Position Sought
Chicago City Council, 48th Ward
Current Position
Alderwoman
Party Affiliation
Democrat
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Date of Primary Election
February 28, 2023
Primary Election Donation Limit
$6,000
Date of General Election
April 4, 2023
General Election Donation Limit
$6,000
Race/Ethnicity
Asian/Pacific Islander
Gender Identity
Cisgender Woman
Sexual Orientation
Queer
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Connect with Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth
Leni will be the first queer Asian-American woman on the Chicago City Council!
Biography
If elected, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth will be the first queer, Asian American woman to sit on Chicago’s City Council. She is committed to working in collaboration with others for the benefit of all.
A mother of three kids raised in public schools, she became the 2016 Director of Operations for the Illinois Chapter of the Women’s March on Washington to help mobilize 10,000 Illinoisans to D.C.
A co-founder of Indivisible Illinois, she helped coordinate Chicago grassroots to knock on doors and help get progressive Democrats like Lauren Underwood and JB Pritzker elected in 2018.
She founded ILVOTE with the mission to help the electorate stay informed and engaged in every election in order to ensure a healthy democracy. She was given the 10th District 2018 Peggy A. Montes Unsung Heroine Award of Cook County for her work at ILVOTE.
In Andersonville, her community work as a small business owner for 19 years and one that encourages civic engagement at the local levels, she was awarded the 2022 Kurt Mathiasson Award for community leadership by the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce.
Leni has served on the boards of Chicago Tap Theater, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater and Jones College Prep Local School Council. She currently serves on the board of the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce and retains her license as a physical therapist in Illinois. She and husband, Mike, dance Argentine tango. They have three kids and two cats and have rented in Andersonville since 1999.