Mayor Richard Daley announced his picks for filling two vacant aldermanic slots Tuesday, March 15, and long-time lesbian activist Mona Noriega was not tapped to fill the 1st Ward post on Chicago's Northwest Side.
Noriega was among the nearly three dozen candidates who sought the appointment after Ald. Manny Flores stepped down to chair the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Daley picked one of Flores's allies for the position, Proco "Joe" Moreno, a previous candidate for state Senate and the vice president at a graphic arts and printing company.
State Rep. Deborah Graham was selected for the 29th Ward post vacated when Isaac Carothers stepped down after pleading guilty to bribery charges.
The City Council still must vote on approval of the selections.
All 50 city alderpersons, along with Mayor Daley, will be up for election next year. Noriega said she will take some time to decide if she wants to run for alderman in 2011.
Noriega issued the following statement:
"Thank you again to everyone who envisioned and worked for this appointment and thank you to Mayor Daley for opening up the recruitment process by soliciting resumes. I am honored to have had the opportunity to speak with Mayor Daley and to have been considered as a candidate for the First Ward seat. While Mayor Daley has often recognized the contributions of the LGBT community and the importance of diversity, this effort to have a seat on the City Council has not been successful.
"And although this attempt has been unsuccessful the process helps us have a larger vision of who can or should participate in government. At this time I reserve the decision to challenge the new appointee until we have all had time to evaluate how this appointee will represent the diverse constituents of the First Ward. But clearly any of these races require more than a single individual; we need more individuals who can participate in the process. To that end anyone who is interested in participating in a political training, tentatively this summer, please let me know so we can evaluate the level of interest. Additional opportunities are the Victory Fund trainings in June and December www.glli.org/about_us/events/id:57, again please let me know if you plan to apply.
"Thank you again for your confidence and I look forward to the continued fight for equal participation as well as the important work to improve the quality of life in the City of Chicago and the First Ward," Noriega concluded.
