26th Ward - 2023 Aldermanic Race
Angee Gonzalez Rodriquez - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez is the 26th Ward’s current Democratic Committeeperson and attempted a run for alderman in 2019 but did not make it on the ballot following challenges, according to Block Club Chicago. Gonzalez Rodriguez has lived in Humboldt Park since the early 70s but was born in Villalba, Puerto Rico.
She sits on the local school council for Lowell Elementary School and is a member of both the National Association of Professional Women and the Association of Latino Professionals for America, according to her campaign website. She has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in legal studies, according to her website.
Julian Perez - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Julian “Jumpin” Perez is a popular Chicagoland house music DJ who has appeared on 104.3 Jams, B96, KISS FM, WBMX, WGCI, V103. Perez, who retired from DJing in 2022, founded the Julian Jumpin Perez Foundation in 2019 to help “fulfill his dream of giving back to the communities that have supported, and loved him throughout his career,” according to the foundation’s website. Perez is also an entrepreneur with experience running “multiple retail stores, a restaurant, nightclubs, and a mortgage and real estate company,” according to his campaign website. Perez, who is Cuban, came under fire for making a joke about Mexicans on stage during the 2019 Festival Cubano. He was dropped from the lineup by My House Music Festival in Pilsen and apologized for the comments.
Jessie Fuentes - 2023 Aldermanic Candidate
Jessie “Jessie” Fuentes is an openly queer activist from Humboldt Park running in the open 26th Ward race following the decision by Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26) not to seek reelection and withdraw from the race. Fuentes’ work experience includes being the director of policy and youth advocacy for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Humboldt Park as well as the co-chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda of Chicago group.
On her website, Fuentes says her “lived experience overcoming poverty, violence and generational trauma, coupled with her professional accomplishments,” make her best suited to lead the ward. Fuentes is endorsed by United Working Families.
Paid Advertisement
