DOLTON, IL — Newly ousted “super mayor” Tiffany Henyard nonetheless has holdout supporters insisting she “ain’t the worst”– however others within the Chicago suburb fed up along with her limitless antics are completely satisfied to see the “clown show” hit the highway after her landslide election loss.
“I didn’t say she made no mistakes, but that doesn’t make her the baddest person in these suburbs,” mentioned an aged Henyard supporter named Jessie who lives on the so-called “Dalton Dictator’s” Illinois avenue.
“She ain’t the worst and she wasn’t that bad because she did do some things when she became mayor,” Jessie advised The Submit on Wednesday — lower than 24 hours after Henyard was handily defeated in Dolton’s Democratic main.
Jessie mentioned she thought if any of the allegations towards Henyard had been true — together with accusations of mismanagement of village funds that sparked a federal probe — the FBI would have locked her up way back.
“People have their own opinions. I’ve got mine, they got theirs. That’s the way I see it,” Jessie argued.
Henyard, 41, went down exhausting in her bid for re-election on Tuesday, incomes simply 12% of the vote to the 88% village Trustee Jason Home received to take the Democratic nomination for mayor.
The self-proclaimed “super mayor” — well-known for her outlandish outfits, choreographed routines, rap movies, and open brawling throughout city conferences — conceded her loss regardless of predicting a runaway win
Henyard has till Might to depart workplace when her time period ends.
And her exit can’t come quickly sufficient for Dolton residents who really feel they’ve been made fools of on the nationwide stage.
“I was just relieved,” mentioned 56-year-old Sherry Britton. “Now we can rebuild from the ashes. She doesn’t represent Dolton. We want to change the narrative because around the world, around the country, we are looked at as buffoons because she’s the representative.”
“She’s a clown. She is just always a clown show. Dancing, singing, rapping, who does that?” Britton added. “When the town around you was falling apart, who does that? It’s unreal. This is my real life as a resident.”
Even on her personal block which was lined with pro-Henyard election indicators, neighbors needed little to do along with her — and most mentioned they didn’t even plant the indicators of their grass.
“She just came up the block and stuck it in everyone’s yard,” mentioned Laterra James, 45. “I didn’t vote for her.”
“I don’t think nobody bothered to take ’em out but I don’t think nobody voted for her either. They just left them there. I didn’t vote for her,” James added whereas taking the signal down.
One other neighbor, who declined to be named, mentioned he got here again from work in the future and the signal was in his yard.
“I don’t want no trouble with her,” he mentioned, explaining that he determined to depart it within the grass. “I’ve known Tiffany since she was a little girl. So I’m not going to get into politics.”
Henyard was elected in 2021, and has characterised the litany of sordid allegations which have dogged her tenure as faux information and smear campaigns.
Some accusations embody claims that she used the native police as private bodyguards and political enforcers — which allegedly price over $1 million in division time beyond regulation — and blew village money on lavish holidays whereas public coffers wracked up tens of millions in debt.
Nonetheless, a few of Dolton’s 20,000 residents assume that’s simply politics.
“I know Tiffany. All politicians do wrong things. It’s not just Tiffany. All them politicians steal. All ’em do it. It’s a racket,” mentioned one neighbor who declined to be named as he tossed a Henyard signal within the trash.
“Not like I support people stealing city money. But they all do it.”
