CDSA Endorsed Candidates for Aldermanic Elections 2023

Angela was born and raised in Uptown – continuing her family’s tradition of 80+ years living in the 46th Ward of Chicago. She successfully advocates for tenant rights, young people’s needs, elderly services, and peace & unity in the community. Angela graduated from Uptown's own Uplift Community High School, where she became a student leader challenging unfair discipline policies and co-founding VOYCE (Voices Of Youth In Chicago Education) to research why students were dropping out of high school in CPS. She earned her B.A. from DePaul University in Public Policy & Urban Issues, and went on to serve as the youngest Board President of Voice of the People, Uptown's local affordable family housing non-profit of 51 years.

A former Brennemann student herself, she recently became a member of Brennemann Elementary’s Local School Council to advocate for all of the children and families that attend it. Angela Clay’s passion and life’s work has been dedicated to serving all of our neighbors no matter your nationality, income, religion, or gender.

Daniel La Spata has called Chicago home for the last 22 years, where he spent many of those years as a leader in the housing and community development space in the greater Logan Square area. He was inspired to run for Alderman after witnessing persistent anti-democratic and inequitable development processes, which left too many residents out of the prosperity of the City's booming economy and housing market.

Alderman La Spata was elected to represent Chicago's 1st Ward in 2019, where he has used his leadership and organizing experience to fight for policies that work toward creating a more equitable and sustainable Chicago. Alderman La Spata remains committed to helping Chicago break down its segregated past (and present), and weathering the storms of climate change through smart policy investments, and continued dialog and partnerships with neighbors, community organizations, and stakeholders. Daniel’s mission as alderman is to create a ward where every resident has the resources and opportunities to thrive. His office is committed to elevating marginalized voices, and collaborating with all interested stakeholders to build a community grounded in diversity, democracy and equity.

Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is a lifelong Chicagoan who has worked to put our neighborhoods and working families first. Carlos has done so in his roles as a community organizer, congressional caseworker, and now as Chicago's 35th Ward alderperson.

Serving as Chicago's 35th Ward alderperson since May 2015, Carlos has led successful legislative efforts to win property tax relief for working class homeowners, paid sick leave for Chicago workers, equality for transgender people in public facilities, and accountability and transparency on municipal financial transactions. Working alongside grassroots community organizations, Carlos recently led successful efforts to pass historic legislation that ensures Chicago is a true sanctuary city and enacts one of the nation's strongest civilian police oversight ordinances. Carlos has promoted inclusion and transparency in all his aldermanic work - the community-driven zoning process he has implemented in the 35th Ward has been recognized by local and national organizations as a model for community empowerment and transformation.

Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez has delivered improvements to her ward's neighborhood schools, brought affordable housing to the ward, and championed innovative programs for public health and safety.

In her first four years, Rossana has increased ward democracy by giving neighbors a vote in important decisions in the ward and has helped transform City Hall by ensuring it is no longer a rubber stamp for the mayor. She worked to codify Chicago as a sanctuary city for immigrants and recently led legislation to codify abortion and transgender rights. Currently, Rossana is championing Treatment Not Trauma in order to reopen closed mental health clinics and create a crisis response system that sends mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises. In her next term, Rossana will continue to fight to make Chicago a city that provides for the many, not the few.

Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez is a mother, youth educator, and lifelong community activist. She is currently completing her Masters in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. Originally from Puerto Rico, Rossana attended her first demonstration at the age of six, when her neighborhood of Mariana waged a successful battle for public access to drinking water.

Oscar Sanchez is a Southeast Side environmental activist and youth organizer who joined a 30-day hunger strike to protest a metal scrapper’s planned move into his neighborhood. Sanchez is running on a platform that centers clean air, equitable education, walkable and accessible communities, affordable housing, sustainable and resilient workforce development and collective community safety.

Sanchez is also involved in community organizing with a focus on young people, having co-founded the Southeast Youth Alliance as well as the pandemic mutual aid group the Southeast Response Collective. Sanchez is the first challenger to declare his candidacy for the Far South Side ward, which includes parts of South Chicago, East Side, South Deering and Hegewisch.

Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez was sworn in to serve on the Chicago City Council in May of 2019 as Alderman of Chicago's 25th Ward which includes the communities of Pilsen, Chinatown, Little Italy, BJ Wright Courts and ABLA Homes, West Loop, South Loop, McKinley Park, and Heart of Chicago. As an immigrant who came to the US alone as a teenager, Byron found care in everyday teachers, coaches, and community members who gave him shelter, guidance, taught him the English language, and gave him a pathway to a good education. Ten years ago, Byron settled in Pilsen, a historic immigrant working class neighborhood in Chicago and worked as an adult education teacher, founding the bilingual adult education program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He became politically active after former-Mayor Rahm Emanuel listed a neighborhood public school for closure where Byron volunteered as a soccer coach and lead community efforts to keep that school open which were ultimately successful. Later, Byron served as the Director of the Pilsen Alliance where he was a leader in the struggle against gentrification and displacement, co-founding the campaign to Lift the Ban on rent control in Illinois. As Alderman, Byron was the Chief Sponsor of an ordinance to curtail harassment of homeowners who have been targeted by predatory developers. Byron is a member of the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. He holds a bachelors in Mathematics and Business Administration from Cumberland University, and a Masters in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is currently a PhD candidate in the field of Urban Education Policy.

