DOLTON MAYORAL CANDIDATE EYEING VICTORY

Tiffany Henyard has won the Democratic Primary for Mayor of the Village of Dolton. Photo provided by Tiffany Henyard
Tiffany Henyard has won the Democratic Primary for Mayor of the Village of Dolton. Photo provided by Tiffany Henyard

 Dolton mayoral candidate eyeing victory

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     Tiffany Henyard, trustee at large for the Village of Dolton, has won the Democratic primary for the mayor’s race there. Henyard will face independent candidate Ronnie Burge on
Tuesday, April 6.
     Henyard sat down to talk with Conversations with the Citizen, the Citizen Newspaper Group’s podcast, about winning the primary and her next steps toward becoming mayor of Dolton. “It’s so exciting. I’m so overjoyed and I’m
excited because now all my opponents have banned with me and have endorsed me,” she said.
     On Sunday, March 8, Henyard thanked her former opponents, Andrew Holmes and Robert Shaw, for endorsing her going forward in the election. Henyard graciously thanked her former opponents and trustees for their support and endorsements.
    Holmes, who served as a Trustee in Dolton, said Henyard ran a clean race. He said “out with the past, in with the new.”
Holmes added, with Henyard at the helm, Dolton could be “the way it used to be and more.” He said through her leadership, the village could “enhance the quality of life” for the children,
calm down the violence, bond with the schools and the leadership, as well as make their fire and police departments
stronger.
     Henyard announced her run for mayor in October, but said there have been some challenges, including having her tires slashed and windows broken. She referred to them as “scare tactics.” “I stood strong and here I am before you as the front runner. I’m happy to say I’ve overcome all obstacles,” she said.
     Henyard said those things encouraged her to keep moving forward. She said a person should never let anyone deter them from their goal. She added, one of the first things she will do as mayor is to improve the police department. She said she will make them one with the community. “I have to make sure that my residents can trust the police again. We’re going to do that by door knocking, making sure they patrol their beat by walking, instead of just driving up and down the blocks,” she said.
     Henyard said in order to make sure local government in Dolton is more transparent, she will ensure everyone is aware of what she is doing as mayor and that includes opening up village hall so that people can see her and touch her. She said she will also ensure that management is accessible and has
an open-door policy. “I will also let the residents know that we care, because right now, they don’t have any compassion
or transparency or accountability in the village,” she said.
      Henyard credited Dorothy Brown as her number one supporter. She said Brown structured her entire campaign.
She also credited Lori Wilcox, who is running for supervisor of Bloom Township, with supporting her during the campaign.
      Henyard said she plans to bring a grocery store and restaurants to Dolton. As trustee, Henyard turned the West side of Dolton into a Tax Increment Financing District.
      Henyard said it is her goal to ensure who the police and fire chiefs are. When asked about plans to change leadership
within the Dolton Police Department, she said she plans to retain Dolton Police Chief Robert Collins.
     “Right now, my community needs hope. They need someone who can uplift them and bring them out of this pandemic. That’s what I represent,” she said. “I will always put the people first. I always put service before self and will continue to do that as mayor.”

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