Millennials discuss voting with mayoral candidate Dorothy Brown
Millennials discuss voting with mayoral candidate Dorothy Brown
BY WENDELL HUTSON CONTRIBUTING WRITER
There are more than 15 mayoral candidates running in next year’s election, including Dorothy Brown, who currently serves as clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Recently, she met with millennials who told her what they are looking for in the next mayor. They also shared stories as to why some millennials don’t vote.
“I have never voted in my life and that’s because I feel politicians never do anything for our [black] community so what’s the point,” explained Johnny Jones, 24. “After years of oppression we [blacks] still don’t have any resources in our community. That’s why millennials don’t vote.”
However, the Austin resident added that he plans to vote in the mayoral election in 2019 “because something has got to change and if I want to see changes in my community I have got to start doing my part and vote,” he said.
In actuality, data from the Chicago Board of Elections showed 42 percent of the 139,138 registered voters between 18 and 24-years-old went to the polls and voted during the Nov. 6 election. And 49 percent of the 352,583 registered voters between 25 and 34-years-old voted. The biggest voting group was those between the ages of 55 to 64 where 65 percent of the 228,211 registered voters cast their votes. And when it came to the most registered voters, that age group included 65-year olds and up, which recorded 56 percent of the 1.5 million registered voters going to the polls.
The last time there was a surge in voting by millennials in Chicago was in 2007 when Barack Obama ran for president of the United States. Brown cited another reason why she thinks millennials don’t always vote.
“I think a lot of millennials do not vote because there’s a lack of trust with elected officials and I want to change that,” she said. “The only way change will come about is for everyone to vote.”
Chicago journalist Portia King, who reminded her fellow millennials that people died so blacks could have the right to vote, moderated the town hall meeting.
“When you vote, you honor the sacrifices made on your behalf,” added King, 27. If elected, Brown, an attorney and certified public accountant, said she would focus on three areas.
“Education, crime and the use of tax increment financing are three main areas I plan to focus on once I am elected,” said Brown, who previously ran for mayor in 2007. “As far as new revenue for the city, I would like to create a city lottery much like the Illinois lottery,” she said.
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