Thread: Susana Mendoza Wants to Become Chicago's First Woman City Cl

Susana Mendoza Wants to Become Chicago's First Woman City Clerk
Published February 17, 2011

Mexican-American Susana Mendoza, who has 10 years of experience as a Democratic lawmaker in the Illinois House of Representatives, wants to become the first woman to serve as Chicago's city clerk.

The 38-year-old Mendoza aspires to succeed Miguel del Valle in the post, the latter a state legislator with broad experience who got into local politics five years ago and now has his eye on becoming Chicago's mayor.

"I have a solid legislative background and I'm by far the best qualified for the job," Mendoza told Efe.

Mendoza is single and lives in the Mexican neighborhood of La Villita in southwestern Chicago, a community that makes up part District 1 which she has represented for 10 years in the Illinois state legislature.

Other neighborhoods where a high percentage of the population is of Mexican origin in her district are Gage Park, Back of the Yards and Brighton Park.

Mendoza in 2001 became the youngest member of the Illinois House and since then she has had an outstanding legislative career working on issues such as education, public health, safety and living conditions in the neighborhoods she represents.

She will only have one opponent in next Tuesday's city election, Patricia Horton, a 54-year-old African-American who currently holds a position in the Cook County Water Management Department.

The city clerk's office has 96 employees and an annual budget of $9 million, but its relevance has been questioned by some of the mayoral candidates in the current campaign.

Mexican-American Gery Chico, who is running second in the polls after the favorite, Rahm Emanuel, proposes abolishing the post of city clerk and redistributing its functions among other officials.

Before the arrival of Del Valle, who was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley in 2006 and later elected by popular vote, the two previous occupants of the post were sent to jail for corruption.

The office is in charge of the City Council files and also sells the decals that the 1.3 million vehicles in Chicago must display to be allowed to operate in the city, as well as residential parking permits and dog ownership licenses.
The city clerk's office is untouchable and cannot be abolished by the new mayor, Mendoza said.

"It was created as an independent entity of the fifth floor (where the mayor's office is located) and it's needed to exercise a certain type of control over the office of mayor," Mendoza said.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politi ... z1EKI3V6fB

"Hmm!"

I am sick and tired of the special treatment of latinos/hispanics and I don't mean to malign or single out that ethnic group, we all belong to one. The point is that this America and no one is more special or less special. this nonsense needs to stop!