Amid division within the Dolton Village Board, a team of current and former elected officials announced their joint effort to seek election in opposition of incumbent Mayor Tiffany Henyard next year.
Trustee Jason House, who became an outspoken advocate for launching an investigation into Henyard’s spending of village tax dollars, will run for mayor. Former Trustee Edward Steave, who lost a bid for reelection last year, is running for trustee and incumbent Trustees Kiana Belcher and Brittney Norwood and Village Clerk Alison Key will seek reelection.
The five candidates will launch their campaign at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Free-N-Deed Market, a food pantry in Dolton. The slogan on their event invitation, “Clean House 2025,” represents their goal to shepherd in new leadership to replace the high-profile, controversial governing of Henyard’s administration and their allies.
“One of the biggest things that we’re looking for is voting on the issues that are relevant to the other residents, and trying to work to eliminate people politics and putting the people first,” House said.
He said working as a team will enable the group to unite Dolton residents behind a force of good that puts community ahead of self.
House said he believes much of the work he, Belcher and Norwood have done to hold the mayor accountable have developed their credibility among residents and will translate into a successful campaign.
“We’re always approachable, we’re always available,” House said. “And we will take that message or that methodology and find more ways to enhance that, to make sure that we’re always accessible. But it’s definitely a ‘we and us’ mentality for the community to move forward.”
House, who was born and raised in Dolton, decided to run for mayor in 2009 after working directly with residents as the manager of the Dolton branch of US Bank. He was first elected as a village trustee in 2017.
“It’s always about service,” he said. “If you have the ability and talent to serve the community, it’s just a privilege.”
Former Trustee Edward Steave is originally from Pennsylvania but grew interested in local politics after he moved to Dolton and became village videographer in 2013.
“You see a lot, you learn a lot — seeing the good and the bad,” Steave said.
He was elected as village trustee in 2019 and served four years before he was ousted, having drawn opposition from a Henyard campaign committee that sent out mailings painting him and some other candidates, including Trustee Tammie Brown, as representations of “failed leadership.”
Steave said after losing his seat, he “still had a love for the community” and wanted to help others “expose” what he saw as a track record of misdeeds within the mayor’s office. He is a consistent presence at board meetings and produces his own video content that frequently criticizes Henyard.
“I think what we will be able to accomplish together is not being an embarrassment to the world like we are now,” Steave said. “Bringing some professionalism back, bringing some stability back and bring transparency back. And gain the trust back in the village.”
Trustees Belcher and Norwood are similar voices of dissent against the mayor’s administration, saying Henyard has repeatedly prevented them from putting items on the village agenda for meetings and refused to turn over important financial information.
Belcher said she hopes with Henyard out of the village leader spot, there will be room for those remaining to work together to get village affairs in order.
“We’ve been requesting documentation for years, so there’s a lot of things that probably don’t even have a clue what we’re walking into, but we’re just gonna have to be able to work together and work with department heads to make sure that we analyze, audit and dissect everything,” Belcher said.
She said she understands that success of the group is not a given, and they plan to work hard to spread their message, especially given Henyard’s consistent flow of free events held throughout the community that have made her a familiar figure.
Still, Belcher said she believes that the urgent message of government transparency will come through to the voters.
“Our base of people are people that are not in it for free things, but in it for positive change, for growth, for the community, versus getting a free TV or free washing machine,” Belcher said. “Our goal is to work for everyone.”
Henyard could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
