PILSEN — A prominent community organizer and former Chicago Public Schools principal is running for alderperson in the 25th Ward again.
Aida Flores, who was born and raised in Pilsen, announced Thursday she’s jumping into the race. Flores ran in 2019, coming in fourth.
The 25th Ward covers Pilsen and a small part of Little Village under the city’s newly drawn ward map.
“As an educator, mother and school leader, I know the challenges our community faces can seem overwhelming,” Flores wrote on her campaign website. “I believe in our ability to work together toward a brighter future with a bold vision and progressive values. There is no challenge too great when we are united.”
Flores collected 19 percent of the vote in the 2019 election, coming behind Hilario Dominguez, with 21 percent; Alex Acevedo, with 22 percent; and Byron Sigcho-Lopez, with 29 percent. Sigcho-Lopez eventually won the seat in a runoff with Acevedo.
Flores hopes to build more support this time around, she wrote on her website.
“I learned so much from our campaign four years ago, and I am confident that this time we are going to win,” she wrote.
Education will be a key issue for Flores, just as it was during her past campaign, she wrote on her website.
Flores is an assistant principal at Darwin Elementary. She was previously a principal at Hernandez Middle School on the Southwest Side, an assistant principal at Kelvyn Park High School and a history teacher at her alma mater, Benito Juarez High School. That’s made her intimately familiar with the struggles and successes of the city’s public school system, she wrote.
Flores, a Harvard and Georgetown grad, previously told Block Club her first run for alderman was partially rooted in professional frustrations she experienced trying to help neighborhood schools make improvements while dealing with severe budget cuts.
Flores is the first person to announce a challenge to Sigcho-Lopez in next year’s election.
Sigcho-Lopez has indicated he will run again, and he is holding a re-election rally 2 p.m. Saturday at Harrison Park, 1824 S. Wood St.
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