violent crime during the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring property taxes. But it also could have implications for Democrats nationally ahead of other elections.
For both progressives and the party’s more moderate wing, the Chicago race is seen as a test of organising power and messaging, especially with issues salient to big cities, like crime and alignment with law enforcement unions.
Vallas has repeatedly attacked Johnson for past comments in support of defunding police, which Johnson said he wouldn’t do as mayor. Still, Vallas – who wants to hire hundreds more officers – says the biggest quality dividing the candidates is experience.
This election, he has focussed heavily on how to improve morale among officers. Vallas was a consultant for the union during its negotiations with Lightfoot’s City Hall – and said he would promote a new police superintendent from within the department’s ranks.
