At least two trustee candidates in Dolton backed by the village’s mayor appeared to be leading a field of nine in a primary race for three Village Board seats, according to unofficial vote totals.
Meanwhile, voters in two Harvey wards were casting ballots Tuesday for new aldermen to replace incumbents who did not seek reelection.
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard, who has had a contentious relationship with a majority of village trustees, supported incumbent Trustee Andrew Holmes along with trustee candidates Stanley “Stan” Brown and write-in candidate Joslyn King.
With all 17 precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Holmes with 21% of the vote and Brown with 19.5%, followed by incumbent Trustee Tammie Brown with 15%.
Incumbent Trustee Edward “Ed” Steave had 14%, while running mate Samysha “Mesha” Williams had garnered 11% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Tammie Brown also ran with the pair.
Valeria Stubbs had 8%, with Demetrious Walker recording 4.6%, Danny Fields at 3.4% and Carlton Higgins at 3%, according to the Cook County clerk’s office. Stan Brown and Stubbs had been unsuccessful trustee candidates in Dolton’s 2019 primary.
Joslyn King, who works as an executive administrator in Thornton Township, was knocked off the ballot due to a successful objection to her petitions. She ran as a write-in, supported by Henyard. Write-in results were not immediately available.
Turnout was a bit more than 16%, according to the clerk’s office.
Trustees such as Steave have questioned how village funds are being used and are looking at how the village spent about $3 million in federal funds received through the American Recovery Plan Act.
Henyard was elected to a four-year term in April 2021 after narrowly winning a three-way Democratic primary in February 2021.
A state appellate court last year invalidated the results of two referendum questions in which Dolton voters favored ousting Henyard from office. Along with serving as Dolton’s mayor, she was named Thornton Township supervisor last March, replacing Frank Zuccarelli, who died in January 2022.
in a campaign video, Williams said she is a single mother of two and previously worked as Dolton’s license and permits director before being fired last August. In another video, Steave, said that Henyard had campaigned on being transparent, but that “this mayor is the opposite of being transparent” and questioned how a budget surplus in the village has transformed into a $5.8 million deficit.
in campaign literature, Holmes said the trustee candidates and Henyard “need to restore stability, calm and professionalism to find common ground to move Dolton forward.”
Harvey City Council
Harvey has primary elections in February if there are at least four candidates running for a particular office, as a result of a ballot initiative organized by incumbent Mayor Christopher Clark, with Harvey’s first primary taking place in 2019.
In the April election, first-term Mayor Clark is opposed by Anthony McCaskill, former board president for the Harvey Park District, and 2nd Ward Ald. Marshun Tolbert.
But for two ward races, there were primaries Tuesday. The top three vote-getters will face off in the April 4 contest.
In the 2nd Ward, Tolbert did not file for reelection, with six people looking to replace him. Tolbert was elected to his current term in 2019.
With all 7 precincts reported, unofficial totals showed that Colby Chapman had garnered 35% of the vote while Yarif Vhora had 33% and Antonia McBride had 12%.
Albert Abney had 9%, Melvin Bond 7% and Angelette Taylor 4.7%, according to the Cook County clerk’s unofficial totals.
Turnout in that ward’s primary race was 16.5%, according to the county clerk’s office.
In the 3rd Ward, Ald. Quinton Crudup did not seek reelection.
In vying to replace him, Telanee Smith had a bit more than 32% of the unofficial vote, according to the county clerk, followed by 20% for Mauzkie Ervin and 13.7% for Jeffery Maxey.
Bonnie Rateree had 13.4%, followed by 11% for Shahnawaz Hasan and 9.8% for Myra Gardner, unofficial totals showed.
Turnout in the 3rd Ward contest was 14.6% of eligible voters, according to the county clerk.
Riverdale Village Board
In Riverdale, with three trustees up for reelection, unofficial vote totals showed incumbents leading their challengers.
Incumbent Trustee Cassandra Riley-Pinkey had 26% of the vote with 5 of 8 precincts reporting, while fellow Trustee Brenda Williams also garnered 26% and Trustee Erik LeVere had 20%, unofficial totals showed.
Challengers Michael Smith and Kenny Williams had 15.3% and 13%, respectively.