NY Times…..
Brandon Johnson, a county commissioner and union organizer who called for a vast expansion of social programs in Chicago, as well as new taxes, was elected mayor of the country’s third-largest city on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.
Mr. Johnson’s victory over Paul Vallas, a fellow Democrat with far more conservative views on crime and education, showed voters rejecting the tough-on-crime politics that have become a staple of municipal elections in recent years and instead embracing a decidedly progressive vision for a city still struggling to emerge from a pandemic malaise.
The mayor-elect, who will take office in May, will inherit a city in flux, with a downtown that is emptier than before the pandemic, a Police Department that has no permanent leader and a public school system that has seen a decline in enrollment. Fewer commuters have been riding buses and “L” trains, and census estimates have shown a decline in population.
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The election is the latest race in a large, liberal American city in which crime has been a primary issue. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and former police captain, bested other hopefuls in 2021 by calling for a crackdown on crime. And in Los Angeles last year, Karen Bass, a liberal congresswoman, defeated a more conservative opponent, Rick Caruso, a billionaire real estate developer who ran on a law-and-order message.
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Chicago is still trying to regain its prepandemic swagger. In recent years, the city has been confronted by rising crime rates, an emptier downtown and census estimates showing a loss of residents. Ms. Lightfoot, who received only 17 percent of the vote in February, presided over two teacher work stoppages and civil unrest during her single term…..
image…Credit…Mustafa Hussain for The New York Times