If you haven’t heard yet, there is someone in Chicago who isn’t afraid to stand up to Rahm Emanuel. In fact, she is brave enough to challenge Emanuel for Mayor of Chicago in 2015.
Who is she? Amara Enyia is the brave soul looking to take on Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago political machine to become the first black, female Mayor of Chicago ever.
Jane Byrne was the first woman mayor. Harold Washington was the first black mayor and the community came out in force to support him. Not many are sure Enyia has this level of support in the black community or the political capital to build it, but she isn’t deterred.
Enyia, 30 years old, is an active community organizer working as a municipal consultant. The Nigerian-American, Chicagoan is intelligent, articulate and ambitious. She must be in order to challenge Emanuel in 2015.
Enyia has a law degree and a doctorate in educational police studies from the University of Illinois. The last few years she has done work in the Austin neighborhood to build up her base, give back, and get in touch with the needs of the community. Her fellowship in Mayor Richard M. Daley’s office gave her insight to the inner workings of the mayor’s office and Chicago politics.
She parlayed her education, background and ambition into a business. Her firm, ACE Municipal Partners, does municipal consulting.
In These Times’ Kari Lydersen intervied Enyia, here are a few highlights:
On the differences between Rahm Emanuel and Richard M. Daley: “One thing Daley understood was how to leverage relationships. He would engage with people whether he liked them or not. With Daley, for better or worse, you knew deep down he really loved the city—it was in his blood. Under this administration, there’s no understanding of the importance of relationships. There’s a sense of indifference. Rahm wants to be mayor of Chicago, but that doesn’t translate into caring about the city as a whole.”
On Chicago’s preference for a “tough-guy” mayor: “I don’t agree that [Chicagoans] want a tough-guy mayor who’s going to curse you out. I think we’ve had enough of that. We want a mayor who inspires people, not one who instills fear in people. I think people are ready for a change—for leadership that shares their values of integrity in transparency and equity.”
On school closings: “If [you’re] going to close 50 schools, just tell the community you’re going to close 50 schools because you can’t afford to keep them open. People will be angry, but they will appreciate the fact you told them straight out—you didn’t try to come up with all these different false misleading reasons to justify it. ”
Source: http://chicagoist.com/2014/02/23/meet_amara_enyia_who_plans_to_chall.php
I don’t know much about this sister, but I’m excited to see the young black community swinging for the gates.
She may not win this race. Let’s call it like it is. She doesn’t have the ad budget, the Chicago machine’s support, Obama’s endorsement or the relationships Emanuel has, but this isn’t the last we will see of Enyia.
It is only the beginning!
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