Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson was elected mayor of Chicago Tuesday, beating out rival Democrat Paul Vallas.
Johnson had a 51.42% lead over Vallas, according to the early returns from the Chicago Board of Elections via WTTW, compared to 48.58% for Vallas.
Vallas conceded defeat, saying that Johnson was likely to be the 57th mayor of Chicago.
“I called Brandon Johnson a short time ago to congratulate him on winning this election,” Vallas tweeted at 10:06 p.m. “It’s critically important that we all come together now and work collaboratively to move our city forward. I thank my supporters and team, and especially my family. Thank you, Chicago.”
Johnson takes over the position of mayor from Lori Lightfoot, whose own run for a second term was soundly voted down, becoming the first mayor of Chicago since Jane Byrne to only serve four years.
Johnson and Vallas ran campaigns that differed in their approach to crime and public safety. Johnson favored addressing the perceived root causes of crime and spending taxpayer money on youth programs, employment initiatives, and mental health services by divesting about $150 million from the police budget.
Vallas, however, wanted more direct policing efforts with what he described as “proactive” policing, which involved hiring new police officers to fill vacant positions and then redirecting them toward areas that they would regularly patrol.
Johnson and Vallas also had distinct differences in school policies, with Johnson as an organizer for the Chicago Teachers’ Union and Vallas as a fervent supporter of charter schools.
Johnson told his supporters that it was important to continue to build coalitions while also thanking the various unions that supported his campaign.
“Make no mistake about it, Chicago is a union town,” Johnson claimed, per WTTW. “The heart of this movement has always been about investing in people. I’ll be honest this is personal for me. … I’ve seen what disinvestment looked like.”
Johnson closed his speech by celebrating his victory and looking to the future.
“Today we celebrate the revival and the restoration of the city of Chicago,” Johnson said. “It is time for Chicago to come alive, come alive Chicago. My name is Brandon Johnson and I can’t wait to be sworn in as the next mayor of the greatest city in the world.”
