Scandal-ridden “Dolton Dictator” Mayor Tiffany Henyard is again on the poll Tuesday evening, confidently predicting a “landslide” regardless of ongoing accusations of mismanagement and corruption.
Henyard is searching for the Democratic nomination to run once more within the Chicago suburb the place she has been the self-styled “super mayor” for the previous 4 years.
She is working towards a former ally, Jason Home, whose slogan is “clean house” — a play on his identify in addition to the scandals dealing with his rival in Tuesday’s main.
Even so, Henyard expressed supreme confidence Tuesday, at the same time as voters turning as much as vote mentioned the mayor had made the city “a joke.”
“Well, I see no competition, so when I come in with a landslide this evening, [it will] be so great,” Henyard confidently instructed Fox 32, blasting her marketing campaign theme tune, “We the People.”
“Y’all can all come to the after-party and we can talk about it.”
After changing into mayor of the village of roughly 20,000 residents in 2021 working as a reform candidate, Henyard’s tenure in workplace has been marred by accusations of mismanagement and corruption. Her metropolis corridor even grew to become the main target of an FBI investigation.
Simply final month, she allegedly obtained right into a wild brawl at a board assembly in Thornton Township, the place she additionally serves as supervisor, after her boyfriend was seen charging at an area activist who known as her “bitch.”
Days earlier, she was present in contempt of court docket for allegedly stonewalling liquor licenses for months.
Dolton’s Board of Trustees employed former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to probe the town’s funds. After a prolonged investigation revealed that Henyard mismanaged metropolis funds, which had been already in shambles.
in April 2022, Dolton’s normal fund steadiness was $5.61 million — however by Might 2024, the steadiness had crumbled to $3.65 million.
“At least as early as late 2021, there was a concerted, systematic effort on behalf of Mayor Henyard and others in her administration to hide the true financial condition of the Village of Dolton from the trustees and from members of the public,” Lightfoot mentioned whereas delivering the damning report.
The mayor’s conduct has outraged residents who’ve known as for her to step down, however she’s refused.
Henyard had additionally survived a failed recall effort in 2022, which was tossed by the a decide after Henyard challenged the measure.
These complaints had been echoed on the poll Tuesday, together with from many whjo voted for the mayor in 2021.
“Everyone is just looking for a change right now,” one such former supporter, Thomas Shelton, instructed Fox 32. “So I just came out to do my duty, to vote, just to try to get that change.”
One other voter, Regan Lewis, mentioned Henyard had made Dolton “kinda like a joke.”
“It’s embarrassing,” Lewis complained.
Hoping to unseat Henyard is her former ally Home, who has been a Dolton trustee since 2017. He vowed to place an finish to the reckless spending and unfavourable nationwide headlines which have plagued the village beneath Henyard’s management.
“We have seen four years of failure, and we cannot continue down this path,” he instructed NBC Chicago. “We want to make sure we can change the narrative and show people what this community is really made of.”
Tuesday evening’s winner will face unbiased candidate Casundra Hopson in April. Polls shut at 7 p.m.
Solely 9.5% of registered voters solid a poll in 2021 when Henyard received her first time period, in response to election data reviewed by CBS Chicago.
Henyard just lately misplaced the Democratic nomination for Thornton Township supervisor, a place she’s held since 2022. She claimed she misplaced due to “voter suppression” and promised to battle again.
