The Cook County Democratic Party has named Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon as interim Cook County Clerk and a candidate for the November election following the death of Karen Yarbrough, ABC 7 Chicago noted.
November's election will decide who will serve the final two years of Yarbrough's unexpired term.
The party made the decisions by holding two votes during a meeting on April 26. Gordon actually had no intention of running for clerk until earlier in the week, when Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Kari Steele dropped out of the race
The Cook County Democratic Party chose Gordon over several candidates, including state Sen. Napoleon Harris, who defended his present and absent votes regarding abortion and same-sex marriage.
Another candidate who did not make the cut was openly gay Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison. Before the meeting, he had told Windy City Times, ""In my role as Cook County commissioner for the last five and a half years, I have worked with the clerk's office on many items. I understand the role of the office, and want to continue Karen Yarbrough's great legacy. In particular, one of my main accomplishments was working with Clerk Yarbrough and Commissioner Scott Britton to expand languages from four to 12 languages on suburban Cook County ballots. I worked with the Clerk to try to keep Clerk satellite offices open and helped secure kiosks for suburban courthouses to access those services."
—Andrew Davis