ENGLEWOOD — Myriah Weatherspoon, 17, isn’t eligible to vote yet, but that didn’t keep the Walter Payton senior from visiting the polls on Tuesday.
Weatherspoon, a Grand Crossing resident, was an election judge in the 6th ward’s 11th precinct. She was one of more than 1,300 CPS students who served in all wards across the city.
The opportunity was possible because of a partnership between the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and the Mikva Challenge, an organization that informs youths about the political process, as well as help them become community activists.
Weatherspoon said that she understands the importance of voting and told her friends who are 18 to cast their ballot.
“I encouraged a lot of my friends who are already 18 to vote because everyone kept saying 'I’m going to be in college, I’m leaving so it doesn’t matter,' but even though I won’t be here, my family will be,” she said.
William Cary Jr., 65, said he wasn’t going to vote on Tuesday because of the weather and the usual long lines, but when he heard a radio personality say there wasn’t a good turnout, the Chatham resident changed his mind.
The low temperatures and snow didn’t keep some people from voting. Park Manor resident Zachary Jones, 54, came out to vote because “it’s my civic duty,” he said, “I come out to each election, the weather won’t stop me.”
And Chatham resident Mariam Stewart said nothing will keep her from the polls.
“Nothing stops me because folks died for us to vote so you know I have to represent,” she said.
While residents were visiting the polls, candidates in the 6th Ward were busy canvassing the ward and stopping through polling sites.
With 60 percent of the vote counted, Ald. Roderick Sawyer had 55 percent of the vote.
Brian Garner, former Streets and Sanitation ward superintendent, took a short break and met with DNAinfo in his makeshift campaign office. He turned the front of Barber Graphic, 356 E. 71st St., a barbershop he began going to as a child, into his headquarters.
He said that everything he has been working for started there because the barbershop was a place where he was connected with the community. He came up with ideas to improve the 6th Ward by listening to residents complain, he said.
Garner admitted to being nervous about the election results, but said he is confident in his work.
“I’m a little anxious, I’m a little nervous, but I’m very confident because I know that our campaign has done the work since April and I have a really good message,” he said.
“I did the work, it’s not about what I’m going to do if elected, me and my campaign have focused on three issues that businesses and residents in the ward have complained about, jobs, education and safe neighborhoods,” Garner said.
Both Garner and challenger Richard Wooten said that Ald. Roderick Sawyer's supporters have removed their yard signs. An anonymous source provided photos of someone alleged to be a Sawyer supporter walking away to a Streets and Sanitation truck with an opponent’s sign.
While at a polling site on 81st Street and St. Lawrence, Sawyer denied the allegations, saying that he doesn’t have time for those kinds of games.
“When people put stuff on the street, it’s garbage, that’s why my signs are by polling places,” he said, adding that he has had his own signs removed if they are in places where they aren't permitted.
As far as the race goes, Sawyer said that it’s in “God’s hands.”
The ward, which includes Englewood, West Englewood and Chatham, has been represented by Sawyer since 2011. He is the son of the late Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer, who also once represented the 6th Ward as alderman.
If given another term, the incumbent said he will focus on bringing more businesses to the ward, improving its infrastructure and increasing transparency in city government.
One of Sawyer’s opponents is Brian Garner, the former ward superintendent for the city's Streets and Sanitation Department. A graduate of Hirsch High School, Garner also is an Army veteran, having served in Operation Desert Storm. If elected, he said he'll address public safety, vowing to empower block clubs with resources and information to foster neighborhood safety.
Chicago Police Officer Richard Wooten, also an associate pastor at Faith Walk International in Grand Crossing, is also a candidate in the 6th Ward race. He has proposed turning vacant lots in the ward into gardens or businesses or putting them to other good uses.
15th Ward
With 15th Ward Ald. Toni Foulkes running in the 16th Ward, there is no incumbent in the 15th. Five candidates vying for the aldermanic seat include retired Army veteran Eddie Daniels, Democratic Ward Committeeman Raymond Lopez, Adolfo Mondragon, Raul Reyes and Rafael Yanez. The 15th Ward includes parts of Brighton Park, West Englewood, Back of the Yards and Gage Park.
16th Ward
The 16th Ward includes parts of Gage Park, Chicago Lawn, Englewood, West Englewood and Back of the Yards. Stephanie Coleman, daughter of former 16th Ward Ald. Shirley A. Coleman, is running for alderman. With the late JoAnn Thompson out of the race, Toni Foulkes, Jose Garcia and Cynthia Lomax join Coleman in the race.
17th Ward
The 17th Ward includes parts of Marquette Park, Auburn Gresham, Englewood, West Englewood and West Chatham. This race has no incumbent since Ald. Latasha Thomas decided to not run again. There are three candidates running for her seat: Bishop James E. Dukes, Glenda Franklin and David Moore.
Problems with voting can be reported to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners online at chicagoelections.com or by calling 312-269-7870.
To find out who is running in your ward, click here.
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