Chicago, teachers unions elect new mayor

Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former teacher, was elected as Chicago’s next mayor Tuesday as the heavily blue city grapples with high crime and financial challenges.

Johnson, a Cook County commissioner endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, won a close race over former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, who was backed by the police union. Johnson, 47, will succeed Lori Lightfoot, the first Black woman to be the city’s mayor.

Lightfoot became the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose her reelection bid when she finished third in a crowded February contest. Johnson and Vallas were the top two vote-getters in the all-Democrat but officially nonpartisan February race, which moved to the runoff because no candidate received over 50%.

Johnson’s victory in the nation’s third-largest city capped a remarkable trajectory for a candidate who was little known when he entered the race last year. He climbed to the top of the field with organizing and financial help from the politically influential Chicago Teachers Union and high-profile endorsements from progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. 

It was a win for the teachers union, with Johnson winning the highest office of any active teachers union member in recent history, leaders say. 

Vallas, speaking to his own supporters Tuesday night, said that he had called Johnson and that he expected him to be the next mayor. Some in the crowd seemed to jeer the news, but Vallas urged them to put aside differences and support the next mayor in “the daunting work ahead.”

In a statement, Lightfoot also congratulated Johnson and said her administration will collaborate with his team during the transition.




Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson speaks to supporters after defeating Paul Vallas in the mayoral runoff election, late Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)