Cook County Board Commissioner Anthony Quezada—a member of Chicago’s LGBTQ+ community—has been chosen as the city’s new 35th Ward alderman, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Mayor Brandon Johnson has called a special City Council meeting for Tuesday, April 8, to confirm his choice of Quezada.
Quezada would succeed another queer alderperson—Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), who is now the Chicago Park District superintendent and CEO. Quezada spent several years as Ramirez-Rosa’s neighborhood services director and was Ramirez-Rosa’s choice.
Ramirez-Rosa was 25 when he was elected to the Council in 2015. He was the youngest Chicago alderperson ever, and the Council’s first Democratic Socialist. Quezada is 29. Quezada’s 2022 election to the Cook County Board made him the board’s first openly gay Latino member.
However, Quezada’s appointment stirred controversy. He recently apologized for using the N-word in a 2014 tweet, when he was 18. Quezada also met privately with the City Council’s Black Caucus, at the request of top mayoral aides.
According to Block Club Chicago, other candidates to succeed Ramirez-Rosa included Daniel Tobon, a veteran, former entrepreneur and former lawyer from Colombia; 35th Ward GOP Committeeperson Gladys Sanchez; attorney and 14th Police District Council Chair Christopher Laurent; self-described “MAGA conservative Democrat” Lawrence Ligas; and Kinley Knipmeyer.
The 35th Ward includes parts of Logan Square, Avondale, Hermosa, Irving Park and Albany Park.