Ambria Taylor is a teacher, proud CTU member, longtime Bridgeport resident, and democratic socialist running to represent Chicago’s 11th Ward, which includes Armour Square, Bridgeport, Canaryville, Chinatown, and McKinley Park. The 11th Ward is the historic home of the Daley political machine. Our current alderman, Nicole Lee, was appointed by Mayor Lightfoot after our previous alderman, Patrick Daley Thompson, was convicted of felony tax fraud and sentenced to four months jail time. Nicole Lee is the daughter of Gene Lee, who served as deputy chief of staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley and was convicted of felony embezzlement and tax fraud for stealing from Chinatown charities.

At 17, Ambria moved from rural Illinois to Chicago and lived in a studio apartment with her brother and mother. Ambria has watched loved ones be denied healthcare, felt her dignity shrink in face of judgment for relying on food banks, and worked odd jobs at late hours in high school to help her family survive. Ambria went from being a Chicago Public Schools high school drop out to obtaining a masters degree in teaching from the University of Chicago. Her life experiences have taught her to be tenacious, tough, and resourceful, and led her to socialist organizing. Ambria has been a member of Chicago DSA for many years, helping start the public education working group which later folded into the Labor Branch, running our first Local School Council elections in 2018, serving our Electoral Working Group on the steering committee, and representing our chapter at both the 2019 and 2021 National DSA conventions.

Ambria believes all people deserve dignified working and living conditions, in making tangible improvements to public schools, in implementing community solutions to public safety, protecting our health by standing up to polluters, and in expanding affordable housing. Ambria is a strong advocate for our public infrastructure and transportation that benefits everyone. Our current politicians consistently fail to provide everyday people with what we need and deserve. Ambria’s public service over the past decade shows her motivation is to create a government that benefits the people and to build people power to make society better for us all. Ambria will never make deals behind your back, and she’s ready to fight for you on Chicago City Council. Help us win the world, city, and ward we deserve by voting for Ambria Taylor for 11th Ward Alderman on Tuesday, February 28th.

Jeanette B. Taylor is the current Alderwoman of Chicago’s 20th Ward, representing portions of Woodlawn, Washington Park, Englewood, Back of the Yards, and Greater Grand Crossing. Before being elected Alderwoman, Jeanette was a parent organizer with Kenwood Oakland Community Organization. She was a Local School Council (LSC) member for over 20 years at Mollison Elementary and trained countless parents on how to be productive members of an LSC. Jeanette led a 30-day hunger strike to save the last open enrollment high school in her community. She’s done all of this while raising five children of her own. Jeanette is committed to fighting for her community to see the vision set by her community come alive.

Nick Ward is a socialist, community organizer, artist, renter, and restaurant worker. He is running for 48th Ward Alderman to fight for a Chicago where every resident has the resources they need to thrive. Nick serves as a Community Representative on the Goudy Technology Academy Local School Council, where he fought for Covid-19 safety protocols and formed a Housing and Enrollment Subcommittee that examined the devastating effects of the lack of affordable housing on school enrollment.

As an organizer with Chicago DSA and the 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice, he campaigned for the Civilian Police Accountability Council and affordable housing for Edgewater and Uptown families. Nick’s top campaign priorities include:

• Introducing an ordinance to eliminate the tipped minimum wage in Chicago, ensuring that all tipped employees receive the same hourly wage
• Building affordable, multi-bedroom housing for families to help combat enrollment loss in local CPS schools
• Fighting to reallocate public safety funds towards community-led violence prevention initiatives

Warren Williams is a lifelong Chicagoan who has called the Northwest Side home for years. He is the proud son of union parents who taught him the power of a unified working class. He was diagnosed with epilepsy in his early 20s, a condition that has affected his ability to drive and led him to rely heavily on the CTA and cycling to get around the city, like many Chicagoans.

At the start of 2020, Warren founded 30th United, an Independent Political Organizations. With 30th United, he has organized with the community on zoning and new development issues against predatory developers, cleaning up busy streets throughout the ward, ensuring the most vulnerable communities have access to COVID-19 vaccinations, supporting community leaders in local elections, and canvassing regularly to directly hear and learn from neighbors. Warren has also been both a leader and on staff with The People’s Lobby and People’s Action, where he has organized around issues including the Fair Tax, the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.

These experiences have informed Warren’s values, visions, and commitment to fight for affordable, accessible healthcare, housing, and public transit for the masses.

Warren is running for Alderman in Chicago’s 30th Ward to bring a people-first vision to the ward office and City Council. He believes the 30th Ward deserves leadership that prioritizes working class people and families, fosters true transparency, and fights for a more just, equitable ward where all can thrive. Warren will work towards universal access to public transportation, environmental justice and climate action, immigration rights, preventative public safety measures, affordable housing, and strong constituency services.