Two more candidates join race for 26th District State Representative

Will Burns' former seat in the Illinois House up for grabs

12/07/2011 3:25 PM

By Ben Meyerson
Editor

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Two more people have joined the race for Will Burns’ former 26th District State Representative seat, vying to represent a district that stretches from the Far South Side through downtown and up to the Gold Coast.

Kimberly du Buclet was appointed to replace Burns in May after he was elected alderman of the 4th Ward this spring, but she opted not to run for the seat, leaving the race wide open.

On Monday, the last day to file to run for office in March’s primaries, Kenny Johnson and LaConyer Davis joined Christian Mitchell in pursuit of the seat. All three are Democrats; no Republicans filed to run for the seat.

Johnson’s gone for the seat before. He ran against Burns in the six-candidate 2008 primary, and came in second place with 26.3 percent of the vote to Burns’ 31.2 percent.

Johnson got his start in politics at 25 as an assistant in Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s congressional office, before leaving the world of politics to work in marketing. According to his LinkedIn page, he currently works at Merge Consumer Marketing.

This time around, Johnson’s been endorsed by Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd).

“Kenny comes from a business background,” Fioretti said. “He’s willing to take on the challenges of this diverse district. He’ll reach out to people and do things right.”

Johnson did not return calls and emails from Chicago Journal requesting comment.

As for Davis, she acknowledged on her personal Facebook page that hers was a long shot candidacy.

“We have a steep hill to climb; I am not the most endorsed, most connected, best known or best financed candidate,” she wrote. “I hope that we can engage in a full, honest and transparent campaign and discussion that respects the concern, desperation and desire for the hope of the voters and residents of the 26th Legislative District.”

It’s not clear at this point how much money either Johnson or Davis has. Johnson didn’t have a campaign committee on file with the Illinois State Board of Elections as of Wednesday, Dec. 7; Davis’ campaign had $0 when her committee was formed on Nov. 15.

That’s in stark contrast to Christian Mitchell, the 25-year-old candidate who’s been endorsed by Burns, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Ald. Pat Dowell (4th), and others. Burns and Preckwinkle each gave $25,000 to Mitchell’s campaign.


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