CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It was another day, another round of dueling endorsements for Chicago mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas on Tuesday.
Johnson, who is a Cook County Commissioner, garnered the endorsement of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas won the endorsement of one of the city's most respected former educators: ex-Whitney Young Magnet High School principal Dr. Joyce Kenner.
The endorsements came one day after Johnson and Vallas announced respective support from Congressman Danny Davis and retiring Ald. Roderick Sawyer ahead of the April 4 runoff.
Standing outside the County building Tuesday, Preckwinkle said Johnson is easily the best option to lead Chicago.
“He successfully championed efforts to bring more transparency and equity to public safety," Preckwinkle said. "He’s been a leader in the county’s efforts to eliminate crushing medical debt. He’s also been a stalwart supporter of small businesses.”
Preckwinkle added that Johnson has a genuine commitment to equity, opportunity and justice, and that he possesses the “skills, drive and persistence needed to turn promises into policy—and policy into practice.”
Johnson said that’s exactly what this moment is about.
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“Making sure that our values reflect the values of the people of Chicago,” he said.
Preckwinkle, who’s also the Democratic Party Chair of Cook County, said she’s pressuring other Democrats to get on board.
“I had this stupid idea that, on March 1, I was going to get a little rest after the Feb. 28 election,” she said. “And then, of course, my candidate won, and I’ve been making calls on his behalf to Democrats ever since. I’ve been encouraged by the response that we’ve gotten. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Johnson said he’s honored to have Preckwinkle’s backing, and he expressed confidence about the race.
“As a Cook County commissioner, I worked hard with my colleagues, with President Preckwinkle to deal with the structural challenges, passing multi-billion-dollar budgets, to make critical investments without taxing and harming working people,” he said.
As for Johnson’s rival, Kenner was at Vallas’ campaign headquarters and said she was certain that Vallas should be mayor of Chicago.
“He’s been budget director of the City of Chicago, and he’s been CEO of CPS,” she said. “Taking care of the money in the city, which we need, and taking care of our school systems, which we need. He is a proven leader.”
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Kenner, who retired in 2022 after more than two dozen years as principal of Whitney Young, added that Vallas held people accountable and was always fair.
“Did we always agree? No,” Kenner said. “But did I respect him as an educator and doing the right things for Chicago Public Schools students? Absolutely.”
Vallas said he is proud to have the endorsement of a great, outspoken, education leader like Kenner.
“Joyce and I did not always find ourselves on the same side of the debate,” he said. “In fact, Joyce sometimes would send her students over to debate me—and then I had to drive them all home—but she was somebody who I learned from.”
The mayoral hopeful was later asked about his support for charter schools—public schools run by nonprofit entities.
“The bottom line is those are schools of choice,” Vallas said. “Like all schools, you need to hold schools accountable. All schools need to be subject to the same academic standards.”
Vallas was also asked if he supports the Lightfoot Administration’s plans for a Near South Side high school.
“I think we need to consider building a high school,” he said. “I don’t know if I would build a $120 million high school. At the end of the day, I’m going to look at all the plans that, really, CPS has on the table.”
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