5 hopefuls crowd open race for seat of Zuccarelli
Thornton Township voters June 28 will decide a five-way race for Thornton Township Democratic Party committeeman, the shiniest jewel of the late Frank Zuccarelli’s triple crown of public offices.
Zuccarelli, who also was township supervisor and chaired the South Suburban College Board of Trustees, died in office Jan. 3.
The township board in March appointed Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard to serve out the remainder of Zuccarelli’s term as supervisor. The board of the public community college district in January tabbed Phoenix Mayor Terry Wells to take Zuccarelli’s place as chair of the college board.
The highly influential but unpaid township committeeman post, however, has remained vacant. The Thornton Township Regular Democratic Organization met two weeks after Zuccarelli died and picked Wells for committeeman over Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones, who also is a state representative.
Jones objected, however, and the Cook County Democratic Party took no action to approve the selection. By not approving the appointment of a successor, voters in Cook County’s largest township will determine the outcome of an honest-togoodness open election for the committeeman seat.
The move meant none of the candidates could claim the advantage of incumbency in the election. Party leaders effectively decided to not pick a favorite and left it up to voters to choose. It is an uncommonly democratic (with a small D) situation for a party often criticized for favoring insiders and punishing rogue reformers in elections.
The township committeeman’s most significant power is to appoint people to fill vacancies in elected offices. When Democratic Party officials convene to fill a vacancy, population and representation determine how their votes are weighted.
It depends on the boundaries of a district, but the Thornton Township committeeman has significant power in choosing people when vacancies occur for state senator, state representative, Cook County Board member and other offices.
Party committeemen and committeewomen also are responsible for enlisting people to work as election judges on elections days, among other duties. Typically, people serving in committeeman roles also are expected to get out the vote and would have to answer to party brass if turnout numbers failed to meet expectations.
Township committeeman is a significant position in Democratic Party politics, and Zuccarelli leveraged the Thornton Township post to play a key role in the state party organization as well.
The context is helpful in understanding why an open election for the seat feels so extraordinary. The contest’s five candidates can all claim widespread name recognition. The winner may reflect the person with the strongest personal political organization and best ability to get supporters to show up and vote.
In that respect, one could view this contest as a true test of merit. May the best man win.
In addition to Jones and Wells, the other committeeman candidates are state Sen. Napoleon B. Harris III, former Thornton Township High School District 205 Board President Kenneth Williams and Troy O’Quin, who formerly managed the township’s general assistance and food pantry operations.
Wells is a retired history professor at Thornton High School. He has been mayor of Phoenix since 1993 and has been a trustee on the South Suburban College Board since 2001. He is a past president of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association.
Harris was once a prep football star at Thornton High School who later went on to play for the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. He has represented the 15th District in the Illinois Senate since 2012. Harris lives in Harvey, owns a home in Flossmoor and owns Beggars Pizza franchises in Orland Park and Harvey.
In 2016, Harris unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that was won by Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Jones wields clout in the Illinois General Assembly but has developed a local reputation as a bully since winning election as Calumet City’s first Black mayor last year. In April, the Chicago Tribune reported federal authorities were investigating Jones for tax issues related to his campaign funds.
Jones bristled when confronted with questions about shuttering Calumet City’s public library. City Clerk Nyota Figgs accused Jones in a pending lawsuit of bullying and creating a hostile workplace.
Political opponents recently accused Jones of being the source of mean text messages anonymously sent to citizens.
Jones has represented the 29th District in the Illinois House since 2011. He faces a June 28 primary challenge for that seat from Calumet City 2nd Ward Ald. Monet S. Wilson.
Wilson has held a fundraiser and appeared in campaign ads with O’Quin. According to O’Quin’s campaign website, he is board chair for the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County
The contest’s five candidates can all claim widespread name recognition. The winner may reflect the person with the strongest personal political organization and best ability to get supporters to show up and vote.
and a member of the Cook County Democratic Party subcommittee on diversity and community outreach.
In 2016, Zuccarelli defended his hiring of O’Quin to manage the general assistance program, which at the time served about 500 people a year and had an annual budget of $3.5 million.
O’Quin told the Daily Southtown at the time he had become a pastor and turned his life around since a 1991 felony conviction in Virginia when he was 19. O’Quin was convicted of burglary and grand larceny for breaking into a shoe shop.
Williams also has a past felony conviction from another state. A Cook County judge in 2013 ordered Williams removed from the District 205 School Board due to a 1985 felony forgery conviction in Indiana that Williams later had expunged.
In 2014, Williams was appointed to fill a vacancy on the school board, but again was removed after a judge ruled the expungement of his conviction did not overrule a state law that banned felons from serving on school boards.
Early voting in suburban Cook County begins June 13. Suburban Cook voters also may request a mail ballot until June 23.