- Credibility:
GRAND BOULEVARD — Ald. Pat Dowell won reelection Tuesday after her only challengers were kicked off the ballot in the 3rd Ward.
Dowell ran unopposed after three challengers — Don Davis, Al Rasho and Jasmine Roberson — were booted last month. Elections officials ruled the three did not have enough signatures to qualify.
Dowell told the Hyde Park Herald in an August interview that she plans to spend the next four years focusing on building up the 43rd Street corridor and incentivizing affordable home ownership. She’s said this will be her final term in the City Council.
The 3rd Ward includes parts of Bronzeville, Douglas and the South Loop.
The alderwoman announced her campaign for Illinois secretary of state in 2021 but dropped out to run for Congress after Rep. Bobby Rush announced his retirement in early 2022. After finishing second in the congressional primary, Dowell opted to run for a fifth term as leader of the 3rd Ward.
A former city planner, Dowell worked under mayors Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer and Richard M. Daley. She was elected to City Council in 2007 after defeating longtime incumbent Dorothy Tillman in a runoff.
In recent elections, Dowell beat former Water Reclamation District Commissioner Patricia Horton and community activist Alexandria Willis, retaining her seat in 2015 and 2019.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot picked Dowell to serve as the council’s Budget Committee chair in 2019. The two were described as allies until recently, when the alderwoman endorsed organizer Brandon Johnson in the mayoral race. Dowell stood on stage with Johnson Tuesday night when he celebrated making the runoff.
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