Brandon Johnson Biography, Wife, Early Life, Age, Chicago Mayor Election

Brandon Johnson is an educator and politician who has been selected as the new mayor of Chicago. A member of the Democratic Party, Johnson won the Chicago Mayor Election 2023 whose result was announced on Tuesday, 4^th of April. He will be replacing Lori Lightfoot to become the 57^th mayor of the third-largest city in the US. Amidst, the rising crime rates in Chicago, the people of the city have put their complete faith in Brandon Johnson whose campaigns were focused predominantly on crime issues along with others. Johnson is African-American and said that his campaign had been influenced by civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Brandon Johnson Personal Biography

Brandon Johnson was born on March 27, 1976, in Elgin, Illinois to unknown parents. Both his parents were foster parents who worked as Church pastors. Johnson’s foster father also worked at the Elgin Mental Health Center. His foster mother died when Johnson was in college. Brandon grew up in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom house with nine siblings. He holds a bachelor’s degree in human services, Youth Development Programming, and Management and a master’s degree in teaching from Aurora University. 

Johnson met his wife Stacie at a religious event when he was only 22. Despite both their families being against their marriage at such a young age, they got married and are living happily with their three children. Johnson lives in the Austin neighborhood on the west side of Chicago with his wife and children.

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Professional Career of Brandon Johnson

At the beginning of his career, Johnson worked as a social studies teacher at George Westinghouse College Prep and Jenner Academy Elementary. As a school teacher and a member of the Chicago Teachers Union, he organized and actively participated in the 2012 Chicago teachers’ strike. Apart from this, he also played an important role in leading field campaigns during the 2015 Chicago mayoral and aldermanic elections. In 2018, Johnson himself ran for the Cook County Board of Commissioner’s 1st district against incumbent Richard Boykin. Endorsed by a number of labor organizations and progressive advocacy groups, Johnson won the Democratic Party primary election. After that, he ran in the general election without opposition and got elected as Cook County commissioner in December 2018.

As a Cook County commissioner, Johnson did a lot of work for the betterment of the county. He sponsored the Just Housing Ordinance, which amended the ordinance by prohibiting landlords from asking or considering tenants’ criminal history. He also supported striking teachers and support staff during the Chicago Public Schools Strike in 2019 and as a result, he was rumored to be a potential mayoral candidate in the 2023 election. However, at the time, Brandon dismissed the rumors calling them laughable. In 2019, he endorsed the candidacy of Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

Chicago Mayor Election 2023

The speculation of Johnson running for mayor of Chicago in 2023 was first made in 2019. Three years later in 2022, he launched a committee to consider running for mayor of Chicago in the 2023 election and decided to go for it. His campaign was strong and supported by a coalition of progressive groups and Johnson himself was described as a progressive and a favored candidate of the left. Johnson’s campaign emphasized on funding and resources for public schools, a public safety platform for mental health emergencies, support for a real estate transfer tax to fund the homeless, and most importantly the growing crime rates in the city. Johnson came second in the first round of the election and when the initial round result was announced, he was declared the winner, defeating Paul Vallas.

As the residents of Chicago looked for new leadership amid frustrations about crime, housing, and other concerns, they elected Brandon Johnson as the new mayor of the city. Brandon Johnson was declared the winner of the election just about an hour after the polls closed. The Democrat has advocated for several policies that included reduced public transit fares and increased social services spending. He hopes to achieve the latter by increasing taxes on big businesses so that everyone pays their fair share in the development of the city. His tax plan is expected to generate around $800 million in revenue.

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