Out lesbian candidate for state representative Mel Ferrand, who this winter was removed from the ballot after a filing error, said March 9 that she is officially suspending her campaign.
Ferrand was one of several candidates running to unseat incumbent Jaime Andrade as representative to the 40th district. That post was previously occupied by lesbian Deb Mell, who replaced her father, Dick Mell, on the city council. Andrade had been assistant to Dick Mell and served as the City Council’s assistant sergeant-at-arms.
In a statement, Ferrand said, “I am both saddened at the loss of the opportunity to see this campaign through to its end, and also invigorated by the excitement, kindness and conviction of the people of our district. The strength and confidence of principles I felt over and over from each person was infectious. … (As) the independent progressive candidate, I represented the greatest threat to the status quo, and therefore the greatest challenge at the ballot. For that reason, I was removed from consideration to represent the people of the 40th district. The choices have now been pre-determined for the voters by those who seek power over progress, and democracy will not be served.”
According to the documents challenging Ferrand’s candidacy, she submitted a receipt for filing her Statement of Economic Interests from the Cook County Clerk’s Office, but not one from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. The filings also alleged that she did not file the Statement of Economic Interests with the Secretary of State at all. Ferrand, who lost a final appeal in the matter in mid-February, said the challenge was filed by individuals working on behalf of opposing candidate Nancy Schiavone.
Other candidates in the 40th district race include Aaron Goldstein, Wendy Jo Harmston and Mark Pasieka. Andrade has been endorsed by many LGBT rights advocates, largely because he voted in favor of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act in November.
“With the replacement of Deb Mell in the State House in August, Illinois is left with only three openly LGBT members,” Ferrand said. “With the removal of me from the ballot, our community has lost the possibility for bringing our number back to four. With such low representation, the rights we have gained, and those yet to be achieved, are in constant jeopardy. As an out lesbian, and active member of the community, I wanted to continue to be an advocate for us. This campaign to succeed Deb Mell was a start at making sure we continue and cultivate the progress we have already won.”
Statement by Mel Ferrand
It is with mixed emotions that I write to announce the suspension of my campaign for State Representative of the 40th District.
I am both saddened at the loss of the opportunity to see this campaign through to its end, and also invigorated by the excitement, kindness and conviction of the people of our district. The strength and confidence of principles I felt over and over from each person was infectious. While we are a culturally rich and diverse district, full of varied ideas and opinions, I learned that, above all, we are connected by a single common interest, a singular desire. Above all, we strive for true change, true progress and true independence. And that common bond, that common desire, is what I have fought for, every single day.
Over the last several months I traveled across the 40th district, and in that time met amazing people who have indicated that they are readying for and determined to make change. There is no doubt in my mind that what we seek to achieve will happen, and it is to them I owe the progress we have made.
Whether it be the 85 year old woman who has spent her life in our district, and told me in eight and a half decades, no one, not once, ever approached her home to ask her how she felt about the community, what she wanted to see for her and her neighbors. Or the single mother who had been calling her Alderman and State Rep for weeks because her son was being attacked by gangs on his way home from school. She simply needed help, simply needed her voice to be heard, and yet she saw that voice fall on deaf ears. We deserve more than this, we deserve substantive and significant change.
I desire nothing more than to be the voice for those who felt they had lost their own. To show them that it is possible to live in a community that has one of their own to represent them, someone who has lived the struggle with them, and not just watched it from a far.
However, as the independent progressive candidate, I represented the greatest threat to the status quo, and therefore the greatest challenge at the ballot. For that reason, I was removed from consideration to represent the people of the 40th district. The choices have now been pre-determined for the voters by those who seek power over progress, and democracy will not be served. Make no mistake, this campaign was not halted by the citizens of the 40th, but by a single person who would do whatever is necessary, including squash the will of the people, in favor of her own political interests.
Yet above all, regardless of the challenges we face, I want to say thank you. Thank you to the people who have invited me into their homes, or met me at the door and shared themselves with me. Thank you to those that have contributed to my campaign by writing a check, volunteering or both. And thank you to the wonderful staff that kept me going when I felt so tired I thought I would drop, or helped me adjust my scarf, find that one glove that kept hiding from me, and most importantly, stood with me as I walked door to door, braving this Chicago winter, because it was essential that I personally connected with every citizen, so I could look them in the eyes, get to know them, hear them, and share my view of our future with them.
Know this… while I will remain an educator, advocate, and fighter for the people of the 40th, I am even wiser and more determined than ever before, and I will continue to support them, just as they have supported me. Progress and independence are our goals, and we will demand nothing less than to see those ideals fulfilled. The machine is strong, there is no doubt, but together we are stronger, more determined and more unified than ever before.
Always remember…we still have a voice, and this fight is not over.