The suburban town on Berwyn, Illinois quadrupled their LGBTQ representation in their local government after a string of historic wins in the February 28 elections. Prior to Tuesday, Marge Paul was the first and only LGBTQ elected official in the city, serving on the Berwyn Board of Aldermen. However, after a string of close, historic electoral victories, Berwyn has four new LGBTQ elected officials and Marge Paul became the new city clerk.
The Victory Fund endorsed Marge Paul and newly elected LGBTQ officials Jeanine Reardon and Jose Ramirez. Two-term alderman Marge Paul ousted the 12 year, entrenched incumbent city clerk by 80 votes. Jeanine Reardon took Marge’s old seat, maintaining LGBTQ representation in that ward, beating her opponent by 33 votes. Jose Ramirez will be Berwyn’s first gay Latino alderman, defeating the two-term incumbent by 93 votes. Although not endorsed by the Victory Fund, openly gay candidate Scott Lennon was also elected to the Berwyn Board of Alderman.
Our endorsed candidates defeated established, entrenched incumbents and are well suited to serve Berwyn. Berwyn has the fourth highest LGBTQ population per capita in Illinois and is 60 percent Hispanic, reflecting the need for LGBTQ and Hispanic representation. Although there is a general election scheduled for April 4, none of the candidates face any opponents, securing their victories.